The Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) Enhances Team Productivity by Creating a Highly Secure Private Cloud File Collaboration Platform with Synology Drive

As a national research institution, INER places great emphasis on data security when planning IT services and recognizes the security shortcomings of traditional SMB systems over a decade ago. Due to the project-oriented nature of INER's operations, the need for internal collaboration among over a thousand employees is high. This also requires timely sharing of research resources and results with external entities such as Taiwan Power Company and various universities and research institutions. Additionally, when supervisory bodies like the Executive Yuan and Legislative Yuan request information, INER must respond promptly. However, the previously established file service system was outdated in operability and security, failing to allow employees to access the latest files in real-time and struggling to meet the growing demand for remote work access. This led many employees to resort to less secure and unmonitored file transfer methods, such as emailing small files or using USB drives for larger ones, neither of which met the necessary security or collaboration standards. Issues included resource consumption when multiple people sent files via email and the risk of critical data leaks if a USB drive was lost, not to mention the potential for virus infections.

Pei-Chih Wang, Deputy Section Chief, explained, "As a national R&D unit, we handle a large volume of critical research data, so data security and privacy are paramount. Public cloud access methods pose unacceptable risks for an organization dealing with sensitive data like ours. Given our needs for security, privacy, and ease of access, we began planning for a private cloud file server early on."

Synology integrates multiple file access points, allowing INER employees to access the latest files directly from their computers, mobile phones, or tablets, whether they are working on-site or from home. Additionally, Synology Drive's desktop application allows team members to continue using their familiar SMB file access habits. By simply dragging and dropping files into the desktop folder, the data is instantly synced to the Synology Drive server. This ensures that all data is centrally stored during remote work and accelerates the efficiency of R&D team collaboration. Synology Drive also addresses the security concerns of traditional SMB systems by employing SSL/TLS encryption for data transmission, which is on par with HTTPS security standards. Synology also offers secure link-sharing features, where internal link-sharing requires user authentication. External sharing can be protected with strong passwords and access expiration dates, simplifying file-sharing processes while ensuring data security.

"After switching to Synology Drive, we also encouraged employees to replace attaching files in emails with sharing Synology Drive file links. This not only resolves the issue of email attachment size limits but also mitigates the risk of confidential data leaks caused by intercepted emails," Wang added. "Implementing cybersecurity measures is challenging because most users prioritize convenience over security. As IT professionals responsible for planning and managing organizational information services, we often must balance user convenience with security. Synology Drive meets our needs for secure file sharing, file recovery, backup, and disaster recovery, all while supporting collaborative work."

INER previously used another private cloud file platform with a rudimentary interface that often required IT training for users and lacked essential file security management features. After learning about Synology Drive and conducting a trial period, INER found that its collaboration features were comprehensive, with built-in security mechanisms such as password protection and customizable access permissions, meeting their criteria for file server settings.

Cost was another crucial factor in INER's evaluation process. Wang noted that many commercially available solutions come with restrictions on software and hardware procurement, often requiring ongoing subscription fees for software. Given INER's scale, with over a thousand employees, the costs of building and maintaining such systems would be substantial. However, Synology Drive, an integrated software and hardware solution, only requires the purchase of Synology server hardware to unlock the full range of Synology Drive features. Additionally, Synology servers offer significant scalability, which is essential for an organization like INER that needs long-term research data storage. This flexibility in expanding storage capacity ensures that the file server can meet long-term service needs. After considering security, collaboration convenience, and cost-effectiveness, INER deployed two Synology RS4017xs+ units to create a modern file collaboration platform that meets the demands of contemporary office work. With Synology Drive's full support for Active Directory (AD), the deployment process was smooth. After implementation, both IT management and end-user file access were intuitive, reducing the burden of IT training.

"When evaluating the ease of management and user-friendliness of new IT services, end-user operation is crucial. If the process is complex, it becomes a nightmare for IT service personnel, requiring extensive training and making future troubleshooting more labor-intensive. Since Drive is intuitive for both end-user file access and IT management interfaces, there were no issues with system conversion and rollout," Wang further shared. "We've been moving towards private cloud solutions for the past 10 years, and we've tried various private cloud file server solutions. We were fortunate to discover Synology Drive, which started with basic file-sharing features and has now evolved into a comprehensive collaborative tool. Compared to other brands, Synology undoubtedly offers the best value for money."