Mitch Coopet Talks About Code42’s New SharePlan

More and more companies are moving towards a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) mentality, which means many employees are mixing business and personal files in order to be productive. Enterprise data must be secure, but easily accessible. Code42, the creators of CrashPlan, have designed SharePlan — to help bridge the gap between easy-of-access and protecting corporate information.

SharePlan Maybe Answer to the Dropbox Problem

The “Dropbox problem” has become an issue for many businesses. Employees use the popular Dropbox service in order to share and collaborate on files. However, this method may not meet the company’s security standards. Which is where SharePlan changes the game.

With Shareplan, the client-corporation is in control of their cloud based security. Unlike public clouds, which reside solely on third-party platforms, this hybrid solution gives businesses the best of both worlds. Enterprise customers can encrypt information and retain all encryption keys at their site.

Code42 never has access to those keys, making the data within completely private. In addition, clients can pick and choose which employees have access to which applications or files within the cloud — through the data life cycle.

Mitch Coopet, Co-Founder and Head of Production for Code 42, chatted with Cloudwards about the new SharePlan. According to him, they were looking for a way to bring balance between privacy and productivity. He explained exactly how their new platform works and what security measures enterprise customers can enjoy.

The Interview

CW: Could You Elaborate on How IT Can Ensure Shared Information is Secure?

MC: With SharePlan IT departments can deploy the solution in either a public, private or hybrid cloud environment — depending on their specific security/compliance requirements. For maximum security, organizations can keep their encryption keys on-premise, allowing organizations with the highest security measure to rest assured. Using AES 256-bit encryption, SharePlan secures sensitive files to prevent access by anyone other than the intended recipient and any dedicated enterprise administrators.

CW: I understand that users can be restricted, are there different levels of restriction and how do they work?

MC: Those that share folders and files with others can select the role that a person they want to sync/share with has. Roles include:

1. Plan admin: full admin rights (on top of editing rights, user can add/remove users)
2. Contributor: User can add, edit and delete files in the plan
3. Guest: read only and only access to the files in the plan

Users also have the option to share files via a “one-way share.” This is done via the link sharing (using a link or PIN-protected link) to anyone, even outside their organization. In addition, system administrators have the flexibility to turn off certain sync/share functionality from within the Code42 Administration Console.

For example a system administrator can control whether link sharing is allowed or not, and they can require that link sharing has to be secure whenever users share links – this is done by configuring is so that only PIN–protected links can be shared by users.

CW: What are the different areas of compliance that SharePlan adapts to? (i.e. HIPAA etc.)

MC: SharePlan supports data security/privacy and compliance requirements—such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)—and utilizes PIN-protected links to ensure shared files remain private.

CW: How can the IT department monitor/log intrusion attempts against personal devices?

MC: Enhanced, out-of-the-box reporting and an open API empower IT and legal teams to easily monitor user access, link sharing, file locations and shared files.

In addition to IT setting restrictions on shared documents, other security measures are in place to ensure the privacy of these files. Data that is sent to other employees or outside users are encrypted and require a pin code to be viewed.

CW: I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us about your new SharePlan platform. Thank you.

Just like with Dropbox, once a file is synced it is available on all the user’s permitted devices. The changes are also available to any other employee who has access to the document making collaboration simple and seamless. Versioning of data and deleted file retention, up to 30 days, is also available.

Shareplan works on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows devices with both mobile and desktop applications available.

SharePlan Hits Market with Crashplan Option

Code 42 has already started rolling Shareplan out to their current enterprise customer base of over 30,000 businesses. Shareplan starts at $10 per month for each employee. Businesses that take advantage of these enterprise licenses can also get Code42’s Crashplan service for $5 a month per user.

This offer includes unlimited backup of devices. While there is no strict enforcement on the number of units a single consumer can save, the company does suggest limiting it to 10.

SharePlan puts the control back into the hands of IT departments while making it simple for employees to continue to collaborate on documents. Enterprise customers may have finally found a way to keep their information secure and share all at the same time, putting an end to the dreaded “Dropbox problem.”