Secure remote file access challenges

While the majority of full-time employees access files remotely (89%), nearly three-quarters (73%) still do so via email, and less than a quarter (22%) are aware of a company-approved file-sharing system in their workplace, according to Soonr.

Nearly three out of four full-time employees (74%) report that it’s important to their work to be able to share files easily with coworkers, partners and customers. Yet, two out of three full-time employees (67%) still struggle with ensuring files across teams and organizations are up-to-date, a large jump from 26% in 2013. Other top concerns impacting employees include:

• Accessing files anytime (48%)
• Sharing large files (47%)
• Organizing files (44%)
• Working on documents while mobile (41%)
• Securing corporate data (33%).

In an always-on era where work is conducted from the road via smartphone, or at an off-site meeting on a tablet, protecting sensitive internal and client or customer information is paramount to business success. Yet the fraction of full-time employees who feel challenged by securing corporate data is up to 33%, compared to 9% in 2013.

“With a full 59% of respondents feeling it is “important,’ or “very important,’ to be able to download or edit work files from a mobile device outside the office, addressing these concerns is paramount,” said Ahmet Tuncay, CEO of Soonr. “Solution providers can no longer rely on simple sync-and-share capabilities—employees need easy access to complete documents along with full editing capabilities under a range of conditions, even offline, in order to do their jobs efficiently.”

The study findings indicate varying demand for remote file access, along with industry-specific challenges with mobile workers. Across nine major industries surveyed, 85% of full-time employees have a business need to access files remotely.

Construction:

• Only 65% of full-time employees in this industry report working in the main office
• More than half (55%) view anytime access to files and documents as important

Biotech/Healthcare:

• 72% of employees have issues keeping everyone’s files up to date
• Half (50 %) experience issues sharing large files with team members.

Sales:

• Despite the importance to their job role, 62% of sales professionals find it difficult to collaborate with others outside of their company
• Nearly two out of five (38%) say being able to navigate the sales contract process quickly and edit paperwork remotely would make their job easier
• Only 10% are aware of their company using a specified file-sharing service.

IT:

• 45% of IT professionals see security for corporate data as a challenge
• 58% have had trouble downloading large files
• 52% strongly agree they’re concerned with the privacy and security of their files.

CEOs:

• Corporate executive officers are most likely to prioritize file-sharing; 91% report using some kind of service
• Repercussions: 40% have missed an important deadline due to being unable to access files remotely from a smartphone or tablet device; 30% report the same due to being unable to edit files remotely
• 59% of IT pros strongly agree they’re concerned with maintaining the privacy and security of their files.