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Many companies have field employees who work in different cities and at different workstations. To access the company's file servers, they typically resort to either VPN or RDP. However, both VPN and RDP require stable active VPN connections. If worksites do not have good Internet connectivity, on-site employees may not be able to access files and folders over a VPN. In this case, employees will ask their colleagues at headquarters to somehow send them a copy of the file. The ad hoc method of sending files to field workers is likely to be to email attachments to field workers working from workstation attachments. From the CIOs' perspective, this is neither efficient nor productive. A better way is to store an "offline favorites" folder on employees' remote desktops or laptops. The offline folder can retrieve all changed files in advance, then store all changed files locally on the remote device and synchronize the files back to the company's file servers when the Internet connection is good
You may have employees who need to go to the customer's premises, buildings and work locations to get their work done. There is no guest internet connection at the client's premises for security or other compliance reasons. Often, employees would have to sync files and folders (e.g., building drawings) the night before at the hotel before going to the client's premises the next day. This process is inefficient and could be disrupted if the hotel does not allow VPN tunnels over the hotel's Wi-Fi system.
Other solutions such as Dropbox, OneDrive or even Windows Offline Folder can help, but each has its problems. Solutions like Dropbox and OneDrive require removing files and folders from the company's file servers. This creates duplicate data silos: some data is on the file server, some is in online services. Windows Offline Folder also has its problems, as it is almost obsolete and has to give way to OneDrive and SharePoint.
A mapped drive over the HTTPS channel to the corporate file server is an important feature. Employees are familiar with a mapped drive and no additional training is required.
Most file sharing solutions provide manual file locking in the form of "check in" and "check out". NFC Vault provides automatic file locking by detecting requests to open files. When Microsoft Word opens a file, file locking is automatically initiated and automatically terminated when file processing is complete.
Enterprise users already have enterprise identities in Active Directory and the associated Active Directory federated service and SAML single sign-on. They do not need additional credentials to access a file sharing solution.
Finally, integration with Active Directory and NTFS permissions makes it easier for system administrators to set up permission control. The permissions features set Gladinet's solution apart from the competition.
The need to store data on current file servers can be due to several reasons. It could be application compatibility, so you have some specific applications that need to run on file servers. It could be data protection and control requirements, or it's simply cheaper to run file servers in an on-premises virtualized environment than in the cloud. So the offline folder features that are introduced need to work directly with the file servers without transferring data to other online storage services
Your file servers are still the best shared playground for your business applications. You have an independent workload that uses different cloud storage solutions, resulting in data being stored in separate silos. It's time to consolidate data onto a single platform.
VPN and RDP are traditional methods for accessing file server data. However, they also require constant and active connections back to the corporate firewall for the access method to work. One of the requirements is to be able to remove these dependencies. Offline folders provide the ability to access network shares from file servers via a web protocol (e.g., HTTPS) without requiring concurrent active connections to a corporate firewall.
Employees demand mobility when working from home or remote locations. At first glance, cloud-based solutions for synchronizing and sharing files look promising. However, over time, some business applications have been left behind on the company's file servers. The company faces the situation that mobility means different tools for different workloads. It is better to consolidate mobility into a centralized data platform.
NFC Vault is a web server that accepts file requests from client agents over the HTTPS/SSL protocol. These requests are then translated to Active Directory and File Server network share access protected by NTFS permissions. The file is sent back to the client agents over HTTPS/SSL when all permission checks have passed. NFC Vault uses this approach to combine the power of a mapped drive with the simplicity of web browsing and the security of a VPN!
Run the NFC Vault installer on a clean Windows Server, and the installer will install all dependency components. Basic setup and configuration require only a few minutes. A reboot is required after the installation.
Enable Active Directory integration and file server discovery. You can then publish file server network shares to Active Directory users for secure, remote, and mobile access from remote and mobile devices.
You can use the NFC Vault professional services team for setup, configuration, and training or work directly with one of our authorized partners. We will help you set up the NFC Vault server to integrate with your IT infrastructure.
Easy Deployment: NFC Vault is easy to install on a clean Windows Server. You can enable remote file server access without VPN in an hour without data migration.
Familiar User Experience: SharePoint is challenging as a file server migration destination. NFC Vault provides a mapped drive over HTTPS for simplified access from anywhere.
No Additional Training Required: NFC Vault's drive-based access requires no training. Right-click to share or request file transfers.
Simplify Management: NFC Vault is much simpler to manage with auditing, reporting and policy-based administration.
Data Privacy: Businesses can address data privacy concerns by providing access to internal file servers. NFC Vault offers the unique option of cloud-enabling existing file servers to replace cloud file sharing.
Data Security: Files are secured at rest and in transit with military grade encryption and secure connections. Save setup time and money by automatically using existing users and permissions.
Maintain Compliance: Centrally manage users, access controls, and storage for each tenant. Admins can perform audits of GDPR and HIPAA compliance or keep track of any changes that have been made to individual files.
Data Remains on Your Local File Servers: Unlike SharePoint, which requires you to upload your confidential data, NFC Vault leaves all shared files on your file servers intact.
Reduce Costs with a Simple VPN Alternative: Eliminate the overhead and support tickets commonly associated with VPN file sharing, Always On VPN or Direct Access. Automatically use existing users and permissions to save setup time and money.
White Labeled File Sharing Solution: NFC Vault provides a white labeled platform that makes it easy for MSP partners to build a private cloud file server solution based on infrastructure from Amazon, or Microsoft Azure.
On-Premises Alternative to Dropbox and SharePoint: NFC Vault has the flexibility to provide an on-premises alternative to Dropbox and SharePoint using existing file servers.
Simplified Collaboration: Work with business partners by providing them with access to a limited set of internal files or folders. Share files with non Active Directory users while maintaining administrative controls. Simplify multi-site collaboration with automatic version controls and file locking.
Increase Productivity: Provide a mapped drive that works anywhere on any device and allows mobile users to easily access internal file shares or cloud file servers.
On-Demand Synchronization: Mapped drives display directory structure but delay downloads until a file is used to reduce bandwidth usage and endpoint storage consumption.
Change Notification: With NFC Vault, you can receive automatic alerts that help keep track of all changes in the system.
Businesses can address data privacy concerns by providing access to internal file servers. NFC Vault offers the unique option of cloud-enabling existing file servers to replace cloud file sharing.
Data Security: Files are secured at rest and in transit with military grade encryption and secure connections.
Maintain Compliance: Centrally manage users, access controls, and storage for each tenant.
Data Remains on Your Local File Servers: Unlike SharePoint, NFC Vault leaves all shared files on your file servers intact.
Easily collaborate with business partners by providing them with mobile access to a limited set of internal files or folders. Share files with non-AD users while maintaining administrative controls.
Eliminate the cost and complexity of VPNs using existing users and permissions. Supports Always On VPN, Direct Access, etc.
Manage folder permissions natively from the source file server or redefine them centrally without complexity.
Simplify mobile access to file shares via mapped drives or browser interfaces across all platforms, including iOS, Android, and desktop OS.
Military-grade encryption, secure HTTPS access, and user permission reuse enhance file security and reduce risk.
Download files only when needed. Display full directory structure while conserving bandwidth and storage.
Use internal file servers for mobile access without exposing them publicly. Ensures compliance and lowers cloud risks.
Use always-on mapped drives and mobile apps to access internal file shares anywhere, anytime, on any device.
Centrally manage access, users, and storage. Keep track of who accesses what and how data flows within your organization.
Avoid switching to different cloud file platforms. Consolidate mobility and access into your existing file server structure.
Leverage your existing infrastructure to replicate Dropbox and SharePoint functionality without external dependency.
Ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA by tracking access logs, changes, and applying proper access controls.