DEMO: Enterprise file collaboration for any app? LeapFILE has it

SAN DIEGO - LeapFILE Inc. today released to public beta a cloud-based file collaboration service for enterprise workers that it says is more powerful than SharePoint and less restrictive than Google Docs.

LeapFILE Folder lets workers automatically share and collaborate on documents and other files from their desktop file explorer without having to e-mail them or manually upload them to a server, said CEO Peter Chang in an interview at the DEMO conference. LeapFILE Folder's technology handles all of that in the background. It also keeps track of and backs up older versions.

The cloud-based service also enables collaboration between workers in or outside the same organization, Chang said. SharePoint usually only lets workers within the same company share files.

LeapFILE Folder can bypass corporate security firewalls without compromising them, Chang said, while abiding by other security policies.

It can also be used with any client software. File synchronization services such as Microsoft's Office Live Workspace or Google Docs' built-in file-sharing are tied to their respective productivity software.

Files can be stored on LeapFILE's servers or on the enterprise's servers, Chang said.

LeapFILE is a longtime player in the secure file transfer market, where it competes with companies such as YouSendIt.com and Pando . It has about 2,000 business customers, the largest with a 10,000 seat-deployment, Chang said.

The new service will allow LeapFILE to jump past competitors, Chang said.

The software went into public beta today and is expected to be ready for final release by year's end, Chang said.

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