File-Sharing Collaboration Software are an easy way to share files, schedule appointments, post messages, get online training, sync contacts, send group emails, locate colleagues’ contact information, blog instantly via wikis or social networks—all in one simple interface. Some solutions even offer live chat to connect instantly with someone who speaks your language!
Collaboration software for small businesses, also known as file-sharing software, allows you to work with your team on documents and projects. Getting the client review process right is vital to making sure that all stakeholders affected by a business decision such as a project or document share their views and agree on solutions. Without collaboration software you could find yourself getting time consuming e-mails and phone calls from clients and colleagues who keep track of divergent ideas and revisions. With collaboration software you can:
Box
It’s nearly impossible to talk about Box without mentioning Dropbox (and vice versa), as the two are frequently pitted against each other. Box has always been geared toward businesses and enterprises, while Dropbox used to be largely focused on consumers and SMBs. But both services now include enterprise collaboration features and cloud content management via integrations with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365/Office 365, and many others, along with enterprise-grade security and management options.
There is a free plan for individudals that lets you kick the tires — it offers 10GB of storage, a 250MB file upload limit, and the ability to share these files with limited permissions. The file upload size limit is a bit strict if you are trying to share video files, but the 10GB storage limit is still pretty generous. Additionally, all of Box’s business plans offer a 14-day free trial.
Free account storage space: 10GB
Free account max file size: 250MB
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Paid accounts: Personal Pro, 100GB storage, $10/month; Business Starter, 100GB storage, $5/user/month; Business, unlimited storage, $15/user/month; Business Plus, unlimited storage, $25/user/month; Enterprise, unlimited storage, $35/user/month; Enterprise Plus, unlimited storage, custom pricing. (All business plans require at least 3 users. Prices shown are for annual payments.)
Paid account max file size: Personal Pro, 5GB; Business Starter, 2GB; Business, 5GB; Business Plus, 15GB; Enterprise, 50GB, Enterprise Plus, 150GB.
Additional features with business plans: Built-in integrations with Slack (as well as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace), plus 1 additional enterprise app integration; Box Sign (unlimited e-signatures via web app); Box Relay (workflow automation); data loss protection; two-factor authentication; SSO; Active Directory integration; other user management features. Higher-level plans offer additional enterprise app integrations; HIPAA/FedRAMP compliance; document watermarking; AI-powered threat detection; more.
Time to upload 245MB file: 35 seconds
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Dropbox
As previously mentioned, Dropbox and Box are big players in the business market, offering enterprise-level security and management features as well as a healthy ecosystem of integrated third-party apps that make the services more robust. Both have continually evolved and improved to the point that, for most organizations, either one is a great option.
In recent years, Dropbox has been adding features aimed at boosting productivity and collaboration, such as the ability to create Microsoft Office or Google Docs/Sheets/Slides files from within Dropbox and a new shared Spaces interface for team collaboration.
To try before you buy, Dropbox’s free Basic plan for individuals offers 2GB of storage. A 30-day free trial is available for all business plans.
Free account storage space: 2GB
Free account max file size: No limit, but must be smaller than your storage space quota.
Paid accounts: Personal plans include Plus (1 user, 2TB storage, $10 per month) and Family (up to 6 users, 2TB shared storage, $17/month). Work plans include Professional (1 user, 3TB storage, $16.60/month); Standard (3+ users, 5TB storage, $12.50/user/month); Advanced (3+ users, unlimited storage, $20/user/month). For enterprise plans, contact Dropbox Sales. (Prices shown are for annual payments.)
Additional features with business plans: 180 days of file recovery and version history, 180-day history for Dropbox Rewind (recover from accidents/ransomware by reversing changes at folder or account level), remote device wipe, two-factor authentication, document watermarking, shared link controls, file locking, branded sharing, priority email support, and live chat support. Higher-level plans offer HIPAA compliance, an admin console, SSO integration, audit logs, more.
Time to upload 245MB file: 56 seconds
iCloud Drive
Anyone who owns a Mac, iPhone, or iPad likely already has the free 5GB of online storage via iCloud that comes with the creation of an AppleID, and those users can share folders and documents with other iCloud users. Although Apple does offer an iCloud app for Windows, it’s likely that this mainly benefits Apple users who also use a Windows PC; we don’t really see people who are primarily Windows users signing up for an iCloud account to use the service, particularly because iCloud does not have an Android app. Android device users could access iCloud via the web app, but they would likely use Google’s online cloud storage to back up their photos and videos anyway.
As with other online storage services, users can set up iCloud to automatically back up and sync specific folders from their computer to their iCloud account, such as the Documents folder, Desktop folder, or others. Photos and videos from an iPhone or iPad can also be automatically synchronized. Using this feature can quickly eat up the 5GB of free space, so it’s likely that anyone using iCloud for such purposes would upgrade to a paid account. At $3 per month for 200GB, it’s still a relatively good bargain for the Apple faithful.
While iCloud users can use their personal accounts to share files with colleagues (and those files are encrypted in transit and at rest), this is essentially a consumer service.
Free account storage space: 5GB
Free account max file size: 5GB in theory, as long as it doesn’t exceed storage limits.
Paid accounts: 50GB, $1 per month; 200GB, $3/month; 2TB, $10/month. Apple allows these plans to be shared with family members (up to five other members). Those who subscribe to Apple services such as Apple Music or Apple TV+ may also be able to save money through Apple One bundling.
Paid account max file size 50GB, as long as it doesn’t exceed storage limits.
Additional features with paid plans: Upgrading your storage amount doesn’t give you additional features, unlike with other online storage services.
Time to upload 245MB file: 1 minute, 56 seconds
Collaboration Tool: Google Docs
Google Docs is a free cloud collaboration product by Google. Once you create a Google ID or Gmail account, you can get started using Google Docs.
One of the best things about having your documents on the cloud is that you can access your files on any device. You won’t panic if your laptop goes down!
If you’re familiar with Microsoft Word, Google Docs will feel familiar to you. It has a top bar filled with all of your editing and formatting buttons that you’re familiar with.
Google Docs has collaboration built-in, making it easy for your team or clients to collaborate. Once you create a document it’s easy to share it with others via email or a shareable link.
Google provides 15GB of cloud storage on their free plan. You can always upgrade to a paid account if you need more storage.
You can work on a document with your teammates simultaneously over the cloud, give them access to edit or make it as a ‘view only’ doc, and leave comments in real-time.
Google Docs is a great collaborative document tool for small teams. With larger teams, sharing permissions on a document and folder level become difficult to manage as your team grows.
OneHub
Several well-known brands rely on this file transfer software, including Starbucks, CVS Health, Aflac, AARP, and others. Features include an activity tracker to see who interacts with files, easy uploading and file organization, plus the ability to post messages, assign tasks and share and collaborate with others. For those concerned with data security, OneHub promises robust permission controls and bank-level data encryption both at rest and in transit. Their free trial and the absence of long-term contracts is appealing to many who want to get a feel for its functionality.
eFileCabinet
EFileCabinet bills itself as a scalable solution built to be affordable for business. It allows for customized workflow automation and document approvals, sharing and organizing with a real-time dashboard, and it can integrate with business software including Salesforce, Intuit and Office, to name a few. Data governance ensures that your data remains secure, and the templated directories help keep files organized and easily searchable. As with other platforms, mobile functionality is a breeze and user testimonials rave about how much time, money and space they save using the service.
Conclusion
File-sharing is a highly effective mechanism for enhancing collaboration, information retrieval, and knowledge sharing, as individuals or groups that are dispersed geographically can now work with each other through the use of electronic systems that allow for the efficient exchange of files. In short, file sharing enables computer users to instantly share files across the Internet as well as increase productivity as they now have immediate access to multiple files each containing different types of pertinent information. File-sharing software is what facilitates this exchange of information which means that if you want to work together more easily on projects or just keep track of who has what file or data related to a certain topic