Druva: Unified Platform for Enterprise Collaboration and Data Protection

Druva, Inc. announced an enhancement to its inSync platform – inSync Share.

This new solution integrates file sharing and collaboration functionality into the company’s endpoint backup capabilities, giving enterprise administrators control of important endpoint data, without hindering the end user’s ability to collaborate and share with colleagues, customers and other authorised parties.

inSync Share integrates with the end user’s device of choice and works on multiple client devices including Microsoft Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS (iPhones and iPads) and Android.
 
"Corporate IT is facing a multitude of challenges, thanks to consumer-class collaboration and file-sharing services that are subverting IT’s control of corporate data," said Sheila Childs, managing VP at Gartner. "Enterprises looking to solve the challenges of unfettered collaboration can now find a unified offering that brings all endpoint data protection under the control of IT, while enabling users to share and access data and to collaborate."
 
File Sharing and Collaboration Services
inSync Share gives users the ability to create peer-to-peer file sharing, allowing locally stored files and folders to be easily yet securely shared with other users within the organisation. Folders and files are then automatically synchronised between collaborators’ machines, allowing for the most up-to-date content to be automatically accessed across groups of collaborators. What’s more, users can share files with external parties, granting them temporary access to files with links that automatically expire, thus preserving security and effectively terminating access once a project is complete.
 
Centralised IT Management and Security Controls
The file sharing capabilities can be centrally managed by IT administrators via Druva’s unified Web console, which provides granular policies to preserve security and ensure that corporate or proprietary data is not inadvertently exposed to external or non-authorised individuals. IT managers also have the ability to create policies that dictate how users can share files, creating an environment where data is fully managed, yet freely accessible.
 
Rounding out the administrative capabilities is advanced reporting, which offers support for file auditing as well as user activity reporting, creating a perspective into the usage of corporate data. This is a critical capability in environments where compliance objectives must be met and data leakage is a serious concern.
 
With file sharing and collaboration technologies becoming more common, many enterprises are losing visibility and granular control over corporately managed data. Third-party consumer solutions have made the situation untenable, creating multiple security holes for today’s enterprises. Regaining control of corporate assets, especially those that consist of proprietary data, is quickly becoming a major concern for enterprises. Enterprise IT managers have long been charged with protecting data from loss or theft, but using backup and DLP technologies as individual elements only provides a cross section of protection capabilities.
 
"Druva is able to unify the IT management of all endpoint data with a single solution that provides endpoint backup, file sharing and collaboration, DLP, and data insights, and that is both user friendly and rich in IT policy control," said Jaspreet Singh, CEO of Druva. "This unification solves the many IT security concerns created by BYOD and file sharing, yet does not limit the end user’s ability to be productive on multiple endpoints."
 
Druva estimates that by unifying file sharing, collaboration and backup, the solution can save a 1,000-person company $2.91 million by avoiding data loss, $850,000 in information leakage, $2.8 million due to productivity gains and $800,000 in storage and administration consolidation, for a total estimated savings of $7.6 million annually.
 
inSync’s ease of use, security and robust feature set make the platform a replacement for complex portal and file-sharing technologies such as Microsoft SharePoint and for services such as Dropbox and Box.
 
Pricing and Availability
inSync Share is available in beta and is priced at $4 per user per month, making inSync less expensive than alternatives, which involve paying for two separate, non-unified backup and collaboration services. The company offers multiple deployment options, including a cloud-based service and a software solution, allowing organisations to create private or cloud-based collaboration and backup solutions.