There are plenty of file sharing only services available that provide a place to store your work online. Some of these are big industry names that you may have already heard of including Dropbox. However, having file sharing capabilities does not necessarily equate to an efficient collaborative working environment. These larger companies can often lack the same level of detail put into their products and community feel that smaller companies like Clinked do. This sees many companies looking for Dropbox alternatives for business, and may also have them wondering ‘why choose Clinked?’

Here we’ve identified some of the major weaknesses of Dropbox, and how Clinked can provide solutions to the gaps that Dropbox has.

Dropbox alternatives for business: Why Choose Clinked

A Central Place For Everything

Dropbox is an option for file storage but customers are increasingly expecting more from hosting sites. Dropbox may eliminate the pain of sending large email files back and forth, but you will often need to communicate with your stakeholders about specific files and will need a central place to facilitate this. Or maybe you receive feedback and questions on your folders, and require somewhere to track your discussions around your files.

Since you cannot integrate comments, feedback or approvals with files on Dropbox, you are most likely to resort to using another platform to facilitate discussions, such as email. The problem that arises when separating content from its related communications, is that it is harder to maintain control and ensure all members are kept up to date on new changes. So if you are searching for more than just basic file hosting, this will likely leave many searching for Dropbox alternatives for business.

Clinked not only hosts your file storage and allows you to work collaboratively on your documents, but also provides you with the space to have a branded online platform, work with team members, and manage your tasks. Clinked provides an elevated way to interact with your files, allowing you to comment on them, @mention other members, and react to items with emojis.

Security

High level security is a major requirement for many client based businesses and is one of the most important factors in choosing a cloud based hosting provider. Though Dropbox has security features, it has been subject to several data breaches in the last decade, which is a major worry for users, especially if their files are confidential. This is a serious concern for companies, and will leave many considering dropbox alternatives for business file management.

Alternatively, Clinked offers multiple layers of security - we use end-to-end encryption, with 256 bit SSL in transit and AES encryption at rest — the same level of encryption you find with banks. Clinked also offers more granular levels of customizable access with the option to grant different levels of access to different members, as well as temporary members and password protected sections of your files.

Searchable platform

If you have a large amount of files stored on Dropbox, it can be difficult to navigate through them and find exactly what you are looking for. Multiple layers of files can be confusing and without a good search function, finding documents quickly becomes frustrating.

Clinked makes it easy to move between levels of folders and also has a comprehensive search function that searches across the whole platform. Once items are searched, Clinked gives results from across your portal, letting you know what folder this is saved in and what group it belongs to. It also offers a handy view to quickly see what type of file each search result is, such as .pdf or .doc files.

Collaborative Environment

With a file sharing only platform, your workload can become segregated and isolated from your teammates. Even if you are working remotely, having the ability to work together online still facilitates a collaborative working environment. With Clinked, we put more emphasis on creating a great collaboration platform, where content and communication are integrated, which makes it a great consideration for Dropbox alternatives for business.

On the Clinked platform, your shared files, calendars, and tasks are never separated from their related feedback, comments, questions - it's all visible from a single view. This makes your total overview much easier, and eliminates the need to maintain communications via email to discuss your shared files. 

Clinked’s great collaboration tools include:

• Create multiple groups for targeted communication & collaboration, with customizable branding & design
• Content following, allowing you to decide what your priorities are for your workload
• Wiki page platform, enabling you to quickly build web pages for use as an intranet or extranet, or even public access
• Project management tools including tasks assignment, shared calendars, member management, and discussion boards

Clinked goes beyond file sharing. We believe collaboration is most efficient when content and its ensuing communication are merged, whether it is file sharing collaboration or web page collaboration. That is what makes Clinked different from Dropbox, and why you should choose Clinked as a Dropbox alternative for business.

Clinked offers a free 10-day trial and consultations for businesses considering a more secure and efficient way of working with clients, team members and business partners. You can get started on a free trial immediately or speak to a member of our team to talk through your business needs.