in the enterprise world there are very few file server cloud solutions. i only know of two that fit the bill. i’ve talked about egnyte. but there is also mezeo. they have a product that ticks the boxes. their client works, users can map drives (though webdrive is probably the better option). the web interface is good, and there’s a bunch of very good features, not unlike egnyte.
however, their business model is to sell to telcos and isps. to use them you therefore have to find a reseller. i dislike resellers. there is double the due diligence for a start. but the choice to pursue this model is governed by economics. they have narrowed their market to an obtainable few. the sales force is small and focused. and the support team required is manageable. sell to a thousand, or ten thousand enterprises and you’d need an army.
the thing is that the software is probably good enough that enterprises would service this overhead. i can’t help feeling that the model is awry. the truth is that the market is out there. ultimately it’s mezeo that have to service their product, regardless of the filtering through their resellers. their strategy seems short sighted. the market is big and is only going to get bigger.
i ask myself what i would do if i were them. i think i’d follow a twin track. host the software, and allow others to do so, charging regardless on a per user basis.
