Egnyte integrates hybrid cloud with Google Drive

File sharing specialist Egnyte has launched the latest version of its hybrid cloud solution, bringing it together with Google Drive.

Egnyte provides a system that synchronises files and provides a single view of documents that are stored locally or in the cloud. Rajesh Ram, the company's VP Products and Customer Advocacy, told TRPro that this reflects the desire of most companies to opt for a hybrid cloud in which they keep some data within their own networks.

It has now extended its solution to include documents created in Google Drive, storing them inside Egnyte folders and making it possible to see them alongside those held locally. They can also be held alongside Microsoft Office files.

Users can share Google Drive documents through secure links that use single sign-on and do not require everybody to have a Gmail account.

Resolving conflicts

"As we see businesses adopt new tools we see some conflicts," Ram said. "They're adopting Google Drive and the cloud but don't want to give up local storage.

"With this they can use Google Drive, Windows file sharing and locally stored documents. It's putting a hybrid spin on Google Drive and making it more business friendly."

He said the service also includes an auditing function that makes it possible for a document's owner to see who has made any changes, and the ability to encrypt files for sharing with mobile devices.