When it comes to business communication, email remains king. Yet, as organizations increasingly prioritize data security and ownership, many are turning to cloud solutions like Nextcloud. This shift creates a new challenge: how to seamlessly blend the familiarity of Outlook with the robust security of Nextcloud?
That’s where Sendent for Outlook comes in.
By integrating Nextcloud directly into Outlook, Sendent allows companies to harness the power of both platforms simultaneously. Users continue to work within the comfort of their familiar Outlook interface, while behind the scenes, Sendent ensures that all shared files and sensitive communications are securely stored and managed within the organization’s Nextcloud environment.
But what does this mean in practice? How are real companies leveraging this unique integration to solve tangible business challenges?
We’ll look at five different situations where Sendent for Outlook makes a big difference:
- How law firms keep client information private
- How hospitals protect patient data
- How financial services firms secure sensitive financial information
- How research institutions manage large-scale collaborative projects
- How government agencies share classified documents safely
These real-world examples will show you how organizations across various sectors are using Sendent to enhance security, streamline workflows, and improve collaboration.
Legal firms: Ensuring client confidentiality
Scenario
A mid-sized law firm specializing in corporate law needs to share large case files with clients and external counsel. They’re handling a high-profile merger and acquisition case involving sensitive financial documents and confidential communications.
Challenges
- Emails with large attachments are often blocked by email servers of recipients.
- Ensuring that only authorized individuals can access case-related documents.
- Maintaining an audit trail of who accessed which documents and when.
Sendent Solution
- Secure File Sharing: Lawyers can compose emails in Outlook as usual. When they attach files, Sendent automatically uploads them, regardless of size, to the firm’s Nextcloud server and replaces them with secure links in the email. This can be optional for users or enforced by admin settings.
- Secure Mail: For highly confidential communications, lawyers can use Secure Mail to upload the entire email body to Nextcloud. This ensures that even sensitive information within the email itself is securely stored, with only a link sent to the recipient.
- Password Protection: For highly sensitive documents, lawyers can set unique passwords for each shared link, which are automatically sent in a separate email for added security.
- Access Control: The firm sets expiration dates on shared links and can revoke access instantly if needed, such as when a party leaves the case.
Outcome
The law firm successfully manages the M&A case, securely sharing large financial documents and maintaining strict confidentiality. Clients and external counsel can easily access necessary files through secure links, while the firm maintains full control of each document.
Healthcare: GDPR compliance and patient data security
Scenario
A regional hospital needs to share patient records, including large imaging files, with specialists at other facilities. They’re coordinating care for a complex cardiac case requiring input from multiple specialists across different hospitals.
Challenges
- Sharing large medical imaging files (MRIs, CT scans) that exceed email size limits.
- Ensuring all shared patient data is GDPR-compliant.
- Providing quick access to patient records for consulting specialists without compromising security.
Sendent Solution
- Automated File Upload: When a doctor attaches large imaging files to an email, Sendent can automatically upload them to the hospital’s Nextcloud server and replaces them with secure links.
- Secure Guest Accounts: Consulting specialists are granted temporary, secure access to specific patient files without needing full access to the hospital’s system.
- Automatic Expiration: Shared links to patient data automatically expire after a set period, ensuring that access is time-limited.
Outcome
The hospital successfully coordinates the complex cardiac case, with all involved specialists able to quickly and securely access necessary patient records and large imaging files. The process is GDPR-compliant.
Finance: Protecting sensitive financial data
Scenario
An international investment firm needs to share quarterly financial reports and investment analyses with clients and partners across different time zones. They’re preparing to release a major market analysis report to high-value clients.
Challenges
- Ensuring that financial reports are only accessible to authorized clients.
- Protecting against data leaks of market-sensitive information.
- Maintaining a professional brand image in all client communications.
- Tracking who has viewed important financial documents and when.
- Ensuring that outdated financial information is not accidentally shared.
Sendent Solution
- Custom Branding: The firm customizes email templates and shared link appearances with their logo and color scheme, maintaining a consistent professional brand image.
- Granular Access Control: The firm sets specific access permissions for each client, ensuring they can only view documents relevant to their portfolio.
- Activity Tracking: Sendent provides detailed analytics on who has viewed each document and when, allowing for timely follow-ups with clients.
- Secure External Sharing: When sharing the market analysis report, Sendent creates secure, time-limited links that require client authentication to access.
Outcome
The firm successfully distributes its market analysis report to high-value clients across different time zones. The firm maintains control over who accesses the information, tracks client engagement with the report, and ensures all communications are branded and professional.
Research: Secure collaboration and data integrity
Scenario
A research institute is conducting a large-scale, multi-year study on climate change impacts across different ecosystems. This project involves collaborating with numerous international partners, sharing massive datasets, and ensuring the integrity and security of sensitive research findings.
Challenges
- Sharing large datasets (often several terabytes) that far exceed email attachment limits.
- Collaborating securely with international partners while protecting intellectual property.
- Maintaining version control of research papers and datasets as they evolve.
- Ensuring data integrity and preventing unauthorized alterations to research findings.
- Complying with various international data protection regulations.
- Securely archiving completed research for future reference and audit purposes.
Sendent Solution
- Large File Handling: Sendent seamlessly integrates with Nextcloud to allow sharing of massive datasets directly from Outlook, replacing attachments with secure links.
- Granular Access Control: The institute can set specific access permissions for each collaborator, ensuring they only access the data relevant to their part of the project.
- Version Control: Sendent’s integration with Nextcloud allows researchers to track and manage different versions of documents and datasets easily.
- Compliance Management: Sendent helps the institute comply with various data protection regulations by providing tools for access logging and secure sharing.
- Secure Archiving: Once research phases are complete, Sendent facilitates the secure archiving of data in Nextcloud, with options for time-limited access for peer review or audit purposes.
Outcome
The research institute successfully manages its large-scale climate change study. Researchers can easily share and collaborate on massive datasets with international partners, all while maintaining data security and integrity. The version control features ensure that all collaborators are working with the most up-to-date information, and the secure archiving capabilities allow for easy access to historical data when needed for follow-up studies or audits.
Government: Secure inter-departmental communication
Scenario
A government agency needs to coordinate with multiple agencies on a new renewable energy initiative. This involves sharing classified documents and research findings between departments while maintaining strict security protocols.
Challenges
- Sharing sensitive documents securely between different government agencies.
- Ensuring that documents are only accessible to individuals with appropriate security clearance.
- Maintaining a detailed record of all document access for security audits.
- Quickly revoking access in case of security breaches or changes in personnel.
Sendent Solution
- Clearance-Based Access: Administrators can ensure only appropriately cleared individuals can access classified documents.
- Detailed Access Logs: Tracking of who accessed what documents, when, and from where, supporting security audits.
- Instant Access Revocation: In case of a security concern, access to shared documents can be revoked immediately across all agencies.
Outcome
The agency successfully coordinates the renewable energy initiative across multiple agencies. Sensitive information is shared securely, with full control and tracking of access, ensuring minimum security protocols are maintained throughout the project.
Experience the Sendent advantage
Sendent for Outlook offers versatile solutions for organizations across various sectors, addressing real-world challenges in secure file sharing and collaboration. By seamlessly integrating with familiar tools like Outlook and enhancing them with robust security features, Sendent empowers companies to maintain productivity, ensure data protection, and comply with industry regulations.
Ready to see how Sendent can transform your organization’s file sharing and collaboration? Contact us today for a personalized demo tailored to your industry needs.
