Introduction

Time and time again, organisations quote data protection as one of their top priorities. However, many fail to recognise the risk of forgetting to unshare a file with an external source once their collaboration is no longer needed. This is where Tricent comes in. It is an external file-sharing audit tool which automates the unsharing of files and protects company data. If your organisation actively engages in external sharing and collaboration, read on to find out everything you need to know about Tricent.

What is Tricent?

Tricent is a cloud-based compliance tool for Google Workspace which allows organisations to audit, clean up and protect externally shared Google Drive files. Essentially, the tool gives a domain-wide insight into the number of files that have been shared, who they have been shared with and the users that shared them. This, in turn, gives organisations the knowledge required to take action on these shared files and protect their organisational data from misuse. 

The sharing problem

One of the real strengths of Google Workspace is the ability to effortlessly collaborate with those inside, and outside, of your organisation through file sharing. However, it is easy to forget to unshare these files on completion of projects, especially in the fast moving world that is business. And so, these important files remain in the hands of those external to your organisation, where you have no control over how they use them. 

So, how do organisations overcome this obstacle?

Traditionally, admins have been tasked with periodically reviewing external permissions throughout the organisation and taking action where necessary. This, however, is an extremely tedious and time consuming process. In addition, it has been found that, oftentimes, administrators are not in a position to know whether a file should, or should not, be shared externally. This causes many disruptions such as having to check with the file owner before removing sharing or incorrectly assuming that a file should be unshared. All of this summing up to a prolonged and ever more complicated process.

Why Tricent?

Tricent, through its nature and design, mitigates all of these traditional compliance problems. The tool uses the meta tagging function of Google Workspace in order to audit all of an organisation's externally shared files. The tool then emails the owners of the externally shared files and provides them with the option to either remove or extend sharing. If the owner does not act on this email within a certain time period (determined by the organisation) the file will be automatically unshared. And that's it, simple!

An automated way of safeguarding your files

Tricent takes the pain out of what was once a tedious administrative task by automating it. Moreover, the tool consists of many settings that admins can customise and use to control external files in a way that best suits the needs of their organisation. For example, it is possible to schedule periodical bulk clean-ups as well as run manual ones when they see fit. 

Admin Interface

Tricent’s interface gives admins a full overview of all sharings throughout their organisation, as well as suggestions on how to deal with files at risk. The tool also provides historical and future sharing views. Using historical data, admins can gather information on externally shared files which will enable them to set adequate organisational policies. Meanwhile, its future view provides admins with the opportunity to apply policies company-wide or create custom rules for Organisational Units, groups or specific end users. One such rule could be the length of time that a file is shared externally for before being flagged up.

Non-disruptive

Tricent understands that organisations don’t want their employees to be bogged down with tedious administrative tasks, and so designed the tool with that in mind. Admins have the ability to customise how often users are presented with shared files and how many files should be included. Meanwhile the tools email-centric workflow ensures that end-users can quickly and easily manage or revoke externally shared files. Therefore, your employees can spend more of their time fulfilling the responsibilities attributed to their role, and less on administrative tasks! 

Seamless Onboarding

It is super quick and easy to get started with Tricent. All you have to do is enable the tool on Google Workspace and it is ready to get to work. Moreover, in order to get the most from the tool, admins are provided with a small 1-2 hour workshop where they can learn best practices and receive guidance on its implementation. 

Tricent Use Cases

Tricent has proved itself as an excellent tool used by organisations within highly compliant and regulated sectors. This is because Tricent provides admins with the ability to customise settings and policies that will satisfy the strict guidelines they are faced with. However, safeguarding organisational data is imperative to every organisation, no matter size or sector. Therefore, we would recommend Tricent to any organisation using Google Workspace that is actively sharing and collaborating with external sources. 

How Cobry can help

Here at Cobry, we truly are advocates of the tool and have seen first-hand how it can protect organisational data by highlighting externally shared files that you may have forgotten about. We can help organisations get started with Tricent by deploying the tool and providing support that will ensure your organisation gets the most out of it. As experts in Google Workspace and avid users of Tricent, we will be able to provide you with insights tailored to your organisation’s needs. 
To find out more, or get started with Tricent, please get in touch.