Unless you’re working at the Renaissance fair, you’ve probably noticed that just about all file sharing for enterprise takes place online. And while your mind might go straight to email — or even toward Dropbox, Box or Google Drive — those just won’t cut it when you want to get serious about your enterprise document management and, equally importantly, about your security. That’s where cloud synchronization for file management — and where essential platforms like CapLinked — come into play.

 

What Is Cloud Synchronization?

Thankfully, unlike a lot of business jargon, cloud synchronization is exactly what it sounds like: It’s the process of synchronization among devices for reading files that live on cloud storage. Cloud storage, of course, is when data is stored on a remote system and transmitted to a huge variety of devices via the internet. 

 

Typically, the cloud storage provider offers syncing capabilities and you can access a file, whether it’s a text document or a piece of media like photos or videos, in its current, most up-to-date state across a variety of connected devices, such as your smartphone, laptop, desktop or tablet. Cloud sync is also important for groups, including groups of employees, as it ensures that everyone in the group has access to the latest shared files and the latest versions of those shared files. 

 

As Mike Chen at Oracle puts it, “For enterprises, cloud sync provides a path to robust collaboration by allowing project team members to get the latest files and updates as needed. This availability increases flexibility while minimizing issues with version control.”

 

How Does Cloud-Based File Synchronization Work?

On a general level, data synchronization works in one of two ways: one-way sync and two-way sync. The way each one breaks down is important to identify what makes cloud synchronization so essential to today’s enterprise. 

 

One-Way Synchronization

One-way synchronization is, as you might expect, a one-way street. Here, files are copied from a source to a target, such as copied from one hard drive to another hard drive. This is simply a way to get data in multiple locations, often used for making backups. Once copied, the data is, of course, completely separate; when you make a change to the data on one hard drive, the data on the other hard drive remains unchanged.

 

Two-Way Synchronization

On the other hand, two-way synchronization employs the cloud to send the latest copies of a data file to all the machines that access the cloud storage platform in question. This is a two-way street, so when you make a change to a data file on one device, the cloud server “pushes” that data to all other devices, so that the change appears on every device accessing the file. 

 

The State of the Market

Just one look at the state of the cloud synchronization market reveals just how immense its impact actually is. In fact, we need only look at one market segment to get an idea: the enterprise file synchronization and sharing (or EFSS) market. 

 

According to GlobeNewswire, the global market was already sitting at a healthy $6.01 billion in 2021 and is experiencing a staggering compound annual growth rate of 30.6%. That means it’s expected to reach $20.47 billion by 2026. About 94% of enterprises use cloud services, while roughly 67% of enterprise infrastructure is now cloud-based, per Zippia data sources.

 

But if you’re not an EFSS company, why should you care about the state of the market? Simply put, because its exponential growth is a clear indicator that it’s fast becoming an absolute essential for the global enterprise. And that essentiality often boils down to one universal business need: security. 

 

A Drive for Security

Per IBM, data breach occurrences cost companies about $8.64 million in average damages for each breach. It’s little wonder, then, that data security concerns are not only on the rise, they’re a big driver in the growth of enterprise file synchronization. In today’s enterprise sphere, no comprehensive security plan is complete without data security — but that’s not all a cloud-based enterprise data management solution can offer. 

 

CapLinked File Sharing — How We Can Help

In addition to security concerns, the rise of the digital workplace, the growing mobile workforce and the increasing need to collaborate on the fly are just a few things that account for the expansion of file synchronization’s ubiquity

 

With cloud synchronization, file types of all sorts are at your employees’ fingertips, ready for access and collaboration wherever you have an internet connection. As a cloud-based virtual data room (VDR) platform, CapLinked serves as a web-powered “vault” for storing and sharing documents securely. Here are just a few of the ways CapLinked leverages the power of cloud synchronization to bolster your business: 

 

  • Cloud sync ensures that all stored files are up to date when you access them with any device equipped with a browser, from your phone to your tablet to your laptop or Chromebook.
  • Secure Workspaces offer a live feed of notifications, messages and contacts from users sharing your documents.
  • As soon as you edit a file (which you can do fully in-browser, with no need for plugins or additional apps), CapLinked creates a new version of the file on our secure server.
  • CapLinked empowers you to quickly locate earlier versions of a file in case something was improperly edited.
  • Viewers must log in with secure credentials to open synchronized files, keeping files secure after they’re downloaded.

 

When it comes to security, the most secure tech and credentials in the industry have your data covered. CapLinked uses only military-grade encryption and is backed by AICPA System and Organization Control standards, with Information Security Management System certification. Because CapLinked is where security meets seamlessness — and that’s a whole different type of synchronization. Sign up for a free trial today!

 

Sources

Oracle – What Is Cloud Sync?

PCMag – Data Synchronization

GlobeNewswire – Enterprise File Synchronization and Sharing (EFSS) Global Market Report 2022

Allied Market Research – Enterprise File Synchronization and Sharing Market

Zippia – 26 Amazing Cloud Adoption Statistics [2022]