WebDrive Use Cases

Question

What are some real-world use cases for WebDrive, whether individual user or enterprise-wide?

Answer

Below are several relevant use cases for WebDrive:

Efficiently access massive data stores

Large data repositories aren’t practical to sync as they may contain multiple terabytes of data, exceeding the amount of hard drive space available on a typical computer. Cloud applications that sync files will always read from the local folder first.  If the local copy gets corrupted, you will not be able to access your cloud data and may have to re-sync all your files.

This can all easily be avoided by using WebDrive as an access point for your important remote files.

WebDrive directly connects to all cloud resources quickly and with intelligent caching.

Many prominent research universities use WebDrive with OneDrive, SharePoint and Google Drive to access large data repositories, enabling them to take advantage of the cloud without the disadvantages of having to sync.

Cloud-enable custom applications and scripts

You can develop applications and scripts that are cloud enabled and can access any remote server without the need to implement specific protocols or commands. With WebDrive installed on your company’s computers, any program that can write a file can instantly be integrated with your corporate SFTP or SharePoint server and can read and write files to popular cloud services.  

Legacy desktop applications can also access the power of the cloud. Use WebDrive to map a drive to your cloud service of choice and configure your desktop app to read and write to the drive letter specified. You can even use WebDrive to access files from a command prompt. Just change to the drive assigned in WebDrive, and you can now execute commands and scripts for files in the cloud.

Seamless Access to Cloud Storage from Your Citrix Environment

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop/XenApp and XenDesktop are great productivity tools that WebDrive makes even more useful by enabling connections to various file server storages (FTPS/SFTP/WebDAV) and numerous cloud servers, such as SharePoint, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and Amazon S3. WebDrive can be published as an application in Citrix or can be run inside any Citrix environment. WebDrive enables access from your Citrix environment to specific cloud storage that Citrix doesn't support.

WebDrive is flexible and powerful for administrators. Connections can be preconfigured and then distributed to users to avoid user error and confusion. Any and all menus and settings options can be hidden from view, if desired. The entire WebDrive UI can be hidden by default, so a user can simply login to their Citrix session. Contents are instantly accessible in Windows Explorer (or Finder), and users are ready to go with no WebDrive interaction necessary.

Access corporate servers and cloud services as a UNC

If you manage multiples sites or have numerous cloud servers/services to connect to, you can easily access and manage them all through your Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. WebDrive has the capability to make the number of connections nearly unlimited, so you don’t have to worry about running out of drive letters.

UNC connections can be used instead of a drive letter, or if all available drive letters have been used. If your users are accustomed to UNC connections in your local network configuration, or if you have custom applications that reference UNCs, WebDrive can make any remote service accessible as a UNC.

Manage Remote Files Efficiently with WebDrive

WebDrive allows users to access and manage content that is not stored on their own systems quickly and efficiently. Folders and files intuitively display within Windows Explorer (or Finder on Mac) and appear as easily recognizable drive letters. WebDrive eliminates the need to login to each cloud account every time you need a file and saves you from the headache of having multiple browser windows open when you need to access multiple cloud services, or you need to move files between cloud services.

Popular cloud services typically don’t work well with non-Microsoft Office files. If you open a text file (a Microsoft Word file, for example) using Google Drive, the document will revert to Google Docs format, which can be challenging for those not experienced with different text editors. WebDrive eliminates this problem completely, allowing you to open your files in their native applications so you’ll never waste time trying to learn a new program in order to simply view a file.

If you have files that you wish to transfer between storage accounts (e.g., Google Drive to S3), simply drag and drop the file into the desired location. You can also copy and paste the file if you choose. There is no need to log into each account, download the file, and re-save elsewhere. WebDrive makes managing your remote files efficient and simple.

Embed the powerful WebDrive engine into your own cloud service with OEM licensing

Browser interfaces are common, but often lack the power and ease of a good application. WebDrive technology has been licensed to many cloud service providers to create a better user experience. Companies like France Telecom, XDrive, Novell Networks and Hong Kong Broadband are a few of the companies that have used WebDrive as part of their OEM services. Several public companies with hundreds of thousands of users currently embed WebDrive into their client applications.

For service providers with over 10,000 users, WebDrive can be a great value-add to your offerings, enabling access to your service from within every Windows or Mac desktop application that your customers use. WebDrive is workforce tested - used on more than 10 million desktops. Licensing WebDrive enables you to bring powerful client technology to your users faster and more economically than building new client interfaces.

To review use cases and further information regarding WebDrive, visit the website:

https://webdrive.com/use-cases/

https://webdrive.com