FileCloud Case Study: University Chooses FileCloud as a Secure Google Workspace Alternative скачать в хорошем качестве

FileCloud Case Study: University Chooses FileCloud as a Secure Google Workspace Alternative

00:00 Introduction to California Institute of the Arts We are the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), a nonprofit educational private institution dedicated to fostering creativity and artistic excellence. As part of our commitment to providing top-tier education in the arts, we continually seek to enhance our infrastructure to support our students and faculty effectively. 00:14 Transitioning to Google Workspace About 10 to 12 years ago, CalArts embarked on a significant technological transition, migrating from on-premises storage and email systems to Google Workspace. This move was driven by the need to modernize our IT infrastructure and provide more efficient, reliable services. At that time, Google Workspace offered a highly attractive package for educational institutions, including not just free email services but also free storage. This migration significantly reduced our operational costs and provided a robust, user-friendly platform for communication and collaboration. 00:31 Facing Google's New Storage Policy Approximately two years ago, Google announced a significant policy change affecting educational institutions. The announcement stated that the unlimited free storage previously offered would no longer be available. Instead, institutions were allocated a specific amount of storage with any usage beyond this limit incurring additional fees. Unfortunately, these fees were not affordable for CalArts, posing a considerable challenge for us. 00:44 Implementing a New Storage Solution In response to Google’s new storage policy, we needed to find a sustainable & cost-effective solution to meet our storage needs. After careful consideration & evaluation of various options, we decided to invest in a large storage solution. However, investing in storage hardware alone was insufficient; we also needed a front-end solution that would provide a seamless & familiar experience for our users. Our goal was to ensure that students and faculty could continue to enjoy a user experience similar to what they were accustomed to with Google Drive, Dropbox or other popular cloud storage solutions. 01:30 The Shift from Cloud to On-Premises Hosting with FileCloud Additionally, we aimed to address another long standing issue: the reliance on VPN access for certain services. VPNs, while essential for secure remote access can be cumbersome & limit the ease of use for our users. The idea of moving to a solution like FileCloud originated from our desire to reduce dependence on VPNs & streamline access to our resources. This initiative gained even more urgency and clarity once Google’s storage policy change was announced. After thorough research and consideration, we chose FileCloud as our new storage solution. Unlike many institutions moving towards cloud-based solutions, we decided to go the other way by shifting from cloud services to on-premises self-hosting. This decision was driven by several factors, including control over our data, cost considerations & the need for a customizable solution that could meet our specific requirements. FileCloud provided an excellent balance of features and flexibility. It allowed us to create a storage system that not only met our needs but also provided a similar user experience to Google Drive with FileCloud, our students & faculty could easily store, share & collaborate on documents without the need for cumbersome VPNs. The transition to FileCloud has been a success, effectively addressing our storage and accessibility challenges.