CTERA Intros Mobile Cloud Storage Apps For Secure File Access

Cloud storage provider CTERA Networks this week unveiled mobile Apple iOS and Android apps targeting business users looking for secure access to files and data backups.

The new apps, available to CTERA users free of charge, give customers the ability to securely access data stored in the cloud via the CTERA cloud storage appliance, said Rani Osnat, vice president of marketing for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company.

"Customers can access their files, open them, and share them with the apps," Osnat said. "But the key is, these functions can be done securely."

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CTERA produces a series of cloud storage gateways that range from a simple device the size of an AC adaptor that connects to USB hard drives to a RAID appliance with room for up to eight 3-TB hard drives. The company's sales are exclusively through indirect sales channels.

Prior to the release of the new mobile Apple iOS and Android apps, CTERA allowed customers to remotely access files through a Web browser. However, Osnat said, that solution did not support encrypted data. "Encryption is important in businesses where the use of mobile devices is becoming increasingly common," he said.

The CTERA backend technology for its cloud storage offering supports Active Directory, which allows the company to support enterprise-class applications on mobile devices with features such as encryption, he said.

"All the files in the CTERA cloud are encrypted," he said. "This guarantees the privacy of user data, even from the service providers."

CTERA's business has traditionally targeted the SMB market, Osnat said. "But we now have a growing enterprise business, particularly around the distributed enterprise, especially those with remote branch offices and roaming users," he said.