Egnyte Review — Online Backup Comparison (2012)

Egnyte is a cloud storage solution for small, medium and large business enterprises by providing online file storage, backup and sharing. It satisfies the critical infrastructure needs of business with less cost and complexity. It is easy to use and the files can be accessed from PC, Mac and smart mobile devices like iPhone and Android-based smartphones etc.

Egnyte uses a hybrid solution with which you can access, edit and store files locally in your office or online on the internet cloud.  The advantage of this solution is that no actual server is needed and remote users can access files without VPN (virtual private network) connection. Egnyte’s plans start from $9.99 onwards per month (when taken annually). Now they offer a free trial for 15 days without requiring a credit card.

Key Points:

• Egnyte provides secure access to all your files at any time from any device.
• It provides 256-bit AES encryption over SSL. The locations where servers are hosted are Type II and SAS 70 compliant.
• Customer support is provided round the clock throughout the week via email. Phone services are available Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm PST.
• Egnyte focuses on small and medium businesses and offers centralized administration and control.
• At present they are offering 1TB online storage.
• Being an FTP solution, Egnyte solutions are centrally managed.
• As an online hard drive it offers cost effective and secure solutions.
• Egnyte protects your vital data in multiple copies to meet hardware failures or any such problems.
• File locking facility is available to prevent different users from making changes at a time. Egnyte provides automatic file versioning as they change. Moreover when a file is changed, automatic notification will be sent to each user who has access to that file.
• Automatic synchronization is available for sales teams.
• Egnyte’s hybrid technology facilitates fast access and editing capabilities to files.

Egnyte vs. Alternatives

Egnyte can be compared to Dropbox.com and Box.net. Both Dropbox.com and Box.net offer their basic plans for free for single user.

Dropbox.com provides 2GB space whereas Box.net provides 5GB as storage (if you want additional storage you can buy). Egnyte’s basic plan Pro starts from $14.99 (it comes for $9.99 when taken annually) for single user that provides 20GB storage space. Egnyte has unlimited storage space (1TB) when compared to their competitors.  

Dropbox.com and Box.net are ideal for personal and small teams whereas Egnyte is the best solution for small and medium businesses and enterprises.  Egnyte allows for unlimited uploaded file size for office and company plans whereas Dropbox.com and Box.net have limitations on maximum file size. Egnyte offers one FTP site for all your partners and private branding where the customers can configure their brands and customize the look by uploading their logo. Box.net offers the business version on a free trial of 14 days whereas Egnyte offers 15 days free trail without asking your credit card information.

Pricing:

Egnyte offers various plans like Pro, Group, Office, Company and Corporate for different uses. The features can be described below:

The price of Egnyte when compared to its competitors Dropbox.com and Box.net is as follows:

 * If annually taken the price will be cheaper i.e. $9.99/mo, $24.99/mo, $44.99/mo, $99.99/mo and $142.50/mo respectively.

**The first number represents power users who can access to all the key features and the second number represents standard users who can access to the specific shared folders only.

Box.net has another business plan namely Enterprise that offers unlimited users with unlimited storage space but the price is not mentioned on the website. Any enterprise that needs that plan can contact them on the given number for price. Egnyte also offers another business plan called Corporate. The features and price can be checked in the above table.

Egnyte is the on-demand solution for SMBs and majority of customers feel the same. The price and the services provided by them reveal this matter. However it is not suited for personal use since they charge from them. Their competitors offer free plans for personal use. The users of Egnyte feel it has many excellent features which other cloud servers do not have. But the users feel it needs improvement. According to the review of pcmag.com “local cloud on NAS software does not work with all NAS vendors”.

Different users have different opinion on Egnyte.

Shane says “Simple, reliable, secure access to all my files on Egnyte. Perfect! One request: encryption for local cloud or option to disable since it stores on SD”.

Drifter says “I love egnyte but this app needs improvement. It needs access to the ftp files. Crashes a lot, but it's been a useful business tool”.

Read the opinions of some more here.