M-Files Corporation, a provider of solutions that dramatically improve how enterprises manage documents and other information, recently unveiled the results from a survey of working professionals that highlights the risk of unauthorized and unregulated employee use of personal file sharing and sync applications for storing and sharing company information.
Conducted by M-Files, the survey revealed that nearly half (46 percent) of respondents have stored confidential company information on their personal file sharing and sync apps. In addition, the survey found that 56 percent of employees said their company does not have policies in place that prohibit the use of personal file sharing and sync solutions for storing and sharing company documents, while 14 percent said they did not know if their company had such policies in place.
Based on an online survey of hundreds of working professionals based in the United States, the new study also yielded the following findings:
- 25 percent of employees say their company has experienced information security breaches, data loss, non-compliance issues, loss of control over documents or other issues from employee use of personal file sharing and sync tools.
- 37 percent of employees said they store and/or share business documents via their personal file sharing and sync solutions "all of the time," while 47 percent said they do so infrequently.
- Of the 61 percent of employees who cited that their company uses an enterprise content management (ECM) or document management system, only 39 percent said that their ECM or document management system integrates with their file sharing and sync applications.
"Employees continue to use personal file sharing apps for sensitive documents, even when their company has banned the use of such tools, and they do so because they often find these tools more accessible and easier to use than ones provided by their company," said Greg Milliken, vice president of marketing at M-Files Corporation. "However, unregulated use of personal file sharing and sync solutions represent a serious security and compliance threat for companies because employees can share sensitive information with external parties, or store documents on their personal devices completely out of their organization's control."
Enabling Easy File Sharing and Collaboration While Securing and Protecting Information Assets
As the popularity and adoption of file sharing and sync tools has grown, an increasing number of companies have become aware of the need to balance security and data protection against their employees need for a simple solution for sharing documents and collaborating with individuals and businesses outside of their organization.
"The 'Holy Grail' of information management is to enable a more collaborative workplace with easy sharing capabilities that enable access to content from anywhere, at any time and on any device -- while avoiding the security and compliance threats associated with using personal file sharing and sync tools. The good news is that M-Files delivers this capability today by combining the functionality and benefits of an enterprise-class ECM solution with the ease of use, transparency and collaboration benefits of file sharing and sync solutions. Think of M-Files as 'Dropbox meets Documentum,'" added Milliken.
With M-Files, employees can easily share information and collaborate with external parties, while organizations can ensure they retain control over their information assets. M-Files integrates with Microsoft OneDrive, which enables users to share and collaborate on content with others that do not have direct access to M-Files, such as customers, partners and contractors. Files shared via OneDrive are accessible through essentially any device, including Windows PCs and Macs, smart phones and tablets. The collaboration and information sharing capabilities of M-Files improves productivity and enhances the decision making process while also ensuring business content is strictly controlled and protected.
More than basic file sharing, M-Files provides co-authoring capabilities that enable multiple users to edit the same file simultaneously in a controlled manner. In addition, check-in/check-out and versioning features prevent confusion associated with multiple outdated versions and data loss when changes made by one person are overwritten by another. Role-based and metadata-based security controls ensure that access to specific files is restricted only to those who are authorized to view and/or edit them.
About M-Files Corporation
M-Files enterprise information management solutions (EIM) improve and simplify how businesses manage documents and other information in order to become more productive, more efficient and stay compliant. M-Files eliminates information silos and provides quick and easy access to the right content from any core business system and device. M-Files achieves higher levels of user adoption resulting in faster ROI with a uniquely intuitive approach based on managing information by "what" it is versus "where" it's stored. With flexible on-premises, cloud and hybrid deployment options, M-Files reduces demands on IT by enabling those closest to the business need to access and control content based on their requirements. Thousands of organizations in over 100 countries use M-Files as a single platform for managing their critical business information, including companies such as SAS, Elekta and EADS. For more information, visit www.m-files.com.
SOURCE: M-Files Corporation