Intermedia's SecuriSync branches out with backup and recovery ...
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R E P O RT R E P R I N T
Intermedia’s SecuriSync branches out with backup and recovery functionality M E L I SSA I NCE RA, NI CK PATIENCE 18 MAR 2016 The company is one of the few EFSS vendors to capitalize on the characteristically murky connection between file sync and backup services, resulting in some attention from outside its standard SMB target market. Will this propel Intermedia into a new tier of enterprise buyers?
TH I S REP O RT, LI CENSED EXC LU SI V ELY TO INT ERMEDIA, DEVELOPED AND AS PROVIDED BY 451 RES E A RCH, LLC , SHALL BE OWNED I N I TS ENT IRET Y BY 451 RESEARCH, L LC. T HIS REPORT IS SOL ELY I N T E N D E D FO R U SE BY THE R EC I P I ENT AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED OR REPOST ED, IN W HOL E OR I N PA RT, BY THE R ECI P I ENT, WI THO U T EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM 451 RESEARCH.
©2016 451 Research, LLC | W W W . 4 5 1 R E S E A R C H . C O M
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Intermedia has announced the addition of backup and recovery features to its file-sync and -share (FSS) offering, SecuriSync. For its existing client base, this will mean additional functionality and security features at no additional cost, beyond the challenge to predetermined storage capacities. For Intermedia, this has already propelled it into a new tier of corporate buyers – large security-centric enterprises with the means and the need to monitor endpoint file distribution.
T H E 4 5 1 TA K E As an SMB-focused cloud provider, Intermedia is well positioned to facilitate a secure and supported business implementation of enterprise FSS (EFSS). The additional backup and recovery features ensure a level of file resilience that can be essential in certain industry verticals, namely healthcare, legal and financial. In a rapidly commoditizing market, SecuriSync has differentiated itself as one of the few to capitalize on the typically murky connection between file sync and backup services. All in all, Intermedia has developed a competitive FSS offering, viable as a stand-alone product or as a singular feature within its Office in the Cloud portfolio.
CONTEXT Intermedia is a service provider that offers a suite of hosted business applications, Office in the Cloud. Historically, the offering has seen the most adoption with the SMB community, but recent tool enhancements have garnered interest from larger enterprise buyers. SecuriSync, Intermedia’s FSS tool, has been a large contributor to that shift. In this report, we will focus primarily on the most recent SecuriSync updates, but due to tight integration with Office in the Cloud, revenue and adoption rates are often tied to the Intermedia platform as a whole. Intermedia supports roughly 70,000 paid accounts, the large majority of which are SMBs, and has enjoyed a few years of sustained growth, particularly in the healthcare, legal and financial industries. Importantly, Intermedia is engaged as a Microsoft gold partner and reseller of Office 365 applications (including hosted Exchange), which are supported as features within the Office in the Cloud portfolio. Intermedia has developed a robust partner program that permits the gray-label resale of its technology and service support. It estimates a total of 6,000 active partners, between MSPs and VARs. Enterprise proliferation of file sync and share has been largely pioneered by consumer habits in the workplace. Consequently, many offerings have prioritized simplicity of use and the consumer-friendly UI. But Intermedia takes issue with the disconnection between the technology’s origins and its suitability as an IT-endorsed business application. Unlike many of the original FSS vendors, Intermedia has never catered to a consumer audience, and approaches the technology with an eye to the gaps it can create in enterprise security efforts. As the FSS market matures, so does industry acceptance that it will not thrive long as a stand-alone service. Many EFSS vendors have incorporated collaboration and communication features in an effort to capitalize on increasingly interactive work processes. As a singular tool within Intermedia’s Office in the Cloud product set since 2013, SecuriSync already includes integration with collaboration and instant messaging tools, voice and email services, conferencing, and email archiving. By providing additional file functionality, Intermedia aims to reduce dependency on multiple applications and simplify the workflow process for users. File sync and share inherently creates weaknesses in company backup efforts due to inconsistent storage strategies and unpredictable distribution of intellectual property. In formalizing its credibility as a backup provider, SecuriSync sanctions another use case for its platform beyond enablement of remote access and internal/external document sharing. Since many users had been unofficially exploiting file syncing as a personal loss-prevention tactic, a supported feature set will allow companies to create a cohesive storage strategy or to entirely reallocate all backup to Intermedia’s cloud.
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PRODUCTS SecuriSync enables internal and external document and file sharing, and synchronization across all device platforms: desktop, tablet and mobile. In the case of a lost device, a remote wipe feature ensures the documents cannot be accessed via a compromised endpoint. As an added security measure, data will be encrypted both at rest and in transit. Intermedia’s HostPilot control panel plays a central role in IT control over share and restore functionalities. Many EFSS platforms lack a hierarchical structure, which entrusts sharing privileges to the individual employee and makes users indistinguishable from one another. SecuriSync works around centralized HostPilot protocols, from which policies can be established by an administrator and amended on a case-by-case basis. The benefits here are twofold. First, supervisors maintain awareness of entry and exit points throughout the network. Second, this creates an additional layer of recovery privileges in the case of unintentional deletions or shares. The new backup and restore features are designed to protect against several data-loss cases, accounting both for user error and threats to the environment. In the case of PC failure, the SecuriSync client can simply be reinstalled on another desktop. As a safety measure for accidental deletions, a restore button is available to both administrators and users, and recycle folders serve as a holding bin for a preset duration of time. No file can be deleted in entirety without administrative approval. If file corruption or virus occurs on a mass level, SecuriSync supports a mass rollback of file and folder states to a past date and time. Since the platform continually backs up files in real time, users can perform point-in-time rollbacks on individual files or the entire archive. As previously mentioned, SecuriSync provides these additional features with no reflection in pricing. The feature will be extended to all existing and future users.
COMPETITION SecuriSync competes for market share with the most dominant EFSS providers: Accellion, AeroFS, Dropbox, Egnyte, ShareFile, Syncplicity, Microsoft OneDrive and WatchDox. But the lines have always been blurred between FSS and cloud storage services. Box, in particular, has explored the natural synergies from the EFSS domain. On the flipside, cloud storage vendors like EMC Mozy, Druva and Acronis have incorporated FSS functionality into their product sets. CTERA offers EFSS as part of its complete file management portfolio. Interestingly, Carbonite has discontinued its FSS application as of March 1. Intermedia, given its breadth of services, has pitted itself against several of the world’s largest cloud application providers. Some of the most similar portfolios include Google Apps for Work, Microsoft Office 365 and IBM Connections.
SWOT A NA LYS I S ST R E N GT H S As a stand-alone product, SecuriSync’s new features distinguish it within a noisy, overpopulated market. As a feature in Intermedia’s Office in the Cloud, increased file activity will help solidify employee dependence on the platform as a whole.
O P P O RT U N I T I E S With the added file volume, Intermedia will likely have the opportunity to upsell existing customers with increased storage capacity.
WEAKNESSES Existing clients may not be prepared to abandon existing backup and recovery systems.
T H R E ATS Intermedia has just opened itself to new cloud storage competitors, many of which are well established and wholly dedicated to the backup and recovery space.
R E P O RT R E P R I N T
Intermedia’s SecuriSync branches out with backup and recovery functionality M E L I SSA I NCE RA, NI CK PATIENCE 18 MAR 2016 The company is one of the few EFSS vendors to capitalize on the characteristically murky connection between file sync and backup services, resulting in some attention from outside its standard SMB target market. Will this propel Intermedia into a new tier of enterprise buyers?
TH I S REP O RT, LI CENSED EXC LU SI V ELY TO INT ERMEDIA, DEVELOPED AND AS PROVIDED BY 451 RES E A RCH, LLC , SHALL BE OWNED I N I TS ENT IRET Y BY 451 RESEARCH, L LC. T HIS REPORT IS SOL ELY I N T E N D E D FO R U SE BY THE R EC I P I ENT AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED OR REPOST ED, IN W HOL E OR I N PA RT, BY THE R ECI P I ENT, WI THO U T EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM 451 RESEARCH.
©2016 451 Research, LLC | W W W . 4 5 1 R E S E A R C H . C O M
451 RESEARCH REPRINT
Intermedia has announced the addition of backup and recovery features to its file-sync and -share (FSS) offering, SecuriSync. For its existing client base, this will mean additional functionality and security features at no additional cost, beyond the challenge to predetermined storage capacities. For Intermedia, this has already propelled it into a new tier of corporate buyers – large security-centric enterprises with the means and the need to monitor endpoint file distribution.
T H E 4 5 1 TA K E As an SMB-focused cloud provider, Intermedia is well positioned to facilitate a secure and supported business implementation of enterprise FSS (EFSS). The additional backup and recovery features ensure a level of file resilience that can be essential in certain industry verticals, namely healthcare, legal and financial. In a rapidly commoditizing market, SecuriSync has differentiated itself as one of the few to capitalize on the typically murky connection between file sync and backup services. All in all, Intermedia has developed a competitive FSS offering, viable as a stand-alone product or as a singular feature within its Office in the Cloud portfolio.
CONTEXT Intermedia is a service provider that offers a suite of hosted business applications, Office in the Cloud. Historically, the offering has seen the most adoption with the SMB community, but recent tool enhancements have garnered interest from larger enterprise buyers. SecuriSync, Intermedia’s FSS tool, has been a large contributor to that shift. In this report, we will focus primarily on the most recent SecuriSync updates, but due to tight integration with Office in the Cloud, revenue and adoption rates are often tied to the Intermedia platform as a whole. Intermedia supports roughly 70,000 paid accounts, the large majority of which are SMBs, and has enjoyed a few years of sustained growth, particularly in the healthcare, legal and financial industries. Importantly, Intermedia is engaged as a Microsoft gold partner and reseller of Office 365 applications (including hosted Exchange), which are supported as features within the Office in the Cloud portfolio. Intermedia has developed a robust partner program that permits the gray-label resale of its technology and service support. It estimates a total of 6,000 active partners, between MSPs and VARs. Enterprise proliferation of file sync and share has been largely pioneered by consumer habits in the workplace. Consequently, many offerings have prioritized simplicity of use and the consumer-friendly UI. But Intermedia takes issue with the disconnection between the technology’s origins and its suitability as an IT-endorsed business application. Unlike many of the original FSS vendors, Intermedia has never catered to a consumer audience, and approaches the technology with an eye to the gaps it can create in enterprise security efforts. As the FSS market matures, so does industry acceptance that it will not thrive long as a stand-alone service. Many EFSS vendors have incorporated collaboration and communication features in an effort to capitalize on increasingly interactive work processes. As a singular tool within Intermedia’s Office in the Cloud product set since 2013, SecuriSync already includes integration with collaboration and instant messaging tools, voice and email services, conferencing, and email archiving. By providing additional file functionality, Intermedia aims to reduce dependency on multiple applications and simplify the workflow process for users. File sync and share inherently creates weaknesses in company backup efforts due to inconsistent storage strategies and unpredictable distribution of intellectual property. In formalizing its credibility as a backup provider, SecuriSync sanctions another use case for its platform beyond enablement of remote access and internal/external document sharing. Since many users had been unofficially exploiting file syncing as a personal loss-prevention tactic, a supported feature set will allow companies to create a cohesive storage strategy or to entirely reallocate all backup to Intermedia’s cloud.
451 RESEARCH REPRINT
PRODUCTS SecuriSync enables internal and external document and file sharing, and synchronization across all device platforms: desktop, tablet and mobile. In the case of a lost device, a remote wipe feature ensures the documents cannot be accessed via a compromised endpoint. As an added security measure, data will be encrypted both at rest and in transit. Intermedia’s HostPilot control panel plays a central role in IT control over share and restore functionalities. Many EFSS platforms lack a hierarchical structure, which entrusts sharing privileges to the individual employee and makes users indistinguishable from one another. SecuriSync works around centralized HostPilot protocols, from which policies can be established by an administrator and amended on a case-by-case basis. The benefits here are twofold. First, supervisors maintain awareness of entry and exit points throughout the network. Second, this creates an additional layer of recovery privileges in the case of unintentional deletions or shares. The new backup and restore features are designed to protect against several data-loss cases, accounting both for user error and threats to the environment. In the case of PC failure, the SecuriSync client can simply be reinstalled on another desktop. As a safety measure for accidental deletions, a restore button is available to both administrators and users, and recycle folders serve as a holding bin for a preset duration of time. No file can be deleted in entirety without administrative approval. If file corruption or virus occurs on a mass level, SecuriSync supports a mass rollback of file and folder states to a past date and time. Since the platform continually backs up files in real time, users can perform point-in-time rollbacks on individual files or the entire archive. As previously mentioned, SecuriSync provides these additional features with no reflection in pricing. The feature will be extended to all existing and future users.
COMPETITION SecuriSync competes for market share with the most dominant EFSS providers: Accellion, AeroFS, Dropbox, Egnyte, ShareFile, Syncplicity, Microsoft OneDrive and WatchDox. But the lines have always been blurred between FSS and cloud storage services. Box, in particular, has explored the natural synergies from the EFSS domain. On the flipside, cloud storage vendors like EMC Mozy, Druva and Acronis have incorporated FSS functionality into their product sets. CTERA offers EFSS as part of its complete file management portfolio. Interestingly, Carbonite has discontinued its FSS application as of March 1. Intermedia, given its breadth of services, has pitted itself against several of the world’s largest cloud application providers. Some of the most similar portfolios include Google Apps for Work, Microsoft Office 365 and IBM Connections.
SWOT A NA LYS I S ST R E N GT H S As a stand-alone product, SecuriSync’s new features distinguish it within a noisy, overpopulated market. As a feature in Intermedia’s Office in the Cloud, increased file activity will help solidify employee dependence on the platform as a whole.
O P P O RT U N I T I E S With the added file volume, Intermedia will likely have the opportunity to upsell existing customers with increased storage capacity.
WEAKNESSES Existing clients may not be prepared to abandon existing backup and recovery systems.
T H R E ATS Intermedia has just opened itself to new cloud storage competitors, many of which are well established and wholly dedicated to the backup and recovery space.
