Most of us rely on file-sharing in a variety of different areas of our lives. Whether you want to share a financial spreadsheet, a video you created, or an album of photos with someone else, you’ll need tools and the right strategies to send them correctly and efficiently.
But what steps can you take to make it easier to send files to other people?
The Biggest Challenges In File Sharing
Let’s start by identifying some of the biggest challenges to overcome in the world of file sharing:
- File size limits. In conventional forms of communication, like email, there are inherent size limits restricting what you can send to others. For example, if you want to send a 10 GB video file to a friend as an email attachment, you’ll (likely) get a warning that the file being uploaded is too big to attach. If your files are consistently large, this can make it difficult to get them where they need to go.
- Sending speed. Sometimes, you need to send files as quickly as possible, even if they’re large. If you’re sending a tiny, 15 KB pixelated image, this isn’t a big deal; you can send it about as quickly as you could an ordinary email, even if you’re using a conventional email service. But if you’re trying to send something bigger, it can often take hours to fully upload, process, and transfer to someone else. If you’re working on a project or you’re trying to meet a tight deadline, this can be a major problem.
- Recipient accessibility. You also need to make sure that the person receiving the file is able to receive it quickly, intuitively, and effectively. They should be able to easily recognize that someone has sent them a file, access the file immediately, and have no trouble downloading or viewing the file as they see fit. In some cases, you may have additional requirements; for example, you may want to make sure that the recipient is able to edit or modify elements of the file you sent them, so they can serve as a remote collaborator.
- Security. You should also consider the security of your file sending. If you’re not careful, someone could intercept your file as it’s sent to your intended recipient; if the file contains sensitive information, such as customer data or proprietary secrets, it could spell disaster for your company.
How To Make Sending Files Easier
So what steps can you take to make file sending easier?
- Invest in the right software. The most important thing you can do is invest in the right file-sharing software. Good software will allow you to quickly and easily upload your files, no matter what type of file or how big it is, then share that file with other collaborators or send it to specific individuals. The right software platform will also have secondary features to improve your security, help you organize and manage your uploaded files, and more. Make sure you shop around before you settle on the right platform.
- Fully train yourself. You’ll only be able to use your chosen platform to its fullest potential if you’ve gone through the effort of training yourself. In other words, are you familiar with all the features this app has to offer? Often, all it takes is a single round of viewing tutorials to be sufficiently equipped to handle the app.
- Upgrade your internet. Even the best file sharing and file storage platform in the world is going to be inherently limited by the speed of your internet. If you suffer from slow, laggy upload speeds, it doesn’t matter how quickly your software works; your file sending potential is going to be capped by your upload limit. For this reason, it might be in your best interest to upgrade your internet plan.
- Modify and prepare your files. If you want the file-sharing process to be even faster and smoother, you might want to take the time to modify or prepare your files for the process. That could mean converting them to a different type of file, compressing the file so it’s smaller, or even splitting a big file into multiple smaller files.
- Educate and prepare your recipients. Finally, be prepared to educate and train your recipients. If you want them to follow certain security precautions, or if you just want them to accept the file as smoothly as possible, it pays to prepare them.
Sending files doesn’t have to be a pain. It also doesn’t have to be a slow, unreliable, or unsecured endeavor. With the right tools, a bit of training, and some proactive planning, sending files to other people can be much easier and more approachable – even if you don’t have much experience.
If you are interested in even more technology-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
