Microsoft SharePoint vs. Citrix ShareFile: Which is the best platform?

Introduction

In this digital era, file sharing has become quite essential and vital for an organization’s success. People need to work collaboratively to achieve more. In this article, we will discuss two most popular file sharing platforms; Citrix ShareFile and Microsoft SharePoint. We will briefly outline their benefits and later on compare them in detail recommending the best platform for you.

Microsoft SharePoint Benefits

About 75% of Fortune 500 companies use SharePoint, evidently making it one of the most used enterprise file sharing platform at present. This is mainly because; it is a serve, portal, collaborative tool, enterprise search engine, enterprise management system (content) that manages business processes and forms by offering business intelligence that creates a real bottom line value for corporates and companies. Services make it possible for people to work together and in more effective ways, at the same time controlling costs and reducing IT risks. Main benefits include;

1. Ease of Use- Microsoft SharePoint doesn’t require the assistance of a developer. It is integrated with features and tools that allows corporate to respond quickly to their business needs without necessarily having a background in web design/development.

2. It is highly Customizable- It gives the liberty of modifying the way one wants.

3. It enhances collaboration- It also has tools that allow team members to easily and swiftly stay informed and connected throughout the entire project’s lifecycle.

4. All things can be done under one platform, credit to its “site consolidation” feature- Microsoft SharePoint Consolidates intranet, extranet and internet sites help in saving one from incurring further costs at the same time providing one with a more efficient method for administering each of the sites. In addition, SharePoint also works efficiently with many technologies and programs such as MS Office, MS Exchange Server and the likes.

5. Security and Integrity- SharePoint provides security both at single and broad item level.

6. Centralized Administration- Through its Central Administration (CA) console, all settings and features can easily be controlled, all in a single location.

Microsoft SharePoint Training

Microsoft SharePoint Server Courses are available both offline and offline. Mostly, SharePoint Courses cover a wide array of topics including, core solutions of SharePoint Server 2013 , advanced solutions of SharePoint Server 2013, Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Application Development, Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Information worker, Microsoft SharePoint 2010 content manager, to mention but a few.

Microsoft SharePoint Training takes about six months to complete. The course covers both theory and practical work and students are tested upon completion before being offered a certificate. In addition, there are mentoring sessions for students by competitive instructors who have real experience in SharePoint’s functionality. Note that the fee does vary from one location to another but the content is seemingly the same.

Microsoft SharePoint Certification Online

Just like all other courses, once you successfully complete Microsoft SharePoint Training, you will receive a certification. A certification is basically a document certifying that indeed you received training and passed the exams and can efficiently set, manage and run Microsoft SharePoint without any difficulties. Online certification is also available and you can receive online certification in two different ways; first, you can enroll for Microsoft Training Online, complete the course and get awarded with the certificate after passing the exam, or get training from whatever source, enroll for an online exam in Microsoft SharePoint and get certification after passing the exam. Note that, Microsoft SharePoint certification is quite important especially if you intend to work with large corporations. In addition, the knowledge attained from the training is rather immeasurable and can be used with a number of applications to achieve quite a lot.

Citrix ShareFile Benefits

It will interest you to know that ShareFile, due to its astounding performance received positively the highest possible rating of “Strong Positive” in Gartner’s Market Scope for Enterprise File and Synch and Sharing (EFSS).

Strengths are:

1. Citrix ShareFile empowers its users with instant access to data in sync across all of their communication devices.

2. Through its secure file sharing feature general collaboration and productivity is highlighted throughout the organization; both inside and outside.

3. Its file sharing and sync feature complies with the standard data transfer standards and therefore guarantees secure data transfer across various platforms.

4. It leverages and mobilizes existing investments such as SharePoint and network shares.

5. It delivers an enterprise class file sharing service that supports users mobile work style.

6. It delivers data in a manner that makes it easier for IT specialists to retain control over the way corporate/business data is stored, accessed and shared.

Microsoft SharePoint vs. Citrix ShareFile- Which is the best platform?

Throughout this article, we have been discussing about Citrix ShareFile and Microsoft SharePoint together with their benefits. Under this segment, we are going to compare these two file sharing and synching platforms pinpointing out precisely the best platform based on the reasons already outlined in this article.

As stated before, both platforms have security features that guarantee protection of corporate data and files. Both of them also enhance collaborative performance through file sharing and synching. In addition, files shared in both platforms can be accessed using a number of electronic gadgets and hence can be used at any given time. Finally, the way files are stored in both platforms makes it easier for IT specialists to retain total control over the way the files are stored, accessed and shared.

On the other hand, Microsoft SharePoint has a feature that enhances use of different platforms including the popular MS Office and such while Citrix ShareFile doesn’t. In addition, Microsoft SharePoint is easily customizable and can be modified to fit users’ needs and preferences. Different items in it can be modified to do specifically the intended purpose. However, Citrix ShareFile is a bit rigid and only allows the user to use it the way it was designed. Finally, many people find Microsoft SharePoint somewhat attractive in its layout; additionally, its layout, precisely the “Central Administration (CA) console makes it easier for one to use it.

In summary, Citrix ShareFile is an awesome file sharing platform especially for medium and small corporate and organizations; on the other hand, Microsoft SharePoint has everything required in large Corporates. If you are staring out, you may consider trying Citrix ShareFile, however, if your organization is somewhat large and established, for better experience, it will be prudent that you try Microsoft SharePoint.