Think Outside The (Drop)Box

Government Business Process Reform Series

Think Outside The (Drop)Box: Why You Need To Stop Using Google Drive, Box.net, and DropBox in Government Business

 

Do you use File Sync and Share offerings like Google Drive, DropBox, Box.net, iCloud, and SkyDrive/OneDrive (the Public Cloud) for government business applications, like sharing documents and files with colleagues or with yourself, sharing across locations and devices? It's guaranteed that either you or your colleagues are using them because they're simple, familiar, and convenient, even if your Agency has a policy against it.

 

What are the dangers you're exposing your Agency to by using these services? What are the alternatives you have to using the Public Cloud for government business? Is it possible to bring the ease of sharing files with yourself and others into a secure Private Cloud environment on to your own network behind your firewall, and protect your Agency's private documents?

 

Join Business Process & Government insiders Feith Systems on Thursday March 6 at 2pm ET for a look at the answers to these questions and more during this special session on Enterprise File Sync & Share for Government Business.

 

Here's a preview of some critical cloud issues we'll dig deeper into during this webinar:

 

1. Trusting The Public Cloud.

 

You or others in your Agency are already using applications like Google Drive and Dropbox to share business documents because those services are easy to use. But your colleagues may be jeopardizing security, especially from within government offices. You should limit users from taking files of any classification to the Public Cloud before important information is compromised.

 

2. Ignoring Your Snowden or Manning While He's Right Under Your Nose.

 

Identifying a criminal after they've gotten away isn't helpful. Stopping them in the act is. When a file sync and share can detect suspicious activity as it happens by monitoring who's accessing what files or how many documents are they viewing, and report it to you in real time, you stop the offender before classified or damaging documents walk out the door.

 

3. Disregarding Proper Records Management.

 

Documents in the Public Cloud are not managed through your Records Management application, are not categorized, administered, or disposed of automatically, and are not conformant to DoD 5015.2 standards. Only when you sync documents with databases that are managed through an RMA, can you start proper records management procedure.

 

4. Running on Non-Standard Databases.

 

Oracle Database? SQL Server? Your Agency's technology and staff grow around a specific database. Therefore it's critical to use, create, and maintain business applications like an enterprise file sync and share that run on that existing database.

 

5. Forgetting That Your Users Are Already The Users.

 

Every new application added to your Agency's user management platform should tie authentication to the central system, such as Active Directory. It's unwise to implement a rogue program like a Public Cloud file sync and share that ignores the security and consistency of that process.

 

6. Losing Your Stuff.

 

As large numbers of your Agency's documents are added to the cloud, the only way to easily find the one you're looking for is through the document's content. Only an enterprise file sync and share that accesses a universal full-text searchable repository (including OCR'd image content), and uses a familiar interface with which to search it, can do that.

Relevant Government Agencies

Air Force, Army, Navy & Marine Corps, Intelligence Agencies, DOD & Military, Office of the President (includes OMB), Dept of Agriculture, Dept of Commerce, Dept of Education, Dept of Energy, Dept of Health & Human Services, Dept of Homeland Security, Dept of Housing & Urban Development, Dept of the Interior, Dept of Justice, Dept of Labor, Dept of State, Dept of Transportation, Dept of Treasury, Dept of Veterans Affairs, EPA, GSA, USPS, SSA, NASA, Other Federal Agencies, Legislative Agencies (GAO, GPO, LOC, etc.), Judicial Branch Agencies, State Government, County Government, City Government, Municipal Government, CIA, FEMA, Office of Personnel Management, Coast Guard, National Institutes of Health, FAA, Census Bureau, USAID, National Guard Association, EEOC