Discovering True Mobility with Egnyte

I recently joined Egnyte to head up Business Development and have quickly come to realize the advantages that file sharing and collaboration provide every day at work, at home or on the go.

Previously, I worked in an organization where the extent of the corporate collaboration “strategy” was Microsoft Outlook. I frequently traveled for work, and my work life revolved around a myriad of devices - laptop, smartphone and tablet - with no ability to synchronize files and workflows, and only a couple of tools available for file sharing and collaboration. I lugged a hefty laptop home every night and traveled with my numerous devices to ensure I was always prepared for any situation while on the road.As with many other people, one of my biggest issues was carrying around multiple devices.  The corporate VPN client was clunky and not supported on my primary OS, so accessing internal or shared files from outside the firewall meant emailing them to myself or copying from a thumb drive. Needless to the say, mobility and collaboration were painful.I also spent my early career as an engineer at Cisco where “eating your own dog food” was - and is - a staple of the corporate culture. Products and technologies were deployed internally months before a public launch to iron out wrinkles ahead of “First Customer Shipment”. This mantra has stuck with me, and when I joined Egnyte, I immersed myself in our enterprise file-sharing and sync technology.

I started by moving all my critical work-related information (product collateral, contracts, spreadsheets, etc.) to the Egnyte Cloud File Server. I organize and save all files under my private Egnyte directory, rather than the “Documents” or “My Documents” folders in MacOS and Windows. These files are now universally available at my desk, at home, from any device, and on the road from any computer with a web browser. The Egnyte Cloud File Server keeps them in sync as I modify, share and collaborate with colleagues.On my corporate laptop, I use Egnyte’s Desktop Sync client to maintain a local view of my files that are accessible when I’m offline or travelling. And my phone and tablet are always kept in sync with Egnyte’s mobile apps.  At home, I use Egnyte’s Mapped Drive on our iMac to easily and securely access my work files so I no longer schlep a computer home every night. Sharing files with colleagues, partners and customers is painless, and large files no longer clog email inboxes. My thumb drive is also collecting dust.Egnyte also seamlessly integrates with all of my common workflows and tools. Within the Egnyte Cloud File Server, I create and import Google Docs from my corporate Google Drive account that live in the same view as my local files. I upload content to opportunities and leads in Salesforce and use Attachments.me to save email attachments directly to the Egnyte Cloud File Server. The Docusign integration also lets me initiate and execute contract signatures from within my Egnyte domain.Now, I personally have peace of mind that my files are readily available wherever I am and across all of my devices. The mobility and convenience of a cloud-based work environment have significantly increased my productivity. Everyday, I learn more about the power of mobility and collaboration with Egnyte’s enterprise file sharing and synchronization, and I’m looking forward to upcoming product features to further simplify not just my life but the lives of all Egnyte users.