Egnyte Overview
Overview of Egnyte Cloud File Server
Egnyte acts as a cloud file server with the goal of providing accessibility across teams with a focus on enterprises in highly controlled industries.
Feature Overview
Shared Content
Objects owned and managed by the organization
Root is called "Shared Folder" and sub-folders called "Shared sub-folders"
Individual Content
Personal user content
Known as "Private Folder". Available to Power Users and Admins.
Mailbox
Emails, contacts, and calendars
Not included
Versions
Historical snapshot of documents that can be restored
3 by default. Admins can increase this through data retention policies.
Document Collaboration
Real-time simultaneous editing
Only when using the Egnyte for Microsoft Office Desktop integration
Account Administration
Managing users, account, and organization information
Administrator settings for Web UI, Mobile App, and Desktop App
Auditing and Reporting
Usage and access information
Available to Admins and Power Users in Web UI on Business plans
SFTP , FTP, AS2 transfers
Secure file transfer protocol support
Egnyte SFTP or supported via a 3rd-party solution like Couchdrop
Additional Features
Other features included with a subscription
Content Intelligence AI, hybrid infrastructure option, Snapshot recovery
What makes Egnyte unique
Egnyte is often used as a hybrid cloud, a combination of on-premises and cloud storage. This means an organization can have data stored in the cloud, on-premise file servers, or a combination of the two. A hybrid approach allows an organization to keep tight control over sensitive files for compliance and keep them on-premise, while opening up certain files for sharing and collaboration using a single storage solution.
Due to this hybrid infrastructure, a unique feature is that Egnyte claims to be "the first and only cloud storage provider to offer file sync and permission controls down to the sub-folder level. Users can select folders and sub-folders in their Egnyte account to sync locally", though how exactly this differs from syncing capabilities from other platforms is unclear.
Egnyte has taken a different approach to permissions and selling the platform, with specialists in industries with large amounts of data or strict sharing requirements like Finance and Life Sciences. These specialists can help with choosing a plan, onboarding, and best practices for setting up the environment for the specific use case.
Other features include document and sensitive data type classification, along with AI Copilot, search, and workflows. The Ultimate plan includes a 90-day snapshot and recovery, as well as detection for ransomware and suspicious logins. Deduplication also helps keep storage usage under control, as only one version of a file with identical contents is counted against storage.
How storage is allocated and handled
Egnyte Office and Business plans have a default storage limit of 5TB and 10TB, respectively. Enterprise plans are customized for the needs of the specific organization with custom quotes.
Domain-Level Deduplication is a feature in Egnyte that helps reduce the amount of storage used. Egnyte checks the content of files to see if they are identical. If the exact same content is in multiple files, Egnyte only stores one copy of the content, and other instances refer to the same copy. If one version is changed, it is then counted as a new file, while other duplicates continue pointing to a single file.
Additional storage for the organization can be purchased as needed.
How user management works
Egnyte has three levels of Users.
Administrators have full control of the organization and can make changes that apply to single users or across the organization.
Power Users can use all of Egnyte's features and receive a Private Folder. This is the default setting for internal organization members.
Standard Users are meant for external users and are limited to uploading, downloading, and browsing files on the WebUI. Additional restrictions can be put in place if required.
There is a separate allocation for Power Users and Standard Users. When creating a user, administrators need to specify which kind of user they are.
Additional users can be purchased at a per-user rate.
How content ownership works
All content on an Egnyte file server is owned by the organization. While Power Users have a Private Folder that is invisible to other Power Users, Admins can still browse the contents of these folders and have full control over the files within. Admins can even remove access to Private Folders or stop Power Users from having one included.
Because Administrators can get access to Private Folders at any time, it is not recommended to keep sensitive personal files in an Egnyte organization account.
How sharing and permissions work
Egnyte is unique in that there is no user-to-user sharing; content in a private folder remains private and can't be shared. To share, the object will need to be moved to a shared space.
The only way to share at the file level is through generating a Shared Link, which includes options like access permissions, expiry, file name, and notifications when the link is accessed.
Because Egnyte only allows co-editing through a Microsoft Office integration, it is possible for different users to work on a file and overwrite changes from each other. To avoid this, Egnyte allows a version to be locked manually, or an automatic lock happens when a document is open in the Web UI and the editing user is online.
How syncing with local storage works
Because a hybrid architecture is a major focus of Engyte, they put more effort into syncing with local files than many other cloud storage platforms. The sync process can be bi-directional or one-way.
Using the "Smart Cache", users with the Egnyte Desktop app can install a client to download cloud files locally and work offline. They can be configured to copy over a UNC path from devices like scanners, lab instruments, and drones. The Smart Cache is a single drive letter on the local device, and files saved in that drive will be synced to the cloud automatically when internet access is available.
Co-editing is not available for locally synced versions of files.
How billing works
Billing is done on a per-user basis per month for the base features. Add-ons are separate when not explicitly stated in the plan's inclusions. Some add-ons, like the Specialized File Handler add-on, can be trialled for 14 days before committing to purchase.
Some additional features can be added directly from the subscription details in the Admin settings. Others require contacting sales for a quote before they can be added.
There are some user reports about legacy plans becoming invalid, and organizations are being migrated into new plans.
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