cloudHQ presents
How to Easily Integrate
SharePoint and Dropbox
A simple, step-by-step guide for IT System Administrators
The Challenge
Over 4 million businesses use Dropbox. Dropbox is easy to use, powerful, and great for collaboration.
As attractive as Dropbox’s platform is, many IT administrators feel stuck.
Many work at companies that have been using Microsoft Office 365 SharePoint for years. Some have
millions of documents stored in SharePoint folders.
How could a company like that ever consider a platform like Dropbox?
The process of migrating all those documents sounds like a nightmare. And there’s no way a company could
easily use both SharePoint and Dropbox…
…or could it?
The Solution
By using cloudHQ, companies can do what might have seemed impossible: sync folders in Office 365
SharePoint directly with folders in Dropbox for Business.
This type of integration is much more powerful than “triggered-event” integrations or simple data “moving”
offered by other cloud services. It is true, bi-directional, real-time syncing.
Whatever documents are in SharePoint will be 100% available from a synced Dropbox folder, and vice versa.
This gives IT administrators far more flexibility as they consider their cloud storage options.
cloudHQ
How It Works
cloudHQ is a powerful data syncing tool that can connect many of the leading cloud platforms available
today.
For companies using SharePoint and Dropbox, cloudHQ gives IT administrators full control over how data is
shared back and forth between the two platforms.
If needed, cloudHQ can create a full two-way sync between any folder in SharePoint and any folder in
Dropbox.
cloudHQ can also create a one-way sync that automatically “pushes” all changes from SharePoint to an
archive location in Dropbox. This process creates an easily accessible backup of all files in SharePoint,
creating an easy way to retrieve vital company documents if SharePoint ever goes down or becomes
unavailable.
This and many more options are available in cloudHQ’s configuration options. Setting it up is as easy as
following the prompts.
Major cloudHQ Features
Real-time Sync
cloudHQ syncs data in real time. For example, if a company has set up full two-way syncing between folders
in SharePoint and Dropbox, changes in either folder will be mirrored in the other folder immediately and
automatically. As soon as changes are detected in Office 365, the same changes will be made in the synced
Dropbox folder, and vice versa.
Exclude Folders
Sometimes there are folders in SharePoint that a company would rather not sync to Dropbox. cloudHQ
provides easy, powerful setup options that allow IT admins to include or exclude specific subfolders from the
sync process.
Sync Only Certain Folders or Sites
cloudHQ makes it easy to sync an entire SharePoint document library to Dropbox, or just specific folders or
sites within the Office 365 SharePoint.
One-way or Two-way Sync
cloudHQ gives companies the option of creating a two-way sync or a one-way syncing between SharePoint
and Dropbox folders. Two-way syncing will mirror any changes in synced SharePoint folders to the synced
Dropbox folders, and vice versa. One-way sync will “push” any changes in a synched SharePoint folder to a
Dropbox folder. This is perfect for companies looking to create an easy-to-access archive of folders in their
SharePoint database.
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cloudHQ
Replication of Sharing and Permissions
cloudHQ can replicate all permission and sharing information between Office 365 SharePoint and Dropbox.
For example, if a SharePoint folder is shared with users
[email protected] and
[email protected], then that
same folder will be also shared with users in
[email protected] and
[email protected] in Dropbox.
Advanced Sync Options
Many features in cloudHQ can be turned on or off to meet the needs of an organization. A company might
want to prevent documents from being deleted, for example. Or it might not make sense to replicate the
same sharing options in Dropbox that exist in SharePoint. Here are some options:
• Replicate deletion (off / on)
• Archive files before they are replicated
• Replicate sharing (on / off)
• Skip files based on ownership
Admin Console
cloudHQ provides the administrative control and visibility features that empower both IT and end users to
manage their businesses and data. The IT admin has full control over which folders are synced and what
data is shared, and with whom.
Detailed Reports
Full reports of what is being synced are available.
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cloudHQ
Step by Step: How To Set Up a Two-Way Sync
Between SharePoint and Dropbox
1. Set Up Office 365 SharePoint and Dropbox Accounts in cloudHQ
Go to https://www.cloudhq.net/add_office365_authorization, follow the prompts, and choose the Office 365
SharePoint icon from the list.
When authorization is complete, select “Office 365 admin user” from the lists of users. Then click “Add
Selected Cloud Accounts.”
Then choose the Dropbox for Business icon to set up the Dropbox account and folders you want to sync.
When authorization is complete, choose which Dropbox account will be authorized. Then click on “Add
Selected Cloud Accounts.”
2. Start the Synchronization Wizard
3. Drag the Office 365 SharePoint Icon Into the First Box
4. Select the SharePoint Account to Sync
5. Select the SharePoint folder to Sync to Dropbox
6. Drag the Dropbox Icon to the Second Box
7. Select the Dropbox Account to Sync
8. Choose What Folders to Sync in Dropbox
9. Sit Back and Watch cloudHQ Do Its Work
If you’re sharing a lot of data from share SharePoint, it might take some time to see everything to sync to
Dropbox.
Once the sync is complete, however, cloudHQ will maintain a real-time sync between the two folders.
Security
cloudHQ takes security very seriously. Its proprietary system was designed so that passwords (even if
hashed), or other reusable authorization information is never stored on cloudHQ servers.
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cloudHQ
Authentication of Users
By default, cloudHQ users are authenticated via Office 365 authorization. Office 365’s framework for
authentication support has many important security mechanisms, including:
• Two-factor authentication
• Detection of login location (e.g. a login coming from an unusual IP address)
Authorization of Cloud Accounts and Data Replication
cloudHQ uses an OAuth mechanism to authorize cloud account access. This means cloudHQ has access only
to an OAuth token, never the user’s password.
OAuth tokens are stored in a special file called “wallet.” This file is encrypted using a key that’s not
persistently stored. Ultimately, it means the password to open the wallet needs to be entered each time a
server is accessed.
This password is known only to the system operator maintaining cloudHQ’s servers. Furthermore, each of the
servers running syncs have different passwords, which are periodically refreshed.
Data transfer between cloud services is performed via secure SSL, and cloudHQ never stores any data on its
servers.
Privacy
Employees of cloudHQ are forbidden to see file names or file content.
If a cloudHQ employee or contractor must access file names or file content in order to solve a support ticket,
the employee or contractor is required to ask for explicit permission to do so. All access will be logged and
customers can request audit logs at their discretion.
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Conclusion
In many organizations, employees rely on Dropbox for working with partners, vendors, and other external
users. But they also continue to use Office 365 SharePoint as their primary company document repository.
This creates major headaches for many IT administrators as they try to keep track of the company’s data
and information.
cloudHQ allows these companies to have the best of both worlds.
They can keep their Office 365 SharePoint in place. And they can take advantage of all the great features
Dropbox has to offer as well.
This can all be done easily, safely, and with full control over the privacy and security of a company’s
important documents.
About cloudHQ
cloudHQ was founded in 2012. It is bootstrapped, profitable, and experiencing exponential growth. The
cloudHQ team is composed of experienced storage and high-availability engineers who have worked
previously on security and data protection in large corporations such as Oracle and Hewlett Packard.
At present, cloudHQ replicates more than 1.5 million files a day. Its service is used by many Fortune 500
companies, including:
• CP+B
• Ideo
• EMC
• Hewlett-Packard
• Gartner
• J. C. Penney
To learn more about cloudHQ, visit cloudhq.net.
