Newest ownCloud Enterprise File Sync and Share Keeps IT in Control of Corporate Data

LEXINGTON, Mass., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ownCloud, Inc., the company behind the only fully self-hosted enterprise-ready file sync and share software, today released ownCloud 6 Enterprise Edition, giving IT administrators even more control over sensitive company data.

The latest ownCloud Enterprise Edition includes the first and only sophisticated file access rules engine to enhance control and govern access to files, enabling IT administrators to set sophisticated rules for user and device connections to the ownCloud server, preventing access if those rules are, or are not, met.

"As more companies see their sensitive corporate data escaping to the public cloud via consumer-grade apps, those in highly regulated industries like financial services, healthcare, government and education and research, need to look closely at how they can leverage their current data protection and governance tools to ensure they do not run afoul of regulatory requirements," said Terri McClure, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG).

ownCloud Enterprise Edition -- based on ownCloud Community Edition, the world's most popular open source file sync and share project, with more than 1.3 million users -- is seamlessly integrated with existing infrastructure and is deployed fully on premises, enabling integration into existing user management tools, governance processes, and security, monitoring, and back-up tools. ownCloud can also leverage nearly all on site storage, and can be deployed with cloud storage as well -- such as Amazon (S3) and OpenStack (SWIFT) – to create a centrally controlled hybrid deployment model.

"Our pilot service with ownCloud meets the users' requirements for platform integration, usability and ease of access," said Dr. Jakub T. Moscicki, IT Data Storage Services, CERN. "Therefore we are currently scaling up the pilot service to expose it to a larger user community. The open source aspect of ownCloud is the key element for future integration and extension in our environment. We see a potential for the ownCloud platform to evolve from a system focused on handling document files into a system for handling scientific datasets on a larger scale. We are looking forward to testing new functions and improving performance in ownCloud 6."

ownCloud 6 Enterprise extends ownCloud's core integration capabilities in three tiers: storage, security and application integration. The storage tier extends existing out-of-the-box integrations, including a new connection to Jive, the enterprise social collaboration product. The result is enterprise-class file sharing and collaboration capabilities from anywhere, on any device.

ownCloud's highly extensible security infrastructure tier now provides SAML authentication to enable organizations to drop ownCloud into existing enterprise environments and authenticate with established identity providers, something only an on-premises installation can do. The application integration tier provides new file sharing and mobile APIs (recently released as open source) on top of existing provisioning and application plug-in APIs, making it easier for businesses and app developers to leverage ownCloud file storage capabilities.

Latest ownCloud Enterprise Edition Features 
ownCloud 6 Enterprise Edition builds on the recently released ownCloud 6 Community Edition with:

Control

• File Firewall - ownCloud is the first and only enterprise file sync and share to feature a sophisticated file access rules engine to enhance control and govern access to files with highly configurable rules. This means that administrators can set policies on the ownCloud server that deny access to files from users in a number of highly customizable scenarios, such as: end point type, mobile device type, origin IP, web client, and many more, all to give administrators a finer grained control over who can access and update enterprise files.

Integration

• LDAP Wizard – Connecting to enterprise directories, and configuring the proper filters for user authentication can be very difficult. ownCloud now comes with an advanced GUI based wizard to connect one or many user directories to ownCloud. Simply supply add the LDAP or AD user credentials, and the step by step wizard connects, displays users groups, and helps admins create the proper filters visually, greatly speeding the deployment process.
• SAML-based authentication – Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) authentication enables organizations to drop ownCloud into existing enterprise environments and authenticate with established identity providers. ownCloud's SAML support provides enterprise-grade security and control by allowing fast, easy configuration and management.
• Jive Integration – ownCloud's Jive integration is a plug-in that mounts Jive storage as if it were a file storage location. Files saved in Jive groups appear in ownCloud as files inside folders, with each folder representing a Jive group. Files can be synced or accessed on demand by ownCloud desktop and mobile applications, edited, and updated – all with the files stored on the Jive server.
• Application Integration – ownCloud 6's extensible architecture also now includes two new integration APIs and new mobile libraries. The internal server Application API allows developers to easily build ownCloud extensions and customizations; the Sharing REST API provides a service-based interface to ownCloud's file sharing and notification subsystems; and the mobile libraries simplify access to ownCloud from mobile applications. A new application framework also improves management of third party apps and the installation of these apps into ownCloud.

ownCloud 6 also includes a wide range of features that improve productivity for end users, including:

• Performance Improvements – ownCloud 6 includes numerous performance enhancements that give users faster access to core functionality, including data encryption, external system integration and file synchronization.
• Usability Improvements – ownCloud 6 includes a clean, crisp user experience complemented by a range of exciting usability features including user avatars, file previews, activity feeds, share file notifications and example files.

"Many organizations (especially those in highly regulated industries) are turning to ownCloud to control and protect their data – and ensure they can leverage existing governance and security systems," said Markus Rex, founder and CEO of ownCloud, Inc. "Only ownCloud provides IT the ability to fully integrate with existing (and future) data protection tools, the flexibility to choose the type of storage that suits their needs, while at the same time provide end users a productivity tool they will actually use."

Pricing, Availability and an Easy Testing Appliance
ownCloud 6 Enterprise Edition is available now at https://owncloud.com/download. Pricing for ownCloud Enterprise Edition begins at a yearly subscription of $9,000 for 50 users. For those interested in testing ownCloud, or conducting a proof of concept, ownCloud 6 is available for the first time as an easy-to-install-and-configure virtual appliance for VMware, HyperV, Xen and KVM, to enable administrators to get ownCloud up and running in less than 30 minutes.

ownCloud 6 Webinar
To learn more about ownCloud 6 Enterprise Edition, join founder and CTO Frank Karlitschek and Vice President of products Matt Richards Tuesday, March 18, at Noon ET for: ownCloud 6 – Control, Integration & Productivity for the Enterprise.

See ownCloud 6 Enterprise Edition at CeBIT
ownCloud will introduce Enterprise 6 Enterprise Edition today at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany (Hall 6, Stand H15). For more information, visit https://owncloud.com/de/events/event/cebit-2014.  

About ownCloud Inc.
Based on the popular ownCloud open source file sync and share community project, ownCloud Inc. was founded in 2011 to give corporate IT greater control of their data -- combining greater flexibility, openness and extensibility with on premises servers and storage. Company headquarters are in Lexington, MA, with European headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany. For more information, visit: http://www.owncloud.com.

SOURCE ownCloud, Inc.