Last week Dropbox announced that they have created their own cloud system and were no longer using Amazon AWS. It is great news that they are taking responsibility for their users’ data, but there is still one glaring fact—it’s still kept in the cloud and out of your own control.
I have said it before and I will say it again; keeping your data in your own control is important. Whether you are a small or large company, there are benefits for all with ownCloud. You can run ownCloud on your own server, in your own datacenter or ideally in your own private cloud. Or, if you are a smaller business, you can contract with a trusted service provider whom you can treat as your own IT department and generate proper economies of scale – who will run a server or a private cloud for you! Why would Dropbox go for their own private Cloud if it would not make sense?
Consider these points as even further proof that ownCloud is the best option for your business:
- Control- IT controls and manages ownCloud. Administrators define security policies down to the file level, provision users and groups, monitor activity logs and overall system health, and manage usage and quotas – all from ownCloud’s admin interface. ownCloud integrates easily with enterprise file sharing and storage technologies, governance workflows, security systems and monitoring tools.
- Secure- ownCloud provides two levels of Encryption capabilities, both encrypting server data at rest, and supporting encryption for data in motion.
- Data Protection Regulations- ownCloud can be set up and run by you, in any country, under any jurisdiction and in your own data center(s). Following the dismantlement of the Safe Harbor Agreement this past October, this has become a necessity to global companies. It greatly simplifies tracking. With the logging functionality you can demonstrate compliance by proving who has had access to which file at which time from which IP. With the File Firewall you can even block access based on policy.
- HIPAA- Cloud-based file sharing services raise many questions about compliance with HIPAA and other regulations. ownCloud overcomes these limitations with a file sharing solution that runs on-premises. ownCloud is designed from the ground up to integrate with existing directory, security and rights management systems, ensuring that data governance policies are enforced end-to-end. In addition, ownCloud’s flexible logging features provide auditors with detailed visibility into all data access activities.
- Ready for Federation- ownCloud’s Federated File Sharing provides frictionless file sharing across multiple ownCloud servers, while maintaining the security, control and attributes of the original server as set up by IT – and leaving the master file copy on the originating ownCloud server.
- Branding – ownCloud provides the deep branding capabilities that enable IT to easily make their desktop, and mobile clients match their web UI for a consistent look and feel.
So while Dropbox is now offering their ownCloud, you should have your ownCloud.
