Egnyte is a cloud-based file storage and collaboration platform designed for businesses that need reliable access to large file repositories, granular permission controls, and hybrid on-premises and cloud storage — capabilities that go beyond what Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive are designed to provide. For businesses in Irvine and across Orange County, BRITECITY deploys Egnyte as a managed solution that replaces aging file servers and eliminates SharePoint sync failures.
Platform Overview
Egnyte was founded in 2007 to solve a problem that still haunts most businesses: how do you give every employee fast, reliable access to files — whether they are sitting in the office or working from a hotel room 3,000 miles away? The answer is a hybrid architecture that stores files in the cloud for global access while caching them on-premises for LAN-speed performance.
Unlike consumer-grade cloud storage that forces you to choose between local speed and remote access, Egnyte delivers both. An on-premises cache node sits in your server room and keeps frequently accessed files available at gigabit LAN speed. Behind the scenes, every file is synced to Egnyte’s cloud with full versioning, audit trails, and compliance controls. Remote users access the same files through a desktop client or web browser with no VPN required.
The Problem
SharePoint and OneDrive are excellent collaboration tools for small document libraries. They were never designed to be an enterprise file server replacement. When businesses push past the limits, sync failures, throttling, and data loss become daily frustrations.
OneDrive sync client begins throwing errors when a library exceeds 100,000 items. Microsoft recommends syncing no more than 300,000 files total across all libraries — a number many engineering and legal firms hit within months.
SharePoint enforces a 400-character URL limit. Deep folder structures common in project-based industries (construction, architecture, manufacturing) routinely exceed this, causing sync failures and broken links.
Every file open in SharePoint requires a cloud round-trip. For large CAD files, video renders, or database files, this means 5-30 second open times instead of the sub-second access that a local file server provides.
HIPAA compliance on SharePoint requires Microsoft Purview ($12/user/month extra), sensitivity labels, and manual DLP policy configuration. Egnyte includes these capabilities in the base product.
For a deeper look at these limitations, read our SharePoint File Sync Limits article.
Architecture
Egnyte’s three-tier architecture delivers both local speed and cloud resilience. Data flows automatically between layers based on access patterns.
Global storage, versioning, compliance
LAN-speed access, smart sync
Desktop, laptop, mobile
Microsoft 365 Integration
Egnyte integrates with Outlook, Teams, and Office co-authoring. Users keep their M365 workflow — Egnyte replaces only the storage and sync layer underneath.
All files are stored in Egnyte's cloud with AES-256 encryption, unlimited versioning, and geo-redundant backup. This is the authoritative copy — it survives office fires, hardware failures, and ransomware.
A physical or virtual appliance in your server room caches frequently accessed files. Office users open files at gigabit LAN speed. The node syncs delta changes to the cloud in the background — users never wait.
Desktop, laptop, and mobile clients access files through the Egnyte app or web browser. Remote workers get cloud-speed access; office workers get LAN-speed access through the cache node. No VPN needed.
Governance
File storage without governance is a liability. Egnyte treats permissions and compliance as first-class features, not afterthoughts that require third-party add-ons.
Set read, write, or no-access at any folder depth. Permissions cascade down but can be overridden per subfolder. No more SharePoint "broken inheritance" headaches that leave files exposed.
Egnyte scans files for PII, PHI, PCI data, and custom patterns. When sensitive content is detected, it applies labels, restricts sharing, and alerts administrators — all without Microsoft Purview.
Every file open, edit, download, share, and permission change is logged with user identity and timestamp. Audit logs are retained for the life of the account and exported for compliance reviews.
Unlimited file versioning means you can roll back any file — or your entire file system — to a point in time before a ransomware attack. BRITECITY configures version retention policies as part of every deployment.
Integration
The most common misconception about Egnyte is that it replaces Microsoft 365. It does not. Egnyte replaces only the storage and sync layer— SharePoint document libraries and OneDrive. Your team keeps Outlook, Teams, Excel co-authoring, and every other M365 tool they already use.
Outlook & Exchange
Email, calendars, and contacts stay in M365
Microsoft Teams
Chat, video calls, and channels work as before
Office Co-Authoring
Real-time editing in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint via Egnyte's Office Online integration
Entra ID (Azure AD)
Single sign-on and conditional access policies apply to Egnyte
Industry Fit
Egnyte is not a one-size-fits-all cloud drive. It solves specific file storage challenges that certain industries face daily. BRITECITY deploys Egnyte across these verticals in Irvine, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and the broader Orange County region.
Large CAD files (Revit, AutoCAD, SolidWorks) need LAN-speed access and reliable sync. Egnyte's cache node eliminates cloud latency while keeping files backed up and accessible to remote engineers.
Law firms manage deep folder structures with strict matter-based permissions. Egnyte handles 400+ character paths, granular access controls, and audit trails that satisfy e-discovery requirements.
HIPAA compliance requires encryption, access logging, and data loss prevention. Egnyte provides all three natively — no Purview add-on, no third-party DLP, no compliance gaps.
FINRA and SOC 2 demand strict data governance. Egnyte's content classification engine automatically detects and protects financial data, account numbers, and personally identifiable information.
Production environments generate massive file volumes — blueprints, quality photos, inspection reports. Egnyte syncs 300K+ files without the throttling that SharePoint imposes on large libraries.
Video production, photography, and design studios work with multi-gigabyte files daily. Egnyte's on-prem cache keeps active projects at local speed while archiving completed work to the cloud.
Migration
Migrating from an on-premises file server or NAS to Egnyte does not require downtime, user retraining, or a weekend cutover. BRITECITY follows a phased approach that keeps your team productive throughout.
Discovery & audit — inventory all file shares, permissions, folder structures, and file counts
Identifies sync risks, permission gaps, and path-length issues before migration begins
Egnyte deployment — provision cloud tenant, install on-prem cache node, configure SSO with Entra ID
Infrastructure is ready before any files move
Background data migration — robocopy or Egnyte migration tool syncs files to the cloud in the background
Users continue working on the old file server during migration
Permission mapping — replicate NTFS permissions into Egnyte folder-level access controls
No user loses access to files they need; no user gains access they should not have
Cutover & validation — redirect drive mappings, run delta sync, verify file counts and permissions
Users open the same drive letter and see the same folders — now powered by Egnyte
Decommission — retire old file server hardware after 30-day parallel run confirms stability
Eliminates aging hardware, backup tapes, and single points of failure
Comparison
How does Egnyte stack up against the alternatives? This matrix compares the capabilities that matter most for businesses managing large file repositories.
| Dimension | Egnyte (Hybrid) | SharePoint / OneDrive | NAS / File Server |
|---|---|---|---|
File Sync at Scale 300K+ files across devices | 300K+ files, no throttling | Sync errors above 100K items | No native cloud sync |
HIPAA / Compliance Regulatory-ready storage | Built-in compliance engine | Requires Purview add-on | Manual audit trail |
Local LAN Speed Gigabit-speed file access | On-prem cache node | Cloud latency on large files | Native LAN speed |
Remote Access Work from anywhere | Cloud + cached access | Full cloud access | VPN required, slow |
File Sync at Scale
300K+ files, no throttling
HIPAA / Compliance
Built-in compliance engine
Local LAN Speed
On-prem cache node
Remote Access
Cloud + cached access
File Sync at Scale
Sync errors above 100K items
HIPAA / Compliance
Requires Purview add-on
Local LAN Speed
Cloud latency on large files
Remote Access
Full cloud access
File Sync at Scale
No native cloud sync
HIPAA / Compliance
Manual audit trail
Local LAN Speed
Native LAN speed
Remote Access
VPN required, slow
Strong collaboration, but no on-prem cache node. Every file access requires a cloud round-trip, making it unsuitable for LAN-dependent workflows like CAD or video editing.
Consumer-friendly sync, but limited governance and compliance features. Smart Sync can be unreliable with large libraries. Not HIPAA-ready without significant workarounds.
Enterprise-grade cloud file shares with SMB protocol support, but no built-in compliance engine, no content classification, and significantly higher storage costs at scale.
Fastest local access, but zero remote capability without VPN. No versioning, no compliance controls, no cloud backup. A single hardware failure can mean total data loss.
Next Steps
Not every business needs Egnyte. If your team is small, works exclusively in Office documents, and syncs fewer than 50,000 files, SharePoint and OneDrive may be sufficient. But if any of the following are true, Egnyte deserves a serious look.
Your OneDrive or SharePoint sync breaks regularly
You manage 100,000+ files across shared drives
Your team works with large files (CAD, video, design, photography)
You need HIPAA, FINRA, or SOC 2 compliance for file storage
Remote employees complain about slow file access over VPN
Your file server hardware is aging and due for replacement
You need granular folder permissions that SharePoint makes painful
BRITECITY offers a free file storage assessment for businesses in Irvine, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and across Orange County. We audit your current file server or SharePoint environment, count your files, map your permissions, and deliver a clear recommendation on whether Egnyte is the right fit — with a migration plan and cost estimate if it is.
Egnyte is a cloud-based file storage and collaboration platform that combines cloud storage with optional on-premises cache nodes. Files are stored centrally in the cloud with full versioning and compliance controls, while local cache appliances deliver LAN-speed access for office users. Remote workers access the same files through the Egnyte desktop client or web interface.
SharePoint and OneDrive are designed for collaboration on Microsoft Office documents. They struggle with large file counts (sync errors above 100K items), deep folder structures, and non-Office file types like CAD drawings and video. Egnyte is purpose-built for file storage at scale with hybrid on-prem caching, granular permissions, and compliance features that SharePoint requires add-ons to match.
Yes. Egnyte integrates with Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Office co-authoring. Users keep their existing M365 workflow for email, calendars, and real-time document editing. Egnyte replaces only the storage and sync layer, eliminating SharePoint sync limitations while preserving the tools your team already uses.
Yes. Egnyte provides a built-in compliance engine with content classification, data loss prevention, audit trails, and access governance that satisfies HIPAA, SOC 2, FINRA, and other regulatory requirements. Healthcare practices and financial firms across Orange County use Egnyte to store protected data without additional compliance add-ons.
Yes. Egnyte is designed to replace traditional file servers and NAS devices. The on-premises cache node preserves the LAN-speed file access that office workers expect while adding cloud backup, remote access, and compliance controls. BRITECITY migrates businesses in Irvine and Orange County from aging file servers to Egnyte with zero downtime.
Egnyte pricing starts at approximately $20 per user per month for the Business plan with 1TB of storage. Enterprise plans with advanced governance and unlimited storage scale based on user count. For most businesses, the total cost of ownership is lower than maintaining on-premises file servers when factoring in hardware replacement, backup systems, and IT labor.
BRITECITY audits your current file environment, counts your files, maps your permissions, and tells you exactly whether Egnyte is the right fit — for businesses across Irvine, Newport Beach, and Orange County.