Do Files Matter to Your Business?
Let me start by asking you this very important question.
Do files matter to your business?
Now, you might be wondering why am I asking this very non-sensical question because of course files matter to your business right?
But this question, though simple, is in fact pivotal to how your organization thinks about managing files, the impact of files on your mission and ultimately the architectures and investments you choose in managing files better. I invite you to contemplate this question with me over the next few minutes.
To best articulate my views on this topic, entertain me while I ask another non-sensical question:
Are you breathing at this moment?
I am sure the answer is Yes!
Are you thinking about the fact that you are breathing?
I am sure the answer is No!
(We rarely think about the act of breathing unless we are suffering from a bad cold or an ailment. I don’t think you would dispute for one second the importance of breathing while acknowledging simultaneously that you rarely think about this simple and powerful act.)
I think we can agree that breathing is foundational to our existence, yet it is subtle and subconscious in how it is enacted with profound implications to our energy and productivity.
And with this dramatic and absolutely logical segway, let me casually extend these ideas to the role of files within your company.
Takeaway #1: Files are an exponentially exploding asset in our corporate lives.
First, every company is awash with files. With all the applications and media at our disposal, we are producing more files than ever before. Gartner estimated that between 2013 and 2020 enterprise data grew ten-fold from 4.4ZB to 44ZB (1ZB = 1 Billion TB). 80% of all enterprise data is unstructured – i.e. files.
Takeaway #2: Files are high value and impact every person in the organization.
Second, Everyone in the company works on files, Everyone! They produce it, consume it, send it around. Alongside corporate email, file sharing represents the most ubiquitous vehicle through which the enterprise creates and moves information. It encapsulates everything from the mundane to the strategies that an organization creates.
Takeaway #1 + #2
Put the two notions together and you realize that files are like the breath of the organization. Everyone is impacted by it and we need more of it to conduct our organizational lives. Just imagine losing file access for a couple of hours. I am sure a server (or service) going down or a ransomware attack has put you in this situation before (touch wood). It’s like you were placed in a chokehold.
Let us be honest though – files are not cool. No one wakes up and exults about working on files. But then again, you don’t wake up and exult about taking your first deep breath either. However, waking up with a bad cold ruins your day. The parallels to file infrastructure are amazing – as long as it works in the background, subtly, subconsciously, the organization will run smoothly. If not, the organization will pay for it.
This places a great burden on you, the owner of file infrastructure at your company. You have a supremely important yet thankless job. When (un-cool) file infrastructure runs smoothly, you shall hear from no one! If not…(feel free to fill in the blank).
The goal of Technology, aka our Enterprise File Sharing Solution
The goal of technology is to transform our companies to do great things. That said, evaluating, and rolling out technology is an involved process. For one, change is hard and requires investment and leadership support. As the owner of file infrastructure, you are the central actor in that endeavor. Your organization may be tasking itself to run a marathon or bench-press more than it ever has. It is your job to prepare the organization by getting its breathing rhythm to a better place.
And how better can you do that than investing in a collaborative file sharing platform where you and your employees/ colleagues can seamlessly share and work together in-real-time on the same file online anywhere and everywhere, while being assured your files are safe and secure!