Back in December, we wrote a blog post covering FileCloud vs. Hyland OnBase, where you can see the differences between FileCloud and Hyland. We went over options like features, integration, and branding options.

Today, we’ll look at the differences between FileCloud and Amazon WorkDocs.

Integrations with Your Favorite Tools and Apps

At FileCloud, seamless content collaboration is always one of the goals we’re striving toward. Sometimes that means no-code, drag-and-drop workflows that allow teams to meet and exceed goals, and sometimes that means integrations with your favorite apps.

Being able to use your favorite tools and apps all within FileCloud’s hyper-secure system isn’t just a nice perk; we consider it a necessity, since the time switching between tools and apps can cost the time equivalent of up to five weeks of work in a year!

When you use FileCloud, you can still use your favorite apps like Office 365, Teams, and Google Docs. FileCloud doesn’t stop there: we’re always adding new integrations like:

• AirWatch
• Azure Blob
• Gmail/Outlook
• OnlyOffice
• Salesforce
• Onelogin

And that’s only a few of the integrations we have available!

Meanwhile, Amazon has very few integrations such as Office Online and Active Directory. The lack of these tools and apps really adds up in the end and can cost each employee hours of lost time each week.

FileCloud’s Comprehensive Compliance Center

Compliance is another vital aspect of solid Content Collaboration Platforms (or CCPs). At FileCloud, we’re always watching regulations as they pass and try to find ways to support your compliance needs.

That’s why we have an entire Compliance Center with separate tabs for HIPAA, GDPR, and ITAR. The Compliance Center helps connect these complicated and ever-changing regulations with the security tools and retention policies that FileCloud provides, making compliance easier than ever.

In the Compliance Center dashboard, admins and compliance officers will be able to review best practices, recommendations, and areas where compliance is lacking or needed. Event logs can also be saved for review or audit purposes.

Amazon WorkDocs has limited compliance options, and companies must have a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with them for HIPAA eligibility.

Built-In Security

Hyper-security has been a core focus of FileCloud from the very beginning. That includes 256-bit AES encryption and SSL/TLS protocols to secure data in transit and at rest. We also have in-built security such as:

Smart DLP

FileCloud’s flexible, rule-driven Smart DLP prevents data leaks before they occur by controlling user actions, evaluating rule expressions and variables to “allow” or “deny” selected actions, while also logging any violations in the case of auditing.

Anti-Virus Scanning

FileCloud automatically scans uploaded files for viruses. FileCloud’s heuristic file content scanning engine also detects and blocks ransomware and malware. In addition, FileCloud can be integrated with any anti-virus system that supports ICAP.

Amazon WorkDocs doesn’t have these built-in security tools built in, though they can be added. Effectively, this means you’ll have to purchase additional tools to get the security you need.

The Retention Policies Enterprises Need

Retention policies, especially in enterprises with hundreds or thousands of employees, are vital to ensure records are maintained or destroyed to comply with internal policies or external regulations. These retention policies automatically move, delete, or prevent deletion of files according to preset rules.

FileCloud has five different types of retention policies:

• Admin Hold: Outranks all other policies and prevents any update or delete of digital content for an indefinite period of time.
• Legal Hold: Freezes digital content to aid discovery or legal challenges. During a legal hold, file modifications are not allowed.
• Retention: Identifies digital content to be kept around for an unlimited amount of time before being deleted or released.
• Archival: Moves and stores old organizational content for long term. No deletion is allowed until a specified time period is reached. After this time, content is moved to a specific folder.
• Trash Retention: Can be configured for automatic and permanent deletion of all files in the Trash bins or to expire with no action.

In case of conflicting policies, FileCloud always enforces the policy that best protects and stores the data.

Amazon only has one retention policy available, a trash bin policy where files can be set to not be deleted for up to a year. This of course isn’t helpful in the case of many of the largest compliance requirements (like HIPAA) where files must be kept up to 6 years or risk fines, lawsuits, and even jail time.

Conclusion

Amazon WorkDocs might work for one small team who want to collaboration on a few documents, but it’s lacking the tools that enterprises need such as integrations, a compliance center, built-in security tools, and multiple retention policies.

You don’t have to just take our word for it. One Sr. Director of Technology Operations who also looked at Amazon, had this to say about FileCloud,

… Everything from the implementation of a demo through the sales process and the long term support is top notch. The product works exactly the way you would expect, and has well thought out features that competitor products simply don’t provide. There’s nothing in the market that stands out like FileCloud in terms of price, usability, support and features. If you’re looking for a file sharing solution for small companies up to enterprise organizations, don’t miss this gem.

If you’re interested in trying out FileCloud for yourself, try our free, 14-day trial and see for yourself how much easier it’ll make your content collaboration.

~Written by Megan Barnard, Digital Content Specialist