Better for Business than Box
- Multiple deployment models based on data type and sensitivity
- Granular folder permissions for complete access control
- Intuitive file access with Mapped Drive
- Managing large files and data sets
What ex-Box customers are saying:
- “Being a wealth management company, security is an obvious priority for us…. After looking at Dropbox, Box, Sharefile… we realized that Egnyte was the right solution for our needs. We were able to deploy quickly, giving different levels and types of access to different people…. Further, the hybrid cloud approach means we always have access to our client data residing on a NAS device behind our firewall, giving us and our clients an extra level of comfort with the same level of high speed local access we had grown accustomed to….”
Taylor Herzog, Technology Solutions Manager
True North Advisors - “Being a best-of-breed law firm is a fundamental part of our belief system… We have found that with a distributed workforce and client base, our needs to easily share and manage large file sizes with granular control… is of paramount importance. After researching available solutions, we came across Egnyte and quickly realized the benefit of their IT focus…. They’ve provided us with a secure, centrally administered solution that can allow our lawyers to work more efficiently and effectively with their colleagues and clients.”
Jennifer Goshorn, Chief Administrative Officer
Gunderson Dettmer, LLP - “We wanted to put in a file sharing solution that would give players, coaches and staff alike the fast ubiquitous access they need, regardless of whether they were using a laptop or tablet. We initially tried Box, but found it lacking in controls and easy access. We chose Egnyte because it provided secure easy access to files while giving our IT department the controls they expect out of a world class solution. Egnyte now supports Santa Clara University Men’s Basketball.”
Kerry Keating, Head Coach Men’s Basketball
Santa Clara University

- “Being a wealth management company, security is an obvious priority for us…. After looking at Dropbox, Box, Sharefile… we realized that Egnyte was the right solution for our needs. We were able to deploy quickly, giving different levels and types of access to different people…. Further, the hybrid cloud approach means we always have access to our client data residing on a NAS device behind our firewall, giving us and our clients an extra level of comfort with the same level of high speed local access we had grown accustomed to….”
Taylor Herzog, Technology Solutions Manager
True North Advisors - “Being a best-of-breed law firm is a fundamental part of our belief system… We have found that with a distributed workforce and client base, our needs to easily share and manage large file sizes with granular control… is of paramount importance. After researching available solutions, we came across Egnyte and quickly realized the benefit of their IT focus…. They’ve provided us with a secure, centrally administered solution that can allow our lawyers to work more efficiently and effectively with their colleagues and clients.”
Jennifer Goshorn, Chief Administrative Officer
Gunderson Dettmer, LLP - “We wanted to put in a file sharing solution that would give players, coaches and staff alike the fast ubiquitous access they need, regardless of whether they were using a laptop or tablet. We initially tried Box, but found it lacking in controls and easy access. We chose Egnyte because it provided secure easy access to files while giving our IT department the controls they expect out of a world class solution. Egnyte now supports Santa Clara University Men’s Basketball.”
Kerry Keating, Head Coach Men’s Basketball
Santa Clara University
Egnyte vs. Box
(Mouseover image below to see differences)
Multiple Deployment Models
Egnyte is the only file sharing solution that offers multiple deployment models for every file type. Box only offers cloud file sharing for small collaborative files.
On-prem: Storage Connect
(secure remote access)Direct access to local storage files without replicating or passing through cloud. All data sits behind the corporate firewall, so even your most sensitive files can be securely accessed by mobile devices from anywhere in the world, without the need for VPN.
Hybrid: Storage Sync
(cross-office sync)Sync and replicate files across multiple, diverse storage systems for cross-office file sharing and data redundancy. Storage Sync is a necessity for distributed teams that need to collaborate on large files, especially in areas of low bandwidth.
Cloud: Cloud File Server
(online file sharing)Get easy online access and storage without sacrificing security and control. The Cloud File Server not only acts as a central collaboration hub, but also serves as the control plane for Storage Connect as well as replication and backup for Storage Sync.
Permissions Architecture – Granular Controls
Box’s permissions management is limited. For example, in the illustration below, the Finance parent folder has three subfolders: reports, budgets and payables. The entire finance team needs access to the Finance folder, with the exception of the budgets sub-folder. The budgets sub-folder should only be accessed by the Corporate Controller. This is easily accomplished with Egnyte’s subfolder permissions structure, but not possible with Box. Conversely, with Box, any user who has access to the Finance parent folder would automatically have access to all its sub-folders. This imposes a significant limitation for businesses as they map their file system to align with their organizational structure, access rules and data security requirements. [Source]

Egnyte’s folder structure is organized the way businesses are organized, with shared folders and private folders. Each shared folder can have any number of sub-folders. Account administrators centrally manage permissions and include/exclude users and groups at any level of the hierarchy.
Egnyte’s permissions model adheres to traditional file server permission models. Large businesses have migrated in-house file servers to Egnyte without compromising control, security, or privacy.
Intuitive Desktop Access – Mapped Drive
Egnyte enables users to map cloud folders as a network drive on the desktop that can be accessed directly through Finder on the Mac, or Explorer on Windows. This intuitive access method allows employees to work directly off their desktops (in addition to accessing files using any standard browser).
Box lacks a drive-mapping capability, requiring access to files to be made through a web browser. After downloading and editing files, users must upload changes to their Box account. This makes file editing and collaboration cumbersome and inefficient. [Source]
Managing Large Files and Large Data Sets
An enterprise-class solution should be capable of handling files of any size and allow large amounts of data to be uploaded. Box imposes a file size limit of 2GB, restricting users from uploading large files such as Photoshop, Multimedia, or CAD files. Egnyte enterprise users can store and share files with no size limits.
Egnyte provides a rich set of upload capabilities – mapped drive, web-based uploads, desktop sync, server sync and FTP*. Each of these methods, in the listed order, is capable of handling progressively larger data sets. For example, 10GB can be uploaded in one session using Egnyte’s FTP capability.
Licensing and Price
The Egnyte solution is consistently less expensive than Box due to a more affordable base plan and the ability to add additional users and features based on business needs. Egnyte’s ability to offer more features at a lower price is due to its business focus. Unlike Box’s freemium model, Egnyte does not have to amortize the cost of free consumer accounts across all paid business accounts.
Egnyte vs. Box Comparison Chart:
File Access
Web Browser
Mapped Drive
Mobile Support
Storage and Sync
Desktop Sync
**
Storage Sync
Storage Connect
File Size Limits
10 GB
5 GB
Folder Controls
Sub-folder Permissions
Sub-folder Sync
** Box is limited to 40,000 files only.