
11 Apr MyWorkDrive Enterprise Secure Remote File Access without VPN
MyWorkDrive Enterprise Secure Remote Access VPN Alternative
How one company is providing access to your locally stored files from any anywhere using any device.
MyWorkDrive
Cloud Storage
Ongoing
C++, C#, Angular JS, Java, SWIFT
Overview
Myworkdrive is a startup looking to answer a simple question: How can a company provide secure access to locally-stored files remotely, without VPN or having to move files to cloud servers such as Box, Dropbox, or even Azure and Amazon Web Services?
Most of these enterprises are bound by security rules that do not allow them to move their files off-site. They’re often dealing with large files, so syncing data to local workstations is not always viable.
The Challenge
Myworkdrive’s founders came from an IT consulting company, and are well-versed with customer pain points. The problem that they saw was that many of their clients were not ready to move their files to cloud providers for a number business reasons, and for security and support reasons didn’t want to deal with traditional sync and share type software.
They wanted a simple and secure way to access local files without having to deal with VPN issues.
Conceptual Development
Using the input from workshops and our interviews with stakeholders, a we were able to create detailed specifications, user interface designs, and a schedule. The new information architecture created included:
- site hierarchy with list of SharePoint site collections and web sites based on administration, security and performance requirements.
- navigation structure – determines how SharePoint will look and feel to the end user.
- taxonomy metadata – helps organize content by assigning content taxonomy tags so that documents can be found easily regardless of their location
- document metadata and templates, which help with search for different document types
- security- a list of users, SharePoint and AD groups and their permission levels on SharePoint hierarchy items: sites, lists, libraries, folders and documents.
Our Approach
Myworkdrive is not a typical web only application. The architecture is complex, with a a number of components. We developed the main application using .Net MVC and provided the back end code with custom patented bridge to Azure. The includes both web and mobile clients for users to get access to their files easily.
The second part of the application is a native, Windows mapped drive client that uses a rest API to allow users access to their files.
We created a web API to handle all calls to the application Add/Delete/update to make calls from multiple devices and applications fast and efficient. The team also worked diligently to reduce the number of calls to ensure. fast
Aside from a web and native windows mapped drive client, we also created both Android and iOS applications that allow full file access to the servers from any mobile device.
The Result
Thanks to its new solution, Myworkdrive has been able to rapidly grow its user base, and has even managed to add clients such including Oxford University and the Boston Celtics to its roster.