James – Thanks for confirmation that Dropbox is relatively secure via the SSL & subsequent file encryption. It does seem that this would satisfy the data security requirements of the ICB, MLR & ICO. By the way, great work by you on all things IT at the ICB.
I have now set up Dropbox and created a Client Folder below which there is a shared folder for each client. I have invited all my clients to install Dropbox and we now share files such as my timesheets, recent Sage backups, Letter of Engagement, etc. They can send me files just by dropping it into in our shared folder without sending me an email with an attachment and vice versa. They all think it is great. As a result of these Dropbox referrals I have now reached the maximum of 8Gb free space. My storage amounts to approx. 1Gb, so lots of room to expand on non-business stuff.
I have also backed up all of “My Documents” in a folder which is not shared with anyone. This allows me to have another off-site backup which is secure and accessible from any PC anywhere. Because I work on Client PCs at their premises, it is very convenient to be able to access any file relating to any client directly from the PC I happen to be working on.
As Helen suggested, Dropbox works by appearing in Explorer as any other folder, nominally in “My Documents”. This allows folder creation, file drag and drop, deletion, rename, copy, cut etc. just like any other file or folder on your C drive. The same applies at the client site. So if I am in my office and drop a client’s cash flow forecast into their shared folder, they see it immediately it has “synchronised” i.e. copied to the Dropbox server. They even get one of those pop-up information boxes down at the bottom right hand corner of their screen to tell them it has arrived.
I am very pleased with the implementation. It adds value to the client service provision, it gives me a secure backup and remote access, costs nothing and is very quick and easy to use. The only downside is that the file transfer is slow when copying large numbers of files, or very large files. It is very much improved by setting “No Limit” to the upload & download speeds in Preferences.
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