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Now Is the Time to Switch From Citrix ShareFile to Kiteworks

by Bob Ertl updated May 8, 2024 Secure File Sharing

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File sharing is an essential part of most businesses today. But for some industries, secure file sharing is a make-or-break function that requires very specific features and functionality. For the last several years, Citrix ShareFile has been a widely available and popular option.

But times change. Currently, there are plenty of strong reasons to choose Kiteworks over Citrix ShareFile. The recent private equity acquisition of Citrix should give current Citrix customers further pause. In fact, Citrix’s new owner, Cloud Software Group, decoupled ShareFile from the broader Citrix Workspace platform in 2023. With these changes and any other concerns about what’s next for ShareFile, it’s a great time to make the switch to a better, more functional, and ultimately more reliable long-term file sharing platform.

Table of Contents

About ShareFile

Citrix ShareFile, now just ShareFile, is a secure enterprise file sharing and storage solution that allows users to store, sync, and share files while preserving security and control. It provides secure file sharing and collaboration, advanced data protection with encryption, data loss prevention, and user authentication, and intuitive security and access controls. It also allows users to sync files across all their devices, access and edit documents from anywhere, and collaborate with colleagues, customers, and partners in real time.

Prior to its affiliation with Citrix, ShareFile was launched in 2005 as a secure online storage solution. It was one of the first cloud-based storage solutions that focused on enterprise security and data protection. In 2014, Citrix acquired ShareFile for $225 million, and the product was rebranded under the Citrix name. Since then, the solution has become a popular choice for businesses looking to secure and collaborate on their data. It has continued to evolve and add new features, such as data loss prevention tools, third-party application integrations, and customized sharing and access control options.

Many organizations chose Citrix ShareFile over other file sharing vendors due to its comprehensive security and data protection features, its range of user-friendly access and collaboration tools, and its integrations with popular business applications such as Office 365, Google Drive, and Dropbox. Additionally, its flexible and customizable features enable organizations to configure the solution to their specific needs, making it an ideal choice for businesses of any size.

ShareFile Features Overview

ShareFile is an enterprise-level file sharing and storage solution with a suite of powerful features designed to help teams collaborate and share content securely.

Cloud Storage: ShareFile offers cloud storage to sync and store files from multiple devices. Files can be password protected and encrypted to ensure data security.
Document Sharing: ShareFile’s document sharing tools make it easy for users to share and collaborate on documents and other content. Collaborators can access the documents from their own computers and securely edit them in real time.
Messaging & Collaboration: Teams can use ShareFile to communicate and collaborate with each other. The platform lets teams share information and allows users to send voice messages, video meetings, chat, and private chats.
Mobile Access: ShareFile also provides mobile access to the cloud storage and collaboration tools. Users can access their documents, messages, and other content on their mobile device anytime and anywhere.
Security & Compliance: ShareFile offers robust security and compliance features, including 256-bit AES encryption, secure password protection, and two-factor authentication for added security. The platform also meets various industry regulations like HIPAA and GDPR.

Citrix ShareFile Business

Citrix ShareFile Business is a secure cloud storage and file sharing service designed for businesses. It provides enterprise-grade security and compliance features, encryption, file versioning, user authentication and access management, and more. With ShareFile Business, users can store, share, sync, and access their data from any device, including computers, tablets, and smartphones. ShareFile Business also offers advanced collaboration tools such as task management, messaging, alert systems, and virtual workspaces. Lastly, ShareFile Business supports a variety of integrations, including popular programs such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, QuickBooks, Box, Dropbox, and Salesforce. With these features, businesses have the flexibility to customize their file storage and collaboration systems that best fit their needs.

The difference between Citrix ShareFile Business and Enterprise is that Enterprise instances allow multiple data centers and the option to deploy both on-premises and cloud servers, providing greater scalability and control. Enterprise also provides advanced security and compliance features, customizable workflow, collaboration and content analysis tools, secure document sharing, as well as additional integrations. Finally, ShareFile Enterprise offers deeper customization options and one-on-one customer support.

Businesses traditionally choose ShareFile Business and Enterprise over other products and services because it provides a secure and compliant file storage and collaboration solution. It also allows companies to customize their storage and collaboration systems to meet their specific needs, while providing a reliable and scalable service that can be accessed from any device. Additionally, the granular access control and advanced security features, along with the variety of integrations, ensure that businesses keep their data secure. Finally, the customer support for Enterprise provides real-time support for any issues users may experience, which makes ShareFile an attractive product for any business.

ShareFile Authentication

ShareFile Authentication is an authentication system implemented by Citrix ShareFile. It allows users to securely access their data and content by providing multiple levels of authentication and secure access control depending on the level of security the user requires. ShareFile Authentication uses a combination of factors such as a username, a password, and a one-time code (OTC) sent to an email or mobile device to verify the user’s identity. ShareFile also allows for additional security measures, such as IP whitelisting, two-factor authentication, and multi-factor authentication, to ensure secure access. ShareFile Authentication also includes an admin console and APIs to integrate with third-party applications, allowing customers to manage their user accounts and access controls from a single system.

Businesses that choose ShareFile Authentication do so because it provides strong security for their data, content, and users. The layers of authentication options, such as two-factor or multi-factor authentication, make it difficult for malicious actors to access data, and the integration of the system with third party applications makes it easy for businesses to control user access to their systems. Additionally, ShareFile Authentication offers insight into user identity and access data, allowing businesses to manage their access more efficiently and with more clarity.

Citrix ShareFile Virtual Data Room

Citrix ShareFile Virtual Data Room (VDR) is a secure, cloud-based platform designed for the secure transfer, storage, and sharing of confidential documents and data. It is used by businesses to conduct virtual due diligence, such as mergers and acquisitions, private financing, litigation, and other sensitive corporate transactions. The platform provides a secure, centralized workspace for document hosting, collaboration, and secure document sharing. Documents are encrypted, digitally watermarked, and stored in a private “virtual data room” where access is limited to those invited to view and collaborate on the documents. It also has the ability to track who accesses which documents and when, generating audit trails and allowing you to control who has access to what. It provides a secure way to exchange information within and outside of the organization, while still allowing control over who can view and edit files.

Businesses typically choose Citrix ShareFile Virtual Data Room over other virtual data room products because it provides greater security and collaboration features than other providers. It provides secure document storage and sharing, as well as audit trails that track who accesses what documents and when. It also allows for greater control over who can view and edit documents, allowing customers to have peace of mind that their information is secure. Another important feature is the ability to customize the platform for specific needs, such as setting specific access rights, password settings, and custom branding. Additionally, it is easy to use and set up, allowing customers to quickly get up and running with their virtual data room.

How Kiteworks Bests ShareFile

Kiteworks provides a Private Content Network (PCN) for your organization. This means you can unify, track, control, and secure sensitive content communications both internally and externally. As a fully featured platform that includes email, file sharing, SFTP, managed file transfer, web forms, and next-generation digital rights management, Kiteworks offers a number of functional advantages over Citrix ShareFile for secure file transfers—and more. These are the key areas to consider:

Kiteworks vs. ShareFile: Storage Capacity

Citrix ShareFile has a modest 100 GB limit for files—which makes it a poor choice for use cases that require sharing extremely large files. This is an increasingly common need for legal cases where evidence files may include terabyte-sized body cam videos, for medical research that may share massive DNA sequences, and for sending large proprietary CAD design files related to manufacturing, aerospace, or defense.

Kiteworks customers enjoy arguably “unlimited” capacity for sharing files. Being able to share up to 16 terabytes at a time ensures that heavy files—such as videos, CAD designs, high-resolution images, and more—can easily and securely be sent as needed.

Kiteworks vs. ShareFile: Encryption

Kiteworks’ secure and compliant email capabilities go beyond plugins and portals. With the Email Protection Gateway, encryption, tracking, and controls integrate seamlessly into native email clients such as Outlook, Gmail, and more. You can automatically manage keys and encrypt emails without any user involvement. Applying policies for which emails to encrypt is also an automated process that does not impact end-users. For encryption, which can be applied end to end, Kiteworks utilizes AES-256 encryption for data at rest and TLS 1.2+ for data in transit.

Kiteworks Vs. ShareFile: Regulatory Compliance

Regardless of region or industry, compliance is a major consideration for any company that handles sensitive data. Whether it is protected health information (PHI), credit card payment information, or information generated by the federal government, a file sharing solution should cover the regulatory demands of an industry. Compliant, secure systems must also include audit logging for both reporting and forensic purposes. Therefore, a file sharing solution must consist of immutable logging to cover system events, identity management, and content access.

Customers choose Kiteworks for instances where privacy and compliance are of critical importance. Granular controls, authentication, and comprehensive logging/auditing capabilities can help you efficiently achieve compliance. Regulatory standards include FedRAMP, IRAP (Infosec Registered Assessors Program), ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), and more—so you can be certain that sensitive content complies with your business and government requirements. With Kiteworks immutable audit logs, organizations trust that the system can detect attacks sooner while maintaining a correct chain of evidence to perform forensics. Since the system merges and standardizes entries from all the components, its unified syslog and alerts save security operations center (SOC) teams crucial time while helping compliance teams prepare for audits.

In addition to helping ensure privacy in support of a wide range of industry-specific regulations, Kiteworks also helps improve productivity because it automatically tracks and simplifies email compliance, file sharing, managed file transfer (MFT) automation, web forms, Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), and application programming interface (API)-automated communication channels.

Kiteworks vs. ShareFile: Deployment Flexibility

A Kiteworks-enabled PCN is never multitenant, so you can be assured your files don’t mingle with information from other companies on the same server (or other companies’ hackers for that matter). Single-tenant deployment means there’s no shared runtime, database, repository, or resource, nor the potential for cross-cloud breaches or attacks.

Whether it’s on-premises, in the Kiteworks cloud, or your own cloud—Kiteworks’ many deployment options is as flexible as your needs. You can implement file transfers, file storage, and access on any instance. At the same time, your sensitive content remains as private as you require it to be.

The Power of PCN: Secure Content Communications for Sensitive Content

Kiteworks enables organizations to create a PCN that forms a layer of protection across all the channels and protocols that an organization needs to protect. A Kiteworks-enabled PCN enables you to lay the groundwork for securing people-to-people sensitive content communications, as well as machine-to-machine, people-to-machine, and machine-to-people.

Choose Seamless, Centralized Functionality

Grumbling from dissatisfied ShareFile users has been going on for a while now. One customer made the switch from Citrix ShareFile to Kiteworks after doing a bake-off between the two solutions and finding our interface to be much more user-friendly. Kiteworks’ CISO Dashboard provides an overview of an organization’s data: where it is, who is accessing it, how it is being used, and if it complies. In this way, our solution helps business leaders make informed decisions while maintaining regulatory requirements.

When it’s critical that the integrity of content privacy and compliance is not compromised, companies choose Kiteworks. Through the end of May 2022, Kiteworks is offering Citrix ShareFile customers one year of free Premium Support with the purchase of Kiteworks Enterprise Edition.

For more information on why Kiteworks is better than ShareFile, download a copy of our Top 7 Reasons to Select Kiteworks Over ShareFile

Additional Resources