As Presi
dent of SmartFile, my role is to build and execute file collaboration strategies that help organizations easily manage digital assets. We focus on
FTP, file sharing, file collaboration and
online backup and extend these same services to resellers.
I have over 10 years of Internet software experience and have had the opportunity to work with companies of all sizes. My goal is to provide my viewers helpful insight on how to manage files in the cloud more effectively.
To learn more about how SmartFile can help your business,
view our online demo or follow us on Twitter @thesmartfile.
If you are in the computer or information technology (IT) field then you are probably already aware that cloud storage is on the rise. Then if so, why aren't you taking advantage of this new business opportunity? SmartFile has developed some great packages for these types of companies that allow you to start offering FTP and file sharing solutions.
These packages include:
PL - BoutiqueThis package was designed to allow the reseller to manually add sites and manage their
customers packages. This works great for a organizations that have a “hands on approach”
when interacting with their clients.
PL – E-CommerceOur e-commerce edition is completely automated. Your customers can signup for the service
directly from your web site and then upgrade to any of your predefined packages using any
major credit card. Note: Our credit card module can connect to any credit card processor
using
Authorize.net.
PL – ExtendedThis system uses many of the same great features described in the packages above, but we
allow you to integrate it into your own billing, authentication and help desk. You can also use your own web interface and or web application to interact with the SmartFile platform.
Learn more about our Private Label Packages or
fill out this short form to have one of our account representatives contact you.
I admit that I have sent several emails that if they would have gotten into the wrong hands could have caused me or someone else a lot of trouble. We have all heard that sending email was insecure, but why? I am going to address some of the insecurity problems in this post and several subsequent blog post.
The first important fact to know is that email in its native format is sent in plain text. Plain text or clear text is exactly that, plain and clear. Anyone can view it or read it using simple text readers. There is no decryption software needed or passwords that protect it. For most computer users plain text email comes as no surprise. But what may come as a surprise is that your plain text email messages resides on thousands of ISP's outgoing mail servers or SMTP servers around the country and even around the world.
Think about it this way. If you mail a letter from your house to a utility company it doesn't go directly from my mailbox to theirs. No, it goes from my mailbox to the mailman, to my post office, to a plane to another post office and to another mailman. There could be 10 different people that handle my mail before it actually arrives at its location. That is if it ever arrives at it's location.
Email is no different. Even if you are emailing a person that is directly across the street from your physical location your email passes through several mail servers before it arrives in their inbox.
I ran a simple Trace Route from my mail server to mail.yahoo.com and it passed through 13 different mail servers before it was delivered. That means 13 companies that I do not know have access to a plain text message that might have my account, credit card or social security number in it.
We will talk about some simple ways to mitigate these risk in a later post. More to come.
I had the pleasure of presenting at an
ATA chapter event in Columbus Ohio today. In case your wondering what the
ATA stands for it's the
American Teleservices Association. It is interesting to learn about all of the regulations call centers are under. I heard from elected officials and even someone from the FTC.
You also might be wondering why SmartFile would want to be involved with an organization like the ATA. Well the answer is simply compliancy and regulation. The businesses involved in this group work for businesses that constantly have to move private data to multiple people outside their network.
So what a great opportunity to show off our product that can move or upload files data securely in transit (over the wire) through 128bit encryption and on our server with 256bit encryption.
I chose the topic of the
insecure email, which I will be talking about in another post.
Also, I want to thank Scott for being so generous to fly us over in his plane. I only took the yoke for all of 2 minutes.
With so many FTP programs to choose from, which one makes the most sense for you and your business? When I Googled “
FTP Software” I found over 400 companies that specialize in this business. I have used a handful of these myself on a PC, Mac and even Linux. What I have noticed is for most users they are all the same. Yes they make look a little different,but let's face it, there is nothing that complicated about moving big and small files from one computer to another. There are some more sophisticated features such as different encryption methods, queuing, and language support. For me
FileZilla is a great program and best of all it's
free. It is an open source project that has been around for several years now and works on all platforms including Linux. It is the one we promote the most and it has been able to move all of my files just as easily and as fast as any other programs out there. If you are looking for some other alternatives I found a review site that gives some feature comparisons.
http://ftp-software-review.toptenreviews.com/Did I mention
SmartFile supports all of these programs?
Why is it that so many service providers require you to sign a contract to receive services from them? Everything from getting my lawn cut to connecting Internet access someone wants me to commit to an annual or multiyear contract. I understand if there is a huge outlay of capitol or labor expense the provider has to endure to get things started, but cutting my grass?
Contracts make me nervous for any product. If your service is one that provides me value I will continue to use it; however, if it does not then why should I have to stay and pay? SmartFile does not require any contracts if you decide to signup. We feel we should have to earn your business every month and provide you the highest level of service and support in the industry. We are so confident in our product, that we have taken out all of the hoops to cancel by adding a cancel button right in our application. Hows that for fast file transfer service?
Our engineers and designers are hard at work developing the new interface that makes using SmartFile even easier. The challenge has been not only to create an attractive UI (User Interface), but also designing it in a to allow companies to brand the application to their company. Branding and
fast FTP has always been our key focus and will continue to be with SmartFile 2.0
HighlightsDirect Access to Your Files When an administrator, manager or user logs in they will be placed in their file directory. No more logging in and being directed to your home screen and then having to click “Manage Files”.
Manage File's Easier We have also made managing files much more efficient by only displaying the options available with the file type you have selected. Example: If you select a Microsoft Word document you will only be able to Edit, Download, or Delete the file.
Flexible User ManagementOur much improved user management allows you to edit the user without leaving the user management screen.
So get rid of your FTP home server and take a look at some of the great new features our fast FTP product has to offer.
We are releasing these new screens on a weekly basis, so please stay tuned to see many more exciting updates about our new product design.
The
Innovation Summit is an annual event that brings toget
her some of Indiana's best talent. This one day show will provide helpful insight from top industry leaders, and it will also serve as a great platform for companies to showcase their products.
We are excited to be a part of this years event by being an
exhibiting sponsor. Stop by our booth to checkout our slick new user interface, which will be debuted as the show. We have also added some great new features that make fast file transfer and managing large files easy.
If you are a software, telecom, or IT services company see how our private label product can be integrated with our improved
API backup product.
See you at the show!
In the past software companies have always been closed minded when it comes to collaborating with other software companies. Don't get me wrong, I understand the value in intellectual property, and as a business we have to maintain trade secrets in order to differentiate ourselves from the competition. Unfortunately the “It's mine!” mentality has not only handicapped software providers from reaching their full potential, but it has also limited our choices as consumers.
Thank goodness for the free thinkers of the open source movement that proved that sharing ideas and software could not only make money, but could provide the consumer with more options. Oh yeah, did I mention better software? This same movement has also transpired to the software as a service
(SaaS) providers in the form of an API.
An application programming interface
(API) is an interface implemented by a provider of software which enables it to interact with other software providers. Basically it allows access to a black box that can then be integrated into other applications.
SmartFile will never be in the email marketing business, and email marketing companies will never be in the file sharing business. But wouldn't be nice if we could share code to allow the email marketing company to share files within their application and allow us to send emails through ours? That is the power of collaboration. Allowing each company to focus on their core competency, and presenting a better value proposition to the customer.
SmartFile just released our API and we are committed to allowing consumers and business's alike to integrate what we do well into what you do well.
Cick Here to check it out!
File & User Search
You now have the ability to search files and users within your SmartFile account. Our robust search feature also searches the contents of your file stored in our system.
API Access
Integrate your system with ours. Our feature rich API allows you to manage, sites, users, and packages through easy-to-use API calls.
Enhanced Notifications
We have added the ability to select hourly, or daily digests to file notifications. Learn who and when a user has uploaded, downloaded or deleted a file(s).
File Import
Need to get a file on a remote site or server? Simply put in the file path and download it directly into your SmartFile account.
Pagination
Pagination is a just a fancy word for site paging. Rather than have a long list of files or users we have added paging to our interface.
Notify New User Setting
Due to popular demand, we've added the ability to disable the email that is sent to newly created users.
What was originally developed to allow companies to private label our
online storage website has taken on a new purpose. We are now allowing clients to use our “Manage Sites” feature, which allows a business to manage multiple brands under one account. You might ask, “Who would need such a feature?”. You might be surprised on how many companies need it without even knowing it they need it.
Business Use Case You are in charge of an IT department that manages several news papers and magazine publications. Each one of these subsidiaries have their own web site, logo and image to communicate. Each magazine also has their own needs as it pertains to managers and users. Our “Manage Sites” will allow the IT department to create a site for each user and then define how much space that site has access to. They then can brand that site to the company it represents. When the user of magazine A logs into upload and download large files it will reflect magazine A's brand.
This a simple feature to add, but can add great value to an already overwhelmed IT department that does not want to fuss with their own FTP server.
To learn more about this feature or how to upload big file contact our
sales department or
sign up for a free trial.
I have been working in the web hosting business for over 12 years and this was the first time I attended a show that centered around it. What made it even better was that fact that SmartFile was one of the exhibitors. What I found to be even more intriguing, was that I met so many people from so many places. The Internet has no boundaries, but neither did HostingCon.
We received a lot of great feedback about our new White Label Reseller Module that allows hosting companies, and telecom companies the opportunity to resell FTP, File Sharing and backup services. Everyone is trying to add new services to their product offering and SmartFile is a lone knight in an otherwise crowded secure file sharing space.
Even though we were extremely busy, I managed to grab a few photos of the event.
We look forward to speaking to all of the new propects we met.
Although we spend a lot of time moving files across the Internet, recently we made a different kind of move. This time we moved our office to Broad Ripple, a trendy suburb on the north side of Indianapolis. It’s just too bad it wasn’t as fast and painless as moving files. What’s ironic is the idea that things always work in cycles, that they repeat themselves given enough time. Broad Ripple happens to be the same area where the relationships and ultimately the foundation for SmartFile were created 10 years ago.
A lot of things have changed for us in the last 10 years but one thing has remained true, and that’s our passion for doing what we do and loving our work. Moving back to Broad Ripple not only makes us grateful, but it also gives us a moment of reflection to see just how far we’ve come and what we’ve accomplished. Thank you to all of our family, friends, and clients for your support. We’re looking forward to the next 10 years.
As the fastest growing business networking organization in the Midwest, the members of Rainmakers focus on building solid relationships with other professionals in their area, which results in a core group of individuals working for and selling each other’s services. Rainmakers separates itself from other networking groups because it teaches people how to build long-term strategic relationships by identifying a niche and then building relationships and generating long-term growth within that area. With each member being an expert in their respective field, the outcome is a group of individuals advising, promoting, and supporting each other in the business community.
As a corporate sponsor of Rainmakers, SmartFile encourages the personal and professional development of entrepreneurs and professionals alike. In addition, all members of Rainmakers will receive a 20% discount on a Smart Package, making the service only $7.95/month.
For more information, or if you’re in the Midwest and would like to find a networking event in your area, please visit www.gorainmakers.com
Aside from all the ways SmartFile can help you at the office, it can also help you score some points with the family. With summer quickly approaching, a lot of us will be hitting the road for our family vacations and the one thing you always take, along with sunscreen, is your camera. And once the trip ends, you’ll usually hear somebody say, “I’ll email you the pictures.”
Well that’s easier said and most of the time not done, at least not before the kids are another year older. But with SmartFile, all you need to do is upload your pictures and videos, then simply (and Smartly) send file links to everyone and let them take care of the rest. They can download the files anytime and you can even keep an eye on who has or hasn’t completed their downloads. It makes reliving the memories as easy as 1,2,3 – that is, if you want to remember.
This last few weeks have been quite amazing. SmartFile is starting to position ourself as a market leader in Private Label file storage and online collaboration. We have created partnerships with software companies, telcos, ISP’s, and document management providers.
This we past weekend we successfully launched our Private Label product to allow companies to not only offer a valuable service, but allow them to market it under their own brand. This allows them to immediately plugin FTP, and online storage directly into their sales channel.
With wholesale pricing we allow the reseller to make a substantial profit without having to worry about servers, development and support.
Please contact one of our reseller specialist to see an online demo. sales@smartfile.com
Without a doubt, the phrase of the day is fat-finger. We all know what it means and a lot of people today found out exactly what it can do (not to be confused with sausage fingers, that’s a whole nother story). With the Dow dropping almost 1000 points today, some are attributing this sudden change to a simple mistake made by a trader. Instead of entering an order to sell a million shares, it was fat-fingered in as an order to sell a billion shares. An order like that is bound to create a domino effect, where automated sell triggers start firing and people start panicking.
We all work with somebody that has “fat-fingers” and there’s nothing worse than losing your work because of a foolish mistake.
That’s why it’s important to make sure you always have a backup system in place. Ideally, you’re making regular backups of your work and saving your files at crucial points. But if you’re one of those that are gambling on never being fat-fingered, you might want to check your drink.
If you know anything about me, you know that I love the great city of Indianapolis. So much that I have often been referred to as a “homie” by my out-of-state friends. It has the offerings of a large city, but has a small town feel.
It looks like Indy is starting to show up on the national technology radar, and why wouldn’t we? We have some of the best schools in the nation, cheap living and a great place to have a family. There was an article just published on Online Media Daily in regards to the city’s technology sector. Even referring to us as “Silcon Prairie”. What the heck, we’ll take it.
With companies like ExactTarget, ChaCha, Aprimo, Made2Manage and a ton of other startups, Indianapolis is starting to look more like a Twitter social, rather than a 4-H gathering. This is not only great for our city, but also startups like SmartFile. By increasing our exposure, we make resources such as technical talent and venture capital more accessible.
So good job Indy! Let’s keep working hard to push the technology envelope.
The answer to that is simple, more recurring revenue. The more services that you integrate into your product offering, the more opportunity you have for additional revenue. Additional services also give your customers more reasons to use you.
Obviously your services need to compliment each other. I think a common mistake most small businesses make is trying to offer everything from fried chicken to live bait. Don’t be lured by the thought of making additional revenue just by offering more services. We have heard it before, more isn’t always better; however, quality always is.
SmartFile has worked with resellers such as, IT service, telecom, and software providers. We are now making a push into the hosting arena. We know this market is underserved from a FTP, and file sharing perspective. We will be offering a truly integrated product that will allow our fellow hosters to provide a great service at ridiculously low prices. Contact our sales staff (sales@smartfile.com) for a live webinar.
Sending a file securely from point A to point B is a concern for all of us and if it isn't it should be. Whether your a bank or even a small business when it comes to sending sensitive information there are always those people praying on others ignorance or just laziness. In the last 12 months over 9 Million people have fallen victim to identity theft and this is just in the US. This doesn't include the companies that have fallen victim to other Internet crimes. 
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