ownCloud, Inc., the company behind the world’s most popular open source file sync and share software, today released ownCloud 7 Enterprise Edition, for the first time giving organizations the ability to access, control and manage files across corporate data silos (application, storage and even cloud) keeping them where they are and leveraging existing data management, security and governance tools and processes.

ownCloud 7 Enterprise Edition protects sensitive corporate files, all while providing end users with flexible and easy access to files, from any device, anywhere. With ownCloud’s unique Server-to-Server Sharing capabilities, users on one ownCloud installation can seamlessly share files with users on a different ownCloud installation without using shared links. Both users retain the privacy and control of a private ownCloud, and gain the flexibility and ease-of-use of a public cloud.

“Every organization has an issue with data sprawl, and mobility just makes it worse,” said Terri McClure, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. “The special sauce is giving employees access to all their data from a single point, no matter what device they use, to avoid even more redundancy and still keep IT in control.”

“Due to the sheer size of our on-premise file sync and share service, it was clear to us from the outset that we had to find a software product that allowed us to seamlessly share files amongst multiple, operationally independent server locations,” said Dr. Raimund Vogl, head of the Centre for Applied Information Technology (ZIV) at Münster University and consortium manager of Sync & Share NRW. Sync and Share NRW is an association of 22 research and applied science universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany currently rolling out one of Europe’s largest cloud implementations. “ownCloud’s Server-to-Server Sharing brings this feature to us, allowing users to share their data with individuals or groups at other universities – and this concept is not limited to the institutions in our project – it is open to ownClouds outside the academic community of our state and will open new ways of collaboration in research. Teachers, students and administrators can collaborate across NRW seamlessly – and privately.”

Introducing Universal File Access
ownCloud’s Universal File Access provides a common file access layer across an organization, whether the data resides on internal servers, on object storage, in applications like SharePoint or Jive, other ownClouds, or even external cloud systems such as Dropbox, Google, and Amazon (syncing them to desktops or mobile apps, making them available offline). Employees can access appropriate company files on any device, anytime, from anywhere, all completely managed and controlled by IT — keeping unstructured data where it is — closely managing proprietary information and business risk, while leveraging existing data management, security and governance tools and processes.

“Organizations have spent years building complex, heterogeneous IT environments to support their business processes,” said Markus Rex, CEO, ownCloud. “And now, with the introduction of public clouds and consumer-grade file sync and share apps it just gets more complex – a real unstructured data mess adding complexity and cost as well as the potential for serious security and privacy disasters. ownCloud offers IT the ability to give employees quick and easy access to their files – no matter where they reside – and provides a data management layer allowing IT to maintain complete policy based control and integrating with the tools and processes they already have.”

New Universal File Access Features

Native SharePoint Integration
With ownCloud 7, users can now access and sync all of their SharePoint content via ownCloud –updated files are synced automatically in either direction – giving them easy, intuitive access to SharePoint 2007, 2010 and 2013. Admins simply pre-configure the SharePoint instance(s) in the admin panel, and the SharePoint files appear in ownCloud in the file list. If the admin chooses, users can also add additional SharePoint document libraries individually as needed to provide them with anytime, anywhere access to all of their files – with all of their Access Control Lists (ACLs) respected by ownCloud.

Windows Network Drive Integration
While ownCloud has always allowed users to mount a network drive, it is now easier than ever for the administrator to mount Windows network drives for a user, a group or the entire ownCloud instance. If an organization has one or many network drives, these can be added by the admin and applied to the instance. Users can then access all network drives in a single folder hierarchy, and all of their native ACLs are respected.

Object Stores as Primary Storage
ownCloud 7 Community Edition (launched in July) added support for OpenStack Object Storage (Swift). ownCloud 7 Enterprise Edition also adds support for Amazon’s S3 object store as primary storage for ownCloud. Now admins can choose the best option for their specific need: local storage, network filesystem mounts, Swift object stores, or even Amazon S3 compatible cloud and on premises storage.

Other New or Enhanced Features
ownCloud 7 Enterprise edition also enhances control, usability and performance. More details are available by visiting here.

Availability
ownCloud 7 Enterprise Edition is available now. 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 7 Enterprise Edition is available as an easy-to-install-and-configure virtual appliance for VMware enabling administrators to get ownCloud up and running in less than 30 minutes.