Launch of the Huddle Content Connector

SOURCE: Huddle

Huddle today launched the Huddle Content Connector, which is set to release government and enterprise organizations from legacy enterprise content management (ECM) systems and move them to a new era of working in the cloud.

Huddle’s Content Connector enables organizations to seamlessly migrate large amounts of content out of their unwieldy and complex SharePoint deployments, which are difficult to manage and upgrade, and into Huddle’s secure cloud. By doing so, organizations can transform the way they work, support the increasingly mobile workforce and benefit from cross-firewall collaboration. For organizations where a complete SharePoint replacement is not an option, Huddle can regenerate the ECM system by working on top of it, providing the collaboration features office workers need and syncing with SharePoint for knowledge management, record management and archiving.

Organizations across the globe are stuck using legacy ECM systems built in a pre-internet era that no longer meet the needs of today’s workforce. Designed to lock information inside a company’s four walls, legacy ECM systems often have low adoption rates due to their complexity and poor user experience. Today’s office workers need intuitive technology that enables them to securely access files across all of their devices and collaborate on content when on the move with their enterprise ecosystem of customers, partners and contractors. Huddle’s Content Connector now provides organizations with a fast and secure route to its next generation content collaboration platform and enables them to move away from SharePoint Team Sites and shared drives.

Rather than using costly consultants to make the shift from on-premise to cloud systems, the point-and-click Huddle Content Connector interface enables government and enterprises to quickly and securely migrate their data from their SharePoint deployment into Huddle. It also provides an alternative for SharePoint customers faced with the difficult and expensive upgrade path to SharePoint 2013.

“SharePoint is dying and soon such legacy enterprise technology will be extinct,” explains Alastair Mitchell, CEO, Huddle. “It’s too clunky and complex for people to use, costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement and often takes six months to test, let alone install, a new version. SharePoint’s just too dated to meet the demands of today’s businesses and SharePoint Online gives people the same headaches as the on-premise service, such as poor mobile access and low adoption. But the thought of moving away from such systems is daunting for organizations as years’ of data is stored there. The Huddle Content Connector takes the pain out of moving to the cloud, so companies can now benefit from intuitive and flexible technology, far shorter upgrade cycles, mobile and external working. It’s time to move into the new world of work.”

As government and enterprise organizations alike continue to embrace cloud, mobile and social to drive productivity it is becoming increasingly important to examine how to approach the legacy technologies that they have in place. Should it be required, Huddle’s Content Connector allows files to be moved back and archived into legacy storage services for compliance purposes once all collaboration and discussion around the content is complete.

The key advantages of Huddle are:

– External collaboration – Huddle works across firewalls, enabling relevant people inside and outside of an organization to access, share and work on content in a secure online environment

– Mobile collaboration – Huddle can be accessed from anywhere. Whether it is a mobile device or a computer outside of your company’s VPN, regardless of which operating system or browser they are using, or which network they are logged on to. Huddle is available across multiple mobile and tablet devices, with native applications available for iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Android

– User adoption – due to its complexity and multi-purpose feature set, SharePoint suffers from low adoption rates in organizations. Huddle’s user interface has been architected with the business user in mind to guarantee the highest possible adoption rates. With the Huddle Adoption Guarantee, we are confident that, within 90 days, 100% of your initial user base will be actively using Huddle or we will refund the entire three months subscription value

– Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) – Huddle, with its multi-tenant cloud architecture, can significantly reduce the TCO of collaboration software in the enterprise. With no initial costs for servers, customization and additional licenses, Huddle can be deployed in a matter of days, not weeks or months like SharePoint

– Social features – Huddle unites content and conversation in a single central view for faster, more efficient working. You can direct comments and notifications to specific individuals or teams by using the @ symbol in file conversations and view all relevant information in your business activity stream

About Huddle

Huddle provides next generation content collaboration for government and enterprises. Its patent-pending intelligent technology ensures relevant content is delivered directly to Huddle users, with no need to search. Business units of any size work more efficiently by huddling together within a secure cloud service accessed via web browsers, desktop or mobile devices. Co-headquartered in London and San Francisco and with offices in New York City, Huddle’s customers include 80 percent of Fortune 500 and 80 percent of UK government departments, as well as companies such as Kia Motors, SEGA, Unilever and P&G. The company is privately held and backed by leading venture capital firms in the US and Europe