Secure file sharing for business: choosing the best solution for your team

In a digital world rife with internet cookies and data breaches, security is everything. Your team’s file sharing solution should empower you to share and collaborate on important documents with ease and peace of mind.

With 94% of organizations reporting security incidents involving email, it’s time to look beyond your company’s email platform for business document sharing. You need a cloud-based service that offers secure file sharing for businesses, complete with collaboration features and integration capabilities.

You have plenty of options, so let’s narrow it down. Here’s how to choose the best document sharing software for your business, including some of our top picks.

Choosing the right solution that meets your team’s needs

Your team is unique, and so are its file sharing needs. Will you be exchanging files with large enterprise organizations, or small businesses? What about external partners or clients? Will you be using a cloud service to share files?

Let’s talk about some of the most critical factors to consider when selecting a file sharing platform.

Key capabilities to pinpoint

Every file sharing service offers a different set of features, some of which your team will find more useful than others.

Below we explore some common features of file sharing solutions. Which of these would help you reach your goals at work? Which ones could you do without?

• Collaboration options: Will your teammates need to leave comments on shared files or solicit and review feedback from recipients? If so, you’ll need a platform with collaboration features such as commenting, suggesting changes and accepting feedback.
• Security: If your company manages sensitive data, your file sharing software should have end-to-end encryption, two-factor authentication and access management options.
• Ease of use: Do you expect to share files with recipients who aren’t particularly tech-savvy? If the answer is yes, your file sharing service should be simple and user-friendly.
• Integration capabilities: If your remote or hybrid team already has a business messaging platform they know and love, your file sharing software should be compatible with that platform. Slack integrates with popular file sharing providers like Google Drive and Dropbox.

Secure file sharing with external clients

When you’re sending files externally, security is a top priority. Many file sharing services offer password protection, shared-file expiration dates and encrypted online servers to enhance security. With access management, you can assign different levels of access to different users, which lets you control who can view and edit your shared documents.

Cloud-based file sharing for business

Cloud storage empowers you to securely access and edit your documents whenever you need to, from wherever you are—without worrying about losing your work.

Any cloud service you choose should play nicely with the tools your team already uses. If your company uses Microsoft 365 products, for example, you might opt for Microsoft SharePoint to store, share and collaborate on documents. SharePoint natively integrates with Microsoft 365, and the OneDrive and SharePoint Slack app makes file sharing even simpler.

Enterprise and corporate file sharing

If you’re part of a large-scale enterprise or corporate business, you’ll need high-volume file storage and customizable user access to ensure that the right people have access to the right documents.

Depending on your field, you may need to account for industry-specific regulations when choosing a file sharing program. For example, healthcare companies in the U.S. must comply with HIPAA regulations.

Box is a smart document sharing choice for companies in regulation-heavy industries. It integrates with DICOM files for medical images and offers data encryption, audit trails and HIPAA compliance certifications. Plus, Box is Slack-compatible.

Small-business file sharing

Small and midsize businesses must be nimble and flexible since they often work with smaller teams and more modest budgets.

You’ll probably want your document sharing program to have on-the-go capabilities like mobile app support. Your small business should prioritize collaboration features and look for services offering free or low-cost file management. For example, Google Drive offers 15 gigabytes of free storage.

Top secure business file sharing solutions

Let’s dive deeper into four of the best document sharing services out there:

Google Drive

Drive offers comprehensive security, storage and collaboration features. It uses industry-standard encryption to protect data whether you’re storing or sending it. Drive is a particularly efficient choice if your team already uses Google’s suite of cloud-based file management features, as it integrates smoothly with Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms.

Google Drive also integrates with Slack, so you can send and collaborate on files directly on the Slack platform.

Box

Box is a good fit for organizations prioritizing security and collaboration in their file sharing software. Like Drive, Box offers end-to-end encryption, data loss prevention and security regulation compliance. Plus, granular access controls let you set permissions for both individuals and groups.

Dropbox

Dropbox supports multiple file formats and offers share links and team folders. Users can also work on Dropbox projects offline, making this file sharing service travel-friendly for digital nomads and other frequent flyers.

Dropbox’s Slack integration allows for seamless sharing and collaboration right in Slack.

OneDrive and SharePoint

OneDrive and SharePoint are Microsoft’s bespoke file storage and sharing solutions. If you’re already using Microsoft 365 products, you’ll feel right at home with these apps’ interfaces and layouts. OneDrive and SharePoint integrate with productivity platforms like Slack so you can share your files in messages, channels, canvases and huddles.

How Slack enhances business file sharing

You’re already using Slack to chat with teammates, huddle with your manager, build workflows and collaborate asynchronously. Why not bring file sharing to the party too?

When you link Slack with your chosen document sharing program, you’ll get:

• Better collaboration: Share files in Slack to bring context and convenience to your workplace conversations. Thread focused discussions about shared files, and pin messages containing important documents.
• Supported integrations: You can share photos, videos, documents and other files from your device directly in Slack. Slack even provides previews of linked documents so you can get some insight without clicking out of the message or channel.
• Ease of use: Slack enables drag-and-drop uploads to make adding files a quick and simple task.

Wrap it up and send it

Make the most of your file sharing service by integrating it into your company’s intelligent productivity platform. Slack integrates with most major document sharing software to make collaborating and communication easier and more efficient for your team.