London, UK: Varonis Systems, Inc. has announced general availability (GA) for DatAnywhere 1.8, once again raising the functionality and security bar in the rapidly growing cloud-style file sharing and collaboration market.
The new release includes additional security features, such as the ability for administrators to remotely wipe data from DatAnywhere clients and specify which devices are allowed to connect via DatAnywhere. This provides increased control over, and strengthens the security around, the data stored on remote devices. Varonis DatAnywhere 1.8 also includes a variety of enhancements enabling employees to more efficiently access and share data, including address book integration and the ability to provide access to full file share hierarchies to third parties. In addition to the launch of DatAnywhere 1.8, Varonis also announced that DatAnywhere can now be downloaded immediately for up to five users within an organisation at no cost.
DatAnywhere, introduced in 2012, instantly turns an organisation’s file shares into a secure private cloud, providing employees, business partners and clients with secure mobile access and file synchronisation to files stored on the organisation’s internal file shares. By utilising existing file shares, DatAnywhere transforms terabytes of file share data into a private cloud file system without moving it or modifying it in any way, and typically deploys in about an hour. Data always resides on the organisation’s servers, existing access controls are enforced, and management and security capabilities inherent in the existing infrastructure remain in effect.
Terri McClure, Senior Analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, said, “We are seeing more and more IT departments turning to alternatives to traditional cloud storage, citing security risks and a desire to leverage existing infrastructure investments as the main reasons. DatAnywhere provides a secure private cloud that meets both of these requirements as well as the burgeoning employee demands for ease-of-use, mobile access and third-party collaboration.”
During an informal survey taken at EMC World in May, Varonis found that more than 60% of respondents reported having at least 30 terabytes of human-generated data. Less than half reported that users are able access this data using mobile devices and with file synchronisation, and 43% said it would take “months or years” to move their data to a new platform for collaboration while keeping access controls intact.
“As data continues on its current growth trajectory, IT departments are finding it more and more difficult to ensure that their data is stored in the right places and secured properly, while also providing employees with access to the data they need from anywhere on any device,” said David Gibson, Varonis VP. “Varonis DatAnywhere was built to instantly transform terabytes of file share data into a private cloud, without moving it, sacrificing security, jeopardising compliance, or limiting the volume of data that can be shared. Employees immediately get the productivity boosts that come from file synchronisation, mobile device access and easy sharing with business partners, and IT doesn’t need to change anything in the underlying infrastructure.”