Editors' Choice pick Egnyte Business is one of the most esteemed business cloud storage solutions designed for business users, mostly because of its scalable platform that can grow with the needs of a business.
Its centralized file-storage model is the gold standard for secure and loss-free cloud storage solution.
Egnyte Business begins at $8 per employee per month for 5-25 employees in its Office tier, which includes 5 terabytes of online storage, 10 gigabytes max file size, and standard support.
Egnyte Business was created to cater to a businesses' storage needs; it's not a consumer or freemium product with business inclinations but a mature and comprehensive cloud storage and sharing solution.
Able to cover the needs of startups, small to midsize businesses (SMBs), and even large enterprises, Egnyte Business is equally adept at managing files securely in the cloud and on an office's local servers.
File locking functionality ensure that documents and files can be locked to one individual at a time, which cuts down on reworking or duplication.
It is a different approach from more collaborative file sharing features, but one that might suit a businesses' need for focus and clarity in terms of version control and document ownership.
Egnyte Business can also solve storage needs in various ways.
Some companies use the service primarily as a secure file server, while others rely on it as a hub for various integrations and extensions.
With its Enterprise-grade File Synchronization and Sharing (EFSS) foundation features, it earns our Editors' Choice designation in our business cloud storage roundup, a distinction it shares with Microsoft OneDrive for Business ($5.00 Per User Per Month at Microsoft365 for Business) .
Pricing and Options
Egnyte comes in three basic tiers that cater to different business sizes.
Starting at $8 per employee per month (for between 5-25 employees) in the Office tier which includes 5 terabytes of online storage, 10 gigabytes max file size, and standard support.
This includes Microsoft Outlook integration, enterprise-class security, the ability to add custom branding, FTP and mobile access, plus desktop sync.
The Office tier of Egnyte solely offers cloud deployment with no on-premises component.
The Business tier, which is the offering that I tested, costs $20 per employee per month for 25-100 employees comes with 10 terabytes (TB) of storage, 10 GB of max files size, advanced security, and standard support.
This tier offers cloud or hybrid deployment for businesses that require on-premises storage which can be synchronized with a public cloud solution.An Enterprise option is also available for organizations with over 100 employees, but this requires consultation and customization to a larger company's needs.
Egnyte also offers a Team Plan, which costs $10 per employee per month and is designed for a team of 1-3 users.
It comes with one terabyte of online storage, 10 GB maximum file size, and standard support.
The Team Plan covers online storage, desktop sync, mobile, and FTP access, Microsoft Outlook integration and enterprise-class security.
Egnyte Connect offers a 15-day free trial for most of its plans through an easy setup page.
In terms of pricing, Egnyte Business is similar to Google Drive Enterprise, which also starts at $8 per user per month (plus $1 per 25GB of storage used), this solution has no employee limits and now offers a friendlier pricing scheme where subscribers only pay for the accounts and storage they use.
Signing up with Egnyte Business is straightforward and simple.
A free 15-day trial is available for Egnyte Business on the company's website.
All you need are basic user credentials and an email address to get started with the trial.
Once signed in, you can operate from the Egnyte Connect page that is modeled after Windows Explorer.
For users who prefer to work from the web and avoid downloading the client, there is a lot of functionality here.
The main sections at the top of Egnyte Connect's teal-colored ribbon are Files, My Links, My Tasks, Apps, & Integrations
User Interface and Functionality
Egnyte Connect's user interface (UI) fully supports drag-and-drop file upload.
Downloading, sharing, and bookmarking are available either as a button bar operation or as a right-click operation.
A full version history is also available under an icon on the file record.
Everything you'd expect to find in a file management UI is right where you'd expect it to be.
It's highly intuitive and easy for a new user to pick up.
Egnyte Connect's layout will be familiar to users mainly because it looks like a typical desktop file manager.
A menu on the left-hand side shows links to the most recent files, bookmarks, a shared folder, a user folder, and all private folders.
The main section which takes up most of the middle of the screen is where folders or documents are accessed.
If you want to upload files to Egnyte Business, you would do so by opening a folder and dragging the files from your desktop to the folder.
A column on the right-hand-side conveniently lists down document names and screenshots under the Activity in this folder section.
From the folder interface, it is possible to upload, download, share, create a new folder and toggle the different view options to suit your needs.
Egnyte Business has a File Previewer feature that allows users to look at files stored in the cloud.
The variety of files it can preview is decent but nowhere as comprehensive as what OneDrive for Business can handle.
Egnyte Business also sets file size limits for different types of files, which could be a dealbreaker for companies like creative agencies and production houses that need to sling around larger video or multi-layer types of file formats.
Document Sharing and Collaboration
Egnyte Business offers a number of options for using the service outside of the web interface.
Egnyte Drive is the suggested path and provides a mapped drive.
It is worth noting that Egnyte uses its own application programming interface (API) for this and does not rely on Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV), which has traditionally been fraught with security holes and functional issues.
Files copied to and from the mapped drive work exactly as if they were being transferred to a mapped network drive.
What is impressive about the solution is that, unlike other offerings, Egnyte Drive replicates directory permissions.
For businesses that are heavily entrenched in Active Directory (AD), this is a lifesaver since permissions management no longer has to be managed from more than one location.
Beyond this, there is Egnyte Desktop Sync.
It works similarly to other familiar applications such as Dropbox or Box where a designated folder is specified to sync files to and from the service.
In essence, it is another flavor of Egnyte Drive and is really a matter of preference.
Either one will get the job done.
My one complaint is that the mapped drive feature has performance issues on some kinds of configurations.
While Egnyte Business provides instructions for overcoming this on many occasions, keeping this fast was a challenge.
I would expect that this will be addressed in a future release and should not be a reason to avoid the product.
But any large initial uploads should be done using FTP or the Sync option.
Egnyte Business' server-centric model ensures files are always accounted for, unlike some competing business cloud storage solutions that use a peer-to-peer model, which means everyone on the network shares parts of a file.
This means if someone leaves the group or company, components of that file become unavailable.
The server-centric models means files reside on the server even when an employee leaves.
Egnyte Business also integrates well with Microsoft Office products.
Egnyte WebEdit plugs into offline Microsoft Office products and lets you edit files for saving directly back to the service.
It's a handy feature and is, perhaps, even more, seamless than Microsoft's own offering.
It also plugs into Microsoft Office 365 ($20 Per User Per Month at Microsoft365 for Business) in case you are on the run or prefer to use Microsoft's online tools instead.
Egnyte Business is not alone in this focus on Microsoft Office, Google Drive Enterprise is designed to imbue some of the G Suite smoothness when working with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
Of course, if integration with Microsoft Office 365 is a major consideration, few solutions will approach the deep integration that Microsoft OneDrive for Business can offer, not just for Office 365, but also for solutions like Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Teams.
Egnyte Business also has a solid mobile component Android and iOS are all fully supported.
They are just as powerful as the web client.
Files can be edited and managed from the mobile solution as easily as they can be from the web or desktop apps.
A Range of Deployment Options and Solutions
Egnyte Business can be deployed in several ways.
In addition to a complete cloud solution, it also offers hybrid and local-only deployments by way of Egnyte Storage Sync.
In this way, Egnyte Business can behave not only as a cloud offering but as a true extension of on-premises storage while maintaining the same great look and feel of the standard product.
In addition, Egnyte Business integrates with Active Directory (AD) via Egnyte Active Directory Connector and seamlessly syncs permissions and policies to your data.
There is also a significant number of add-ons and integrations with third-party products such as Salesforce (Visit Site at Salesforce.com) , Slack, and SmartSheet.
In addition, the public API used to develop these integrations is available for businesses to use, with a few minor hoops through which to jump.
In-house developers should feel right at home connecting Egnyte Business to any custom enterprise solutions.
Egnyte Business has a loyal user base of over 15,000 businesses with over one million users on the platform.
Egnyte started a user community in 2018 and this is designed to help customers solve problems collaboratively via discussion forums, product idea submission, and help desk functionality.
The platform also offers a gamification layer that is designed to help foster collaboration amongst the worlds Egnyte users.
For new SMB's looking into Egnyte, this active user community adds another layer of support and offers various solutions on how to deploy the product.
Security
Egnyte Business does not skimp on security.
The solution is fully SOC- and ISO 27001-compliant and support for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is available.
Encryption is enforced in transit and at rest with 256-bit AES encryption.
Furthermore, the company has implemented an Egnyte Key Management service that lets businesses manage their own encryption keys.
While the software still technically has access to the data (so the application can still operate as normal), Egnyte employees no longer have access to the keys without permission.
As part of the Enterprise service offering, Active Directory SSO is supported.
While it would have been nice to see this in the Business and Office levels of service, it is understandable why this decision was made.
Two-factor authentication is also available for an extra level of security.
This helps to greatly limit the potential for an attacker to gain access to your data.
Several options are available for secondary authentication including SMS, Phone Call, and Duo Push.
Geared for Small Business Needs
Egnyte Business is a great service and deserves a spot next to Box and Dropbox in terms of feature set.
It's got competition from Microsoft OneDrive as well as Google Drive Enterprise, which might make more sense to certain users seeking more universal file compatibility and integrations or more flexible pricing buckets to suit their needs.
Unlike these solutions, Egnyte Business does fewer things but does them excellently with a clear focus on secure and seamless cloud storage and a robust sharing model.
This reputation of reliability and general stress-free functionality make Egnyte Business a solid choice for our Editors' Choice in business cloud storage.
Pros
Versatile cloud and hybrid on-premises cloud storage solution options.
Designed for the needs and requirements of business users.
Great desktop and mobile app integration.
The Bottom Line
Egnyte Business is a mature and comprehensive secure cloud storage and sharing platform.
The centralized file storage functionality and rock-solid reliability earn this solution our Editors' Choice designation.
Editors' Choice pick Egnyte Business is one of the most esteemed business cloud storage solutions designed for business users, mostly because of its scalable platform that can grow with the needs of a business.
Its centralized file-storage model is the gold standard for secure and loss-free cloud storage solution.
Egnyte Business begins at $8 per employee per month for 5-25 employees in its Office tier, which includes 5 terabytes of online storage, 10 gigabytes max file size, and standard support.
Egnyte Business was created to cater to a businesses' storage needs; it's not a consumer or freemium product with business inclinations but a mature and comprehensive cloud storage and sharing solution.
Able to cover the needs of startups, small to midsize businesses (SMBs), and even large enterprises, Egnyte Business is equally adept at managing files securely in the cloud and on an office's local servers.
File locking functionality ensure that documents and files can be locked to one individual at a time, which cuts down on reworking or duplication.
It is a different approach from more collaborative file sharing features, but one that might suit a businesses' need for focus and clarity in terms of version control and document ownership.
Egnyte Business can also solve storage needs in various ways.
Some companies use the service primarily as a secure file server, while others rely on it as a hub for various integrations and extensions.
With its Enterprise-grade File Synchronization and Sharing (EFSS) foundation features, it earns our Editors' Choice designation in our business cloud storage roundup, a distinction it shares with Microsoft OneDrive for Business ($5.00 Per User Per Month at Microsoft365 for Business) .
Pricing and Options
Egnyte comes in three basic tiers that cater to different business sizes.
Starting at $8 per employee per month (for between 5-25 employees) in the Office tier which includes 5 terabytes of online storage, 10 gigabytes max file size, and standard support.
This includes Microsoft Outlook integration, enterprise-class security, the ability to add custom branding, FTP and mobile access, plus desktop sync.
The Office tier of Egnyte solely offers cloud deployment with no on-premises component.
The Business tier, which is the offering that I tested, costs $20 per employee per month for 25-100 employees comes with 10 terabytes (TB) of storage, 10 GB of max files size, advanced security, and standard support.
This tier offers cloud or hybrid deployment for businesses that require on-premises storage which can be synchronized with a public cloud solution.An Enterprise option is also available for organizations with over 100 employees, but this requires consultation and customization to a larger company's needs.
Egnyte also offers a Team Plan, which costs $10 per employee per month and is designed for a team of 1-3 users.
It comes with one terabyte of online storage, 10 GB maximum file size, and standard support.
The Team Plan covers online storage, desktop sync, mobile, and FTP access, Microsoft Outlook integration and enterprise-class security.
Egnyte Connect offers a 15-day free trial for most of its plans through an easy setup page.
In terms of pricing, Egnyte Business is similar to Google Drive Enterprise, which also starts at $8 per user per month (plus $1 per 25GB of storage used), this solution has no employee limits and now offers a friendlier pricing scheme where subscribers only pay for the accounts and storage they use.
Signing up with Egnyte Business is straightforward and simple.
A free 15-day trial is available for Egnyte Business on the company's website.
All you need are basic user credentials and an email address to get started with the trial.
Once signed in, you can operate from the Egnyte Connect page that is modeled after Windows Explorer.
For users who prefer to work from the web and avoid downloading the client, there is a lot of functionality here.
The main sections at the top of Egnyte Connect's teal-colored ribbon are Files, My Links, My Tasks, Apps, & Integrations
User Interface and Functionality
Egnyte Connect's user interface (UI) fully supports drag-and-drop file upload.
Downloading, sharing, and bookmarking are available either as a button bar operation or as a right-click operation.
A full version history is also available under an icon on the file record.
Everything you'd expect to find in a file management UI is right where you'd expect it to be.
It's highly intuitive and easy for a new user to pick up.
Egnyte Connect's layout will be familiar to users mainly because it looks like a typical desktop file manager.
A menu on the left-hand side shows links to the most recent files, bookmarks, a shared folder, a user folder, and all private folders.
The main section which takes up most of the middle of the screen is where folders or documents are accessed.
If you want to upload files to Egnyte Business, you would do so by opening a folder and dragging the files from your desktop to the folder.
A column on the right-hand-side conveniently lists down document names and screenshots under the Activity in this folder section.
From the folder interface, it is possible to upload, download, share, create a new folder and toggle the different view options to suit your needs.
Egnyte Business has a File Previewer feature that allows users to look at files stored in the cloud.
The variety of files it can preview is decent but nowhere as comprehensive as what OneDrive for Business can handle.
Egnyte Business also sets file size limits for different types of files, which could be a dealbreaker for companies like creative agencies and production houses that need to sling around larger video or multi-layer types of file formats.
Document Sharing and Collaboration
Egnyte Business offers a number of options for using the service outside of the web interface.
Egnyte Drive is the suggested path and provides a mapped drive.
It is worth noting that Egnyte uses its own application programming interface (API) for this and does not rely on Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV), which has traditionally been fraught with security holes and functional issues.
Files copied to and from the mapped drive work exactly as if they were being transferred to a mapped network drive.
What is impressive about the solution is that, unlike other offerings, Egnyte Drive replicates directory permissions.
For businesses that are heavily entrenched in Active Directory (AD), this is a lifesaver since permissions management no longer has to be managed from more than one location.
Beyond this, there is Egnyte Desktop Sync.
It works similarly to other familiar applications such as Dropbox or Box where a designated folder is specified to sync files to and from the service.
In essence, it is another flavor of Egnyte Drive and is really a matter of preference.
Either one will get the job done.
My one complaint is that the mapped drive feature has performance issues on some kinds of configurations.
While Egnyte Business provides instructions for overcoming this on many occasions, keeping this fast was a challenge.
I would expect that this will be addressed in a future release and should not be a reason to avoid the product.
But any large initial uploads should be done using FTP or the Sync option.
Egnyte Business' server-centric model ensures files are always accounted for, unlike some competing business cloud storage solutions that use a peer-to-peer model, which means everyone on the network shares parts of a file.
This means if someone leaves the group or company, components of that file become unavailable.
The server-centric models means files reside on the server even when an employee leaves.
Egnyte Business also integrates well with Microsoft Office products.
Egnyte WebEdit plugs into offline Microsoft Office products and lets you edit files for saving directly back to the service.
It's a handy feature and is, perhaps, even more, seamless than Microsoft's own offering.
It also plugs into Microsoft Office 365 ($20 Per User Per Month at Microsoft365 for Business) in case you are on the run or prefer to use Microsoft's online tools instead.
Egnyte Business is not alone in this focus on Microsoft Office, Google Drive Enterprise is designed to imbue some of the G Suite smoothness when working with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
Of course, if integration with Microsoft Office 365 is a major consideration, few solutions will approach the deep integration that Microsoft OneDrive for Business can offer, not just for Office 365, but also for solutions like Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Teams.
Egnyte Business also has a solid mobile component Android and iOS are all fully supported.
They are just as powerful as the web client.
Files can be edited and managed from the mobile solution as easily as they can be from the web or desktop apps.
A Range of Deployment Options and Solutions
Egnyte Business can be deployed in several ways.
In addition to a complete cloud solution, it also offers hybrid and local-only deployments by way of Egnyte Storage Sync.
In this way, Egnyte Business can behave not only as a cloud offering but as a true extension of on-premises storage while maintaining the same great look and feel of the standard product.
In addition, Egnyte Business integrates with Active Directory (AD) via Egnyte Active Directory Connector and seamlessly syncs permissions and policies to your data.
There is also a significant number of add-ons and integrations with third-party products such as Salesforce (Visit Site at Salesforce.com) , Slack, and SmartSheet.
In addition, the public API used to develop these integrations is available for businesses to use, with a few minor hoops through which to jump.
In-house developers should feel right at home connecting Egnyte Business to any custom enterprise solutions.
Egnyte Business has a loyal user base of over 15,000 businesses with over one million users on the platform.
Egnyte started a user community in 2018 and this is designed to help customers solve problems collaboratively via discussion forums, product idea submission, and help desk functionality.
The platform also offers a gamification layer that is designed to help foster collaboration amongst the worlds Egnyte users.
For new SMB's looking into Egnyte, this active user community adds another layer of support and offers various solutions on how to deploy the product.
Security
Egnyte Business does not skimp on security.
The solution is fully SOC- and ISO 27001-compliant and support for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is available.
Encryption is enforced in transit and at rest with 256-bit AES encryption.
Furthermore, the company has implemented an Egnyte Key Management service that lets businesses manage their own encryption keys.
While the software still technically has access to the data (so the application can still operate as normal), Egnyte employees no longer have access to the keys without permission.
As part of the Enterprise service offering, Active Directory SSO is supported.
While it would have been nice to see this in the Business and Office levels of service, it is understandable why this decision was made.
Two-factor authentication is also available for an extra level of security.
This helps to greatly limit the potential for an attacker to gain access to your data.
Several options are available for secondary authentication including SMS, Phone Call, and Duo Push.
Geared for Small Business Needs
Egnyte Business is a great service and deserves a spot next to Box and Dropbox in terms of feature set.
It's got competition from Microsoft OneDrive as well as Google Drive Enterprise, which might make more sense to certain users seeking more universal file compatibility and integrations or more flexible pricing buckets to suit their needs.
Unlike these solutions, Egnyte Business does fewer things but does them excellently with a clear focus on secure and seamless cloud storage and a robust sharing model.
This reputation of reliability and general stress-free functionality make Egnyte Business a solid choice for our Editors' Choice in business cloud storage.
Pros
Versatile cloud and hybrid on-premises cloud storage solution options.
Designed for the needs and requirements of business users.
Great desktop and mobile app integration.
The Bottom Line
Egnyte Business is a mature and comprehensive secure cloud storage and sharing platform.
The centralized file storage functionality and rock-solid reliability earn this solution our Editors' Choice designation.
