I get this question all the time, “What does SmartFile do differently, and isn’t everyone doing online storage?” Yes, online storage or file collaboration is a very competitive market. Doing business “in the cloud” will go from $56.30 billion to a projected $150.1 billion by 2013, per a recent Gartner study. So with growth like that, everyone wants their piece of the online pie.
SmartFile has positioned itself to be a business-focused product that allows companies to easily move and share large files. The four main things that make us different are outlined below:
Different File Management Methods
There are several types of FTP companies on the market today.
Companies that allow you to manage your files using FTP and FTP only.
Companies that make you download their proprietary software to manage your files.
Companies that give you the ability to only connect through their online file manager product.
Companies that only allow you to send large files via email.
Companies that only allow you to backup computer files using a PC backup program.
SmartFile was designed to allow you to do all of these functions seamlessly through one application. Our product was designed around the FTP protocol, therefore allowing you to connect using any FTP program. You can also use our web-based FileManager in conjunction with FTP to allow the less tech savvy user to easily manage files. Best of all, there is NO software to download. A very popular feature is our integrated File-2-Email capability, which allows you to send a link to a large file or group of files within SmartFile to as many users as is required. And if you want to backup your PC or multiple PC’s, you can install our SmartBackup for no additional fee.
Unlimited Users
This is the feature that really sets us apart from our competition. We are one of the only providers that allows you to add as many users as necessary to operate your FTP server. We will NEVER make you pay an additional fee to add more Administrators, Managers or Users.
Custom Branding
Most FTP providers fall drastically short in this area. The only branding they allow is your logo, which I guess is better than other providers that don’t allow you to brand anything. We’ve taken the time to truly integrate your brand into our product. We offer a customized URL (files.yourcompany.com), your logo, and your color scheme. Your customers will never know that SmartFile exists.
White Label Reseller Module
We have created a VAR (Value Added Reseller) module that allows you to rebrand our product to your image. This allows you to offer online file sharing and FTP capabilities to your client base. Our Reseller Module allows you to manage customers and integrate with your billing and provisioning systems.
As you can see, we are very different than our competition. By offering the most competitive pricing with the richest feature set, we make choosing an FTP provider…a Smart decision.
We have developed a new online demo to show you what it is we do. This will give you a quick 2 minute overview of how our product connects with FTP, manages users and manages files.
Let’s face it, most people in Information Technology love control. Control over systems, control over data, and most importantly control over YOU. I’m not suggesting these are bad characteristics to possess when you are trying to protect your company’s most crucial asset, such as your data. Let’s face it, I would be a little nervous if the thing that kept me gainfully employed was taken away from me because it was cheaper and easier than having it in-house. This often creates a problem when a person on the business side of the company needs to make a decision based on the limited amount of information he or she is getting from IT.
This article is written to outline the expected costs involved in getting your FTP solution in place, thus giving you the facts when it comes to making an important business decision. There are several ways to go about configuring an FTP server, below is the most common:
1. Hardware ($2500)
Price ranges on processor speed and how much hard drive space you need. Here are the specs of a slimmed down server:
A Dell PowerEdge server
Dual Xeon 1.83Ghz Processors
Windows Server Web Edition
1 Terabyte of storage
Raid 5 (For hard drive redundancy)
4 Gigs of Memory
3 Year ProSupport
2. Software ($500)
There are many FTP server software programs to choose from. They range in price based on product features and how many users can access the account. There are many providers offering this type of product, but I have chosen three popular programs:
Serv-U ($199-$999)
GlobalScape ($696 – $1,995)
FileZilla – (FREE)
3. Bandwidth (Soft Cost)
Hosting an FTP server in-house will certainly eat into your bandwidth when users start uploading and downloading files. This can cause a dangerous ripple effect on other employees trying to perform important functions such as emailing, web browsing, video conferencing and in some cases, phone calls.
4. Setup Time (1 Day)
Configure Windows
Purchase SSL (If security is a concern)
Configure Network
IP addresses
Hostnames
Firewall Provisioning
Configure Backups
Configure FTP software
Create user accounts
Create directories
Create file system permissions
FTP server permissions
5. Support (Ongoing)
Must have tech-savvy person on staff to do the following:
Manage
Backup
Troubleshoot problems
Apply patches to server
Upgrade
Monitor
It’s easy to say that you can spend $5000 in creating an FTP server that people can use, not to mention ongoing costs. Cost aside, it will still not have features like custom branding, a web interface that allows anyone to upload/download a file, and a way for any non-IT person to administer.
Before making the decision to bring FTP in-house, I would highly suggest giving SmartFile a try (for as little as a $108.00 a year). Who knows, you might even make your IT person happy.
Live support is the key to providing the highest level of customer service, therefore we offer free technical support with all SmartFile packages. SmartFile serves customers in over 40 countries to provide them FTP Hosting, File Sharing, and Online File Collaboration. To make sales and technical support available to all of our customers, SmartFile has partnered with Skype to offer free international calling. You can go to our Contact Us page to connect immediately with us using Skype.
About Skype
Skype is software that enables the world’s conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Everyday, people also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles. Click here to download your free copy of Skype.
SmartFile is positioning itself to deliver the most comprehensive reseller control panel available in the industry today. The Reseller Module is a solution that allows any company to rebrand our product and start offering file sharing, FTP Hosting, and online file collaboration to its suite of products.
This module will integrate our signup, support and billing into existing processes and systems. You will even have the ability to sell to other resellers and brand their site to their business. This service will be offered to any service provider at wholesale rates. Stay tuned for new updates and the progress of this effective way to earn more revenue.
Top 5 File Sharing, File Collaboration, File Sharing
There a lot of companies on the Internet vying for your online storage needs. Although pricing should always be a consideration, don’t be lured by cheap packages aimed at getting you in the door. Make sure the FTP host you choose offers a feature rich application, but not one that you need a computer science degree to operate. Below are the top 5 things to look for when you choose your provider:
Offer an Easy to Use System
The last thing you want to become is a technical support agent for your clients, therefore ease of use is key. No matter what provider you choose, there are only 3 parts to any file sharing service. The ability to manage files, manage who accesses those files and some providers offer some type of reporting. In any case you need to be able to quickly add users and set permissions to files, without having to look at a manual or make a call to technical support.
Offer Multiple Ways to Connect to Your Data
You should not have to download any proprietary software or be told that FTP is no good. Be sure to that your provider offers a way to upload and downloads through ANY web browser on ANY operating system. Also, your provider should be able to support any FTP client, such as Filezilla, CuteFTP, or Fetch. Some providers add other bells and whistles such as sending a files through email, API’s, or some type of computer backup agent.
Offer Technical Assistant
There are several facets to support. The most important is a live person that is knowledgeable and are able to handle your question or problem without being on hold for hours on end, or worst, being transferred. Your provider should also have an online knowledge base that can answer your questions. If your like me, online video tutorials are a huge plus. Finally, if you feel more comfortable sending an email, your provider should offer a trouble ticketing system that allows you to keep track of the problem. However, trouble tickets are only as good as the time it takes for a person to respond to them. I believe 1 – 2 hours response time is a reasonable expectation.
Offer Unlimited Users & Connections
Providers like to offer you a package that starts at $4.95 a month, but only give you the ability to add three users to your account. If your like me, I have more than 3 people I want to collaborate and share files with. I recommend choosing a provider that offers unlimited users, with unlimited simultaneous connections to the system. This way you don’t have to juggle users access rights or continuously have to upgrade your package to meet your needs.
Offer Custom Branding
Custom branding allows you to use your own domain (uploads.yourcompany.com), your logo and color scheme. This allows the provider to be anonymous and for you to promote your company image and product offerings. Sometimes there is a small fee associated with this, but I would to look for providers that offer this for free of charge.
If you are looking for a file sharing, FTP hosting provider I would encourage you to take a look at SmartFile. They offer a free trial and packages that start at just $9.95 a month.
Living in the world of here and now, nobody wants to wait for anything, much less an important file you need to print or prepare for an important presentation. SmartFile has developed a notification module that allows you to be notified when I user uploads, downloads, or deletes a file within their directory. This is especially nice when you have users that do not interact with the SmartFile system on a regular basis. These triggers can be setup in a matter of seconds and there is no limit on the number of notifications you can receive. You can also configure it to notify you if any activity happens with any user within a specific directory.
Notifications has proved to be a great feature that a lot of our customers are finding invaluable.
Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does “branding” mean? How does it affect a business like yours?
Your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors’. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.
The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging and promotional materials–all of which should integrate your logo–communicate your brand.
You might ask, “How does this pertain to FTP hosting?”. SmartFile knows how important it is to protect your brand, so we have included the ability brand your FTP site with any Smarter package or higher. Our FTP branding allows you to use your logo, your color scheme, and your own domain name (uploads.yourcompany.com). We also have included your logo and contact information with every email notification the SmartFile system generates.
After your site is branded, SmartFile becomes completely transparent. This allo3s you is and to protect the thing that makes your company unique, your image.
Every business is trying to save money, but no industry knows that better than the construction industry. They have felt it the most during this rough economic time. As a result they are looking for new ways to not only save money, but become more efficient.
To receive bids from their sub-contractors most of them mail printed plans or burn CD/DVDs. Both of these methods can be very costly. One SmartFile customer estimates the that her time, the CD and the postage can cost between $5 and $7 a CD. With as many as 300 subs on one job so it becomes expensive. Also, because subs are mobile they have a tendency to misplace the disc, which not only cost more money, but it also slows the process down.
With SmartFile she can now upload all of her large PDF and CAD files to a project directory. With the File-2-Email feature she can email her subs a link for them to download the all of the files quickly. This has proven to be a very efficient process and has saved them countless hours on burning disc.
We use a lot of open source software at SmartFile. Therefore, when we have the chance, we like to give back to the community.
We recently implemented more detailed graphing and monitoring using Cacti and Nagios. If you are unfamiliar with these open source software packages, I would urge you to check them out as they are incredibly useful.
Today, we are happy to provide the a plugin for Cacti to monitor proftpd, the FTP server we use at SmartFile. The plugin allows Cacti to graph the number of users connected to the FTP server as well as the number of active uploads/downloads.
To see our posting in the Cacti forums which provides this plugin as well as instructions, please see the link below.
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