4 Ways to Sync Files for Remote Offices with Poor Connectivity

File Sync Solutions of 2024

Many times remote offices have poor connectivity making it a nightmare to sync between locations. According to the report from Research and Markets, the Enterprise File Synchronization and Sharing (EFSS) market size is expected to reach $25.16 billion by 2027, with a remarkable Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26.4%. In the existing scenario, your business might be grappling with two common approaches: relying on a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access files from a central location or opting to store all your data in the cloud, thus enabling employees to access files directly from the cloud servers.

VPN

With VPN, all files and critical hardware are in one location which allows the users to access files from one common file structure. However, file access can be slow due to the speed of the local network. Files have to come through the LAN at HQ and then to the user’s location. Users also become part of the HQ network rather than the local office network which impedes the functionality of other network resources such as printers. The worst part is that it’s extremely painful to keep logging into and out of VPN just to grab a file. Related post: How to Avoid the Pain of Syncing Files Over VPN.

NAS Drives with Sync Software

NAS drives with sync software such as SugarSync and Rsync could be used, but you would then be replicating data across each office. Also, the requirement to maintain critical hardware at each location becomes a concern. For example, what happens if one of the drives at a remote location fails? How easy is it to get it up and running again? NAS Drives at each location, however, do provide fast access to files since they are located on your LAN and usually provide a mapped letter drive giving users easy access to the files.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is perfect for keeping things in sync across locations unless these locations have poor connectivity as working from the cloud can be a challenge due to speed and latency issues. Providers such as Box, Dropbox and OneDrive do allow a cache on each user’s computer, but this causes other problems such as not having enough room on your laptop to sync the entire file store.

Hybrid Cloud NAS

With Morro Data’s CloudNAS, you can have the best of both cloud storage and NAS drives. The CacheDrive acts like a local NAS to provide fast read/write access to desktop machines via a network drive at all offices. However, it’s actually just acting as a front to Cloud Storage. You no longer need to worry about poor connectivity as the CacheDrive takes care of getting the files to the cloud, optimizing for speed, and can handle a connection dropping, re-starting right where it left off without missing a beat.

Morro Data allows you to bring your own cloud storage provider including Amazon S3, Azure Blob, Backblaze B2, or Wasabi making setup easy with multiple offices. Management of the CacheDrives is also quite simple since it can be maintained from one central location using the web-based Morro Control Manager. Cache & Sync is an affordable way to get your offices acting as if they are on the same LAN.

In Closing

In the landscape of remote office connectivity challenges, Morro Data’s CloudNAS emerges as a game-changer. It combines the advantages of local NAS drives and cloud storage, providing optimized file access, seamless synchronization, and reliable connectivity. Embrace the remote office collaboration with Morro Data’s innovative solution.