Internet File-Sharing Service Allows Multiuser, Real-Time Access

Software Magazine, Dec, 2000 by Julie Lavallee

Mangomind, an Internet file-sharing service, from Mangosoft Inc., Westborough, Mass., provides a secure method for multiple users to share, access, and store B2B and collaborative documents, anywhere, anytime. For companies with employees in disparate locations, Mangomind can improve efficiencies while enabling collaboration in real time.

Marketlink Technologies, Novi, Mich., implemented Mangomind for its 70-person sales force. Previously, each sales person was e-mailing attached spreadsheets that tracked new dealer information.

"We spent hours gathering and cutting and pasting spreadsheets. We needed to find a way to collaborate in real-time," says Stan Schreyer, regional VP. Marketlink implemented Mangomind in go days. "We saved an unbelievable amount of time using Mangomind. It was simple to implement and it was an efficient way to get our reports done."

Mangomind integrates into Windows without any additional changes to the local drive. An administrator or creator of a Mangomind drive invites users to join the drive and sets access permissions for files and folders. Users then link to the Mangosoft Web page, where they download client software and install it on their PC. Anyone invited to join a Mangomind drive can then access and share the drive.

"This software allows work groups from anywhere to share files simultaneously. A single user can make changes to a document while others can view the same document in read mode," says Jonathan Meltzer, senior product marketing manager, Mangosoft.

Mangomind can also be used offline. Users can retrieve files from their mobile devices. When they go back online, Mangomind automatically updates and synchronizes their files.

"Mangosoft has extended a multiuser file system to the Web, whereas earlier such functionality had been confined to local (or LAN) access," says Dan Tanner, senior analyst of storage and storage management for Aberdeen Group, Boston.

Mangomind is hosted and managed by Tier 1 service providers. Managed storage services are provided by StorageNetworks, Waltham, Mass. The Mangomind service is hosted by Exodus Communications, Waltham, Mass.

Cost for a single seat is $29.95 per a month.