Egnyte in the News! 'Egnyte Adds HTML5, Scalability To File Sharing Platform For SMBs'

File storage and synchronization service Egnyte, is debuting a new product today, called Egnyte HybridCloud File Sharing for the Enterprise.As we’ve written in the past, Egnyte is essentially a Dropbox or Box.net-like service that focuses primarily on helping small and medium-sized businesses sync and store their files. The startup uses a hybrid cloud solution, where businesses keep a Network-Attached Storage device linked up to their office’s computers, which serves as a ‘local cloud’ — all files are synced and backed up on this local, network connected hardware. These Local Clouds can consist of Netgear Ready NAS devices, or VMware-based virtual appliances.The ‘local cloud’ NAS is also hooked up to Egnyte’s servers so any changes made between the client computers and the files on the NAS are also synced up to the web for remote access. Once these files are in the cloud, company admins can enable file sharing between employees and also to business partners, who can be given restricted access to specific files. This cloud portion also serves as a remote backup, and files can be accessed from Macs, Windows, and mobile phones.Egnyte has made a number of improvements to its existing product, including a new simplified UI based on HTML5, allowing users to access Egnyte from any mobile device, as well as through mobile apps and the web. Users also have access to integrations with Salesforce, Google Docs and Microsoft Outlook, Avatron, QuickOffice, and GoodReader.The startup is also debuting Egnyte Object Store, a new architecture that allows organizations to scale up to 10 million files and upwards of 10,000 concurrent users. Users can file uploads up to 1 terabyte with Egnyte’s Unified FTP environment.Additionally, Egnyte has integrated with Sophos SafeGuard to provide an end to-end security solution, including mobile device encryptions and complete control over data encryption keys.Egnyte faces competition from Sugarsync, Box.net, Dropbox and others. But despite being in a market filled with worthy competitors, the startup has been able to accumulate over a million paid users. And the company has raised $16 million from Kleiner Perkins, Floodgate and Polaris.By Leena Rao, TechCrunchMarch 20, 2012