3 Ways EFSS Enables Secure Content Collaboration for the Mobile Workforce

How to address the diverse digital collaboration needs oftoday’s workforce while managing the security demands of the modern organization

The evolution of the traditional corporate environment into a global web of dynamic digital workspaces requires new ways to share in-formation and ideas. The majority of workers contributing to this digital transformation are tech savvy employees who rely on a combination of personal devices, mobile apps, and cloud technologies to do their jobs effectively anytime and anywhere. However, as more and more of these mobile tools and technologies flood the market and the workplace, organizations must remain focused on protecting sensitive data and intellectual property.

In order to safeguard a company’s critical assets and comply with regulatory requirements and corporate security policies, IT must continuously monitor and control all users on-line content and collaboration activity. How-ever, many employees protest that certain security measures interfere with productivity, therefore driving them to find ways to bypass security controls so they can work more efficiently. While these unsanctioned shortcuts and workarounds might seem appealing, they also expose the organization to significant risks. It’s for this reason that employee negligence is one of the leading causes of data breaches – and end users are often the weakest link in the security chain.

All things considered, this is arguably the greatest challenge for today’s IT leaders and security practitioners: If IT blocks all personal or unapproved apps and software without providing a sanctioned and user-friendly alternative, business productivity will suffer – but allowing the continued use of vulnerable tools is simply not an option. Therefore, organizations must seek out comprehensive solutions that balance security and control with the ease of use employees expect and re¬quire to collaborate effectively and maximize productivity. When researching such solutions, take time to explore the features and benefits of today’s leading enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) services. The right provider will address the diverse digital collaboration needs of today’s workforce while managing the security demands of the modern organization through the features and functionalities explained below:

1. Secure File Sharing

Data fuels workforce productivity, but corporate data often resides in disparate silos spread across on-premises networks and cloud repositories. Employees are repeatedly forced to disrupt their daily workflows to gather information from multiple sources — a time-consuming and inefficient task that stalls productivity. With these challenges in mind, it’s best to consider an EFSS content collaboration solution that provides a single point of access to all data sources, from any device, and lets employees easily share and manipulate the content resources required to do their jobs.

With the right solution you can control, authenticate, track, and report who accesses, views, shares, edits, deletes, downloads, and uploads files based on user location, role, and device criteria. Additionally, you can remote lock or wipe lost or compromised mobile devices, ensuring that confidential data isn’t leaked beyond critical borders. With solutions that offer customizable security settings and high-grade encryption, you can rest assured your organization’s most sensitive data and confidential assets are protected.

Consider these additional secure file-sharing features:

• Granular security controls that protect encrypted data at rest (with AES), in transit (with SSL), and during access and use
• Company-owned encryption keys that allow organizations to safeguard data within private on-premises and cloud repositories
•  Information Rights Management (IRM) to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access including editing, printing, screen capture, and other activities even after download
• Integrations with existing Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions to help enforce regulated industry requirements, company governance policies, and security parameters for audit reporting and compliance
• Compliance with privacy laws and sensitive data residency requirements (including PCA, HIPAA, HITECH, and SOC-2) in regulated industry sectors

2. Anywhere Access From Any Device

In most organizations, data is scattered across on-premises network file shares, cloud storage and management platforms (including SharePoint, Office 365, OneDrive for Business, Azure, Amazon Web Services [AWS], and Salesforce), and consumer file-sharing services (including Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox). Companies in all sectors, especially regulated industries like Financial Services and Healthcare, prefer or are required to store some or all corporate data on premises to enhance performance, reduce costs, and/or comply with data sovereignty restrictions.

Giving employees access to this increasingly fragmented data landscape is a challenge be-cause every data source requires that its own technology be used to view the files stored there. Fortunately, there are technologies that connect to data regardless of where it resides and provide secure one-click access for mobile users. There are also several offerings that give organizations the choice of where to store files, allowing selection of the option that best meets the business needs.

Consider these additional data access features:

• Secure, flexible data storage options including on-premises, in the cloud, or through a hybrid approach
  
• Private storage zones that restrict access to specific authenticated internal users
• Access to network shares, Microsoft SharePoint, OneDrive for Business, and more, extending connectivity to all your digital sharing and collaboration tools•
• A single solution to increase the speed and decrease the cost of connecting to data everywhere

3. Document Workflows & Collaboration

Go beyond mobilizing data to facilitate critical workflows operating inside and outside the organization. While many EFSS solutions offer table-stakes capabilities like internal document sharing, seek out a leading EFSS solution that supports and secures external content collaboration scenarios with customers, partners, suppliers, outsourced service providers, and others.

Consider these additional document workflows and collaboration features:

• Document management that ensures safe exchange of internal and external-facing documents including contracts, proposals, training tools, onboarding paperwork, performance reviews, marketing collateral, sales presentations, and product information
• Legally binding e-signatures with step-by-step guided signing that works on any device
• Automated notifications that send project team members reminders to review and/or approve requests
  
•  Workflow automation with built-in co-authoring and feedback and approval processes that give employees a convenient hub to collectively create, review, modify, annotate, and track document changes in real time
• Version control so employees can track document changes across multiple data sources and devices

According to a recent Ponemon^* survey,72 percent of respondents agree an EFSS is important to reducing data security risks.

^* The Need for a New IT Security Architecture: United State. Citrix-sponsored survey. Independently conducted by Pon-emon Institute LLC. May 2017.

Citrix ShareFile: Built for Business and Trusted by IT

As a leader in virtualization and mobility, Citrix protects the world’s most sensitive information, simplifying and verifying the security and sharing of data in corporate apps and documents across locations, networks, and devices. Organizations can ensure the appropriate level of access for every individual and situation with visibility and control to address privacy, compliance, and risk management priorities without compromising end-user productivity.

More than 20 million business users and 80,000 customers rely on the robust collaboration capabilities delivered by ShareFile. Meet the mobility and collaboration needs of business users and the data security requirements of the business without interrupting critical daily workflows. Empower employees to work smarter, and help your business achieve agility and flexibility to capitalize on emerging opportunities and stay ahead of the competition. Mobilize data, streamline workflows, and enhance security with Citrix ShareFile.