The cloud is an excellent place for companies to improve the distribution and collaboration of documents and drawings. Though some resistance to fully integrated, cloud-based storage still remains, a system controlled by secure document management software can reduce the risks, enabling businesses to share and track files with confidence and ease.

1. The cloud is an excellent place for companies to improve the distribution and collaboration of
documents and drawings. Though some resistance to fully integrated, cloud-based storage still
remains, a system controlled by secure document management software can reduce the risks,
enabling businesses to share and track files with confidence and ease.
Using the Cloud for Document/Drawing
Distribution to Third Parties:
Using Commercial Document Management Software

2. 1 Provided by eQuorum |
The Cloud as a Storage Device
In a recent study of how companies are using the Cloud (both
public and private) the top two reasons given were storage
related: for centralized data management and disaster
recovery. Cost savings and productivity enhancement came
in third and fourth. *
The use of cloud storage has exploded in this decade and it is
estimated there is an exabyte (a million, million, million
bytes) of data currently in cloud storage.** The growth curve
looks like a hockey stick with over 30 percent growth last year
alone.
The study identified 37 percent of companies are using some
form of public cloud services for storage (think Rackspace,
Amazon Web Services, Windows Azure), and 35 percent of
companies are employing private clouds (corporate operated
data centers) providing web access through WANs/LANs.*
Though most large web service providers offer storage in their
arsenal, the growth of Box, Dropbox, and OneDrive (formerly
SkyDrive) as primarily storage providers facilitating
distribution and collaboration suggests companies are looking
for more than just a place to store files.
The Trend in Cloud File Storage
Senior executives like the scalability, flexibility, and ability to
manage data growth using the cloud providers. In a recent
survey, 45 percent of polled executives plan to access files
through a public cloud in the coming year.*
At the same time, executives worry about security in cloud
file storage and the latency of access using WANs or internet
Using corporate managed, cloud-based sites with
document management software provides companies
with easier distribution of, and collaboration with,
important documents and drawings.A recent comparison stated
that more video is uploaded
to YouTube in one month
than the three major U.S.
networks created in 60 years.
DropBox is currently adding a
billion files per day to its
storage.
Certainly, individuals have
embraced video and audio
files, and the need to store
and access them. Similarly,
corporations have had to
store massive numbers of
email files and website
objects and code.
To accommodate storage of
all these digital files
companies have moved from
Optical Disks, to Storage Area
Networks (SANs), to Network-
Attached-Storage (NAS), to
File- and Object –Based
Storage (FOBS). The
availability of faster and
cheaper storage for
information has also
promoted the growth in
digital files.

3. 2 Provided by eQuorum |
connections (though it appears the latter concern is
decreasing dramatically).
More than half the companies surveyed say they transfer
sensitive or confidential information to a cloud site.** So,
issues with both secure transfer and hacker access still linger
in the minds of many key executives.
File Sharing and Security
56 percent of surveyed executives trust the security and
confidentiality of cloud providers suggesting almost half still
have issues. Similar to the concerns when Salesforce.com was
introduced, managers worry their important files are going to
end up in the hands of their competitors.
In today’s world, the proliferation of information distribution
and document sharing, as well as free file sharing services, is
leading to a greater risk of security breaches.
Companies can proactively manage this security risk internally or rely on the cloud providers to help
minimize the risk. Either way, opening up access through public facing cloud servers requires active focus
by the providers of the infrastructure to ensure information and file integrity.
While companies clearly see the benefits of cloud-based storage outweighing the risks, the risks still
exist and companies must be vigilant to ensure the appropriate solutions are put in place given the
potential downside.
Using Cloud Sites for
Distribution
The use of a cloud site, whether managed by
the company or managed by a cloud provider,
has many possibilities, including:
 Worldwide access to key documents and
drawings, including by mobile devices
 Easy distribution and version control to
third parties
 Security against unauthorized or unsecure
transfer of files
 Online collaboration with internal and
external users, including real-time
markup
 Cost reduction through centralization of
data management
 Easy recovery in case of an in-house
disaster.
These are some of the various uses and
benefits from cloud-based distribution.
Though cloud file
storage is thought of
as a great disaster
recovery option, its
primary benefits are
the ease of secure
information
distribution and the
enabling of
collaboration amongst
organizations

4. 3 Provided by eQuorum |
There are basically three methods used for
enabling this cloud functionality, not
including several hybrid variations:
 Corporate management of web-based
servers residing in the corporation’s DMZ
(i.e., outside the corporate network but
still behind the corporate firewall)
 Corporate management of web-based
servers residing in a managed hosting
provider’s infrastructure (e.g., use of
Rackspace)
 Purchase of web-based storage and
access services from existing box
providers.
Corporate management of web-based servers
residing in the corporation’s DMZ: Many
organizations are still hesitant to allow
document and drawing files outside their
network, but understand the need to provide
access without having to establish Virtual
Private Networks (VPNs). The safest and
most manageable arrangement is to set up a
web server in a DMZ to maintain and
distribute files (documents and drawings) to
external entities or employees not currently
on the company network. This is often
referred to as a private cloud.
The DMZ is simply a subnetwork open to the
public internet which still sits behind a
protective firewall and in front of the
corporate network’s firewall. Servers
maintain web services, application software
and files that are available to anyone with
access to these servers.
Though this is a good way to distribute
documents and drawings to third parties,
without document management software it’s
not a good way to collaborate and ensure
users have the most current versions of
documents.
Corporate management of web-based servers
residing in a managed hosting provider’s
infrastructure: This arrangement is very
similar to the previous situation, though with
public facing cloud-based servers being
managed by a hosting provider (either using
their servers or corporate owned servers).
Typically, access through the Internet to these
providers is more secure as they have
hardened their infrastructure to guard against
intrusion (it is essentially the basic service
they are providing).
If document management software is not
used, then the transfer of files to the cloud-
based server is typically through FTP
software, a VPN, or trusted delivery
networks.

5. 4 Provided by eQuorum |
Free Box Site: a Case Study
A company decided to use a free cloud-
based box provider to store and
distribute files. At first there were no
issues and it was free. After six months:
 There were over 5 terabytes of data
on the provider
 There were 3 times as many user
accounts as there were employees
 There were multiple folders with the
same name
 Synched desktop files were
disorganized as not everyone
synched back to the cloud
 There were multiple versions of the
same file with the same name, but
with different sizes or different dates
 Links to files provided to vendors and
customers no longer worked as files
had been deleted, moved, or
renamed.
Because the public server is managed outside
the corporate network it is often easier for
third parties to get to and often safer. The
burden of some of the infrastructure
management is taken off the corporate IT
department, while they still maintain and
manage the application and data servers.
Getting files to these servers, however, can be
more difficult due to the need for special
transfer software, client software, or
duplication of existing files. Many
organizations have found this approach as a
good way to ensure duplicate copies of files
are available for disaster recovery as well as
copies for vendors and customers (e.g.,
catalogs, brochures, specifications).
Purchase of web-based storage and access
services from existing box providers: There
are many consumer grade cloud-based box
providers in the market. Because they tend
to be free, many individuals have taken
advantage of these sites to store their
personal files, including pictures, videos,
emails, etc. From this familiarity, and their
free or low cost, some organizations have
elected to use these services for storage and
distribution of corporate files.
These sites provide not only the storage
devices but also a web portal to access the
stored files. (Several also provide a client
application to allow the uploading and
synching of files.) Files are maintained by the
provider and users have limited control over
how files reside on the site, in terms of
hardware and sometimes in terms of
organization.
Because these sites are ubiquitous and
inexpensive, companies are starting to use
them to distribute files to their employees, as
well as vendors and customers. Their
strength comes in ease of use and low cost.
As consumer grade sites, however, much of
the typical document management security
and version control is not provided.
Need for Document Management
Software
Certainly not all documents and drawings are
confidential and need to be totally secure.
Many individuals have few files that need to
be managed or even shared. For years,
Windows Explorer has been the default
document management solution for many
companies, though most individuals don’t
think of Explorer as a document management
application.

6. 5 Provided by eQuorum |
But more and more employees are being
encouraged to share and collaborate using
digital documents and drawings. The number
and types of files have also exploded. So
simply putting files on a cloud-based site is no
longer sufficient, especially when these files
are for users outside the corporate walls.
Many mobile based applications, including
email, are not secure, and with more and more
users using their own mobile devices this is
allowing any downloaded or transmitted files
to be poached, especially if the downloaded
files are cached on the device. (For mobile
applications that allow offline viewing of
documents or emails, the device is storing
[caching] the file, and invariably this file is not
encrypted or locked.)
With the number of files, types of files, need
for greater security and tracking, need for
mobile access, and addition of workflow
control to enhance productivity and reduce
errors, the need to employ a commercial grade
cloud-based document management solution
is required even more.
Within the context of document and drawing
distribution and collaboration, the benefits
this type of software brings to the table are:
 Securing files at multiple levels, often by
user, file type, user group, project, file age,
and more
 Automatic retention of all versions of
documents and drawings and maintenance
of current versions and control over who
can edit/revise/print
 Fast search and retrieval of files using file
pre-indexing and numerous search
methods
 Access to files without needing special
software clients, VPNs, or network user
accounts for third parties, from anywhere
in the world
 Prevention of unsecure, size restricted files
from being sent as email attachments
 Synchronization of files sent/received
to/from third parties with internal
(network) files.
 Audit tracking/reporting of file viewing,
movements, printing, and revisions.
Additional functionality to package and track
transmittals to contractors and/or submittals
from vendors/contractors is often also
included.
What Is The Best Way to
Distribute Your Files?
The primary concern we have with distributing
documents and drawings is there is no
guarantee where they end up. Distribution
internally provides us with the greatest sense
of security since we know who is downloading
files.
Getting documents to vendors, contractors
and customers, however, is less predictable.
Since most files are not confidential, we feel
okay sending them as unsecure email
attachments. But we still don’t know where
the files are being forwarded.
The most desirable
mechanism for sharing
documents and drawings
with third parties is to never
send the files to them!

7. 6 Provided by eQuorum |
From a collaboration point of view, making
sure everyone is working from the most
current version and looking at all revisions
made by third parties is hard to facilitate using
Word’s track changes features or updated file
names.
The most desirable mechanism for sharing
documents and drawings with third parties is
to never send the files to them!
Files that are secure within the corporate
network or behind a cloud provider’s network
don’t have to ever leave the network if the
accessor can link to the file and then review,
print, check-out/check-in, and revise the file
within the corporate network, using document
management software. This method is not
only the most secure but often the most
productive as changes/updates can be made
by the vendors and customers without having
to download/upload local files, which can
often take substantial time.
There are times, however, when the users do
need local access (downloads of files) to make
revisions/updates/changes. (Certainly CAD
drawings that require proprietary software to
make changes as well as ERP and finance
documents are good examples.) Being able to
both track where these files go as well as
control and manage revisions is then a
requirement. Earmarking files is a lite form of
digital rights management that allows the
tracking of files, regardless of where they are
accessed and by whom.
Another convenient approach is to establish a
presence outside the network, either in a DMZ
or through a cloud provider that synchronizes
files back into the network, without needing
any manual intervention. This is a good way of
providing third parties with access to only the
files that are pertinent and then seeing their
updates immediately. This configuration,
often categorized as a hybrid arrangement,
allows third parties to be managed outside the
network, increasing security and allowing for
automated processing of updates.
One lesson many companies are learning in
today’s environment is consumer grade cloud-
based box providers are not suitable for
commercial applications. Certainly the price is
right, but the non-quantifiable costs include:
 The huge cost of working from non-current
versions of files
 Time lost in trying to find files and ensure
they are the most current
 Loss of files due to people moving them or
making mistakes
 A substantial decrease in the security for
significant files.
The relative small costs of using cloud-based
sites with document management software for
distribution and collaboration should make the
decision fairly easy, once the organization gets
past the security bugaboo. (For further
information about moving to the cloud, see To
The Cloud Or Not To The Cloud white paper,
by eQuorum, for a more general review on
moving files to the Cloud.)
One lesson many
companies are learning in
today’s environment is
consumer grade cloud-
based box providers are
not suitable for
commercial applications.

8. 7 Provided by eQuorum |
Summary
The move to cloud-based computing and
storage is coming and is unlikely to be
stopped. The inherent advantages and
benefits for cloud-based document and
drawing distribution and collaboration make
the move a logical one for corporations.
Notwithstanding the resistance presented by
some IT departments, companies have and
will use the cloud for disaster recovery,
distribution, and collaboration.
Some companies are using free box providers
while others are maintaining control through
a private cloud or a corporate managed
hosting relationship.
To best enable file sharing while ensuring the
highest level of security, firms need to
implement a commercial cloud-based
document management software solution.
The benefits, though often non-quantifiable,
are large, including version control, decreased
search and find times, fewer missing files,
and, most importantly, a substantial increase
in the control and management of file
security.
By not letting files actually get downloaded
and by managing files on corporate assets,
companies can feel better about where files
go once vendors, contractors, and customers
gain access to them. At the same time, the
ability to easily find, revise, and submit
changes to critical documents and drawings
speeds up the review-revision processes and
ensures all parties are using the most current
versions.
eQuorum is an engineering content management software provider offering
cloud, on-premise, and hybrid solutions for companies with a large number of
files, files types, or locations. Its solutions have been utilized over the last 15
years by some of the country’s best known manufacturing, engineering services,
and utility companies, as well as major universities and government agencies.
* CRN: 6 Revealing Cloud Storage Statistics, Feb. 14, 2013
** SiliconAngle: 20 Cloud Computing Statistics Every CIO Should Know, Jan. 27, 2014