Child Site Use Cases

Child Sites apply wherever a Files.com deployment needs site-level separation: different domains, different IP addresses, different SSO providers, different security policies, or different physical regions. The examples below show common patterns across subsidiaries, regions, environments, brands, and archival storage. When isolation needs to be operational rather than structural — a confidential project, a deal room, a one-off engagement — use a Workspace instead.

Subsidiaries and Operating Divisions

A holding company owns three operating subsidiaries, each with its own brand, IT team, and external customer base. Each subsidiary runs as a Child Site under the holding company's Parent Site. The subsidiary's IT lead is a Child Site Administrator who manages users, automations, partner relationships, and integrations for that subsidiary. The subsidiary's customers and partners connect through the subsidiary's own custom domain and never see the holding company's site. The holding company's IT team retains Parent Site Administrator access for centralized oversight and consolidated billing.

Regional or Jurisdictional Compliance

A global enterprise operates in the United States, the European Union, and Asia-Pacific. EU customer data must remain in EU regions and is subject to GDPR. The enterprise runs a Child Site for each region, with storage regions configured to keep data in-region, separate IP addresses for jurisdictional network controls, and region-specific retention policies. The Parent Site Administrator standardizes site-wide security and protocol settings across all regions through Child Site Management Policies, while each region's day-to-day operations stay regional.

Production, Staging, and Development Environments

A financial services company separates production, staging, and development as three Child Sites under one Parent Site. Each environment has its own IP addresses for firewall and traffic rules, its own SSO configuration, and its own branding so staff cannot confuse a staging session for a production session. Automations and integrations are developed and tested in staging before being promoted. The Parent Site Administrator manages all three environments centrally and can move test data between them through the Parent Site's underscore folder.

Distinct Brands and Customer-Facing Domains

A consumer products company operates several brands, each with its own customer-facing identity. Each brand runs as a Child Site with its own custom domain, branded login page, and branded email templates. Customers exchanging files with a specific brand interact only with that brand's domain and branding. Internal staff who work across brands have parent-site accounts and access multiple Child Sites by switching between them after login.

Archival and Warm Storage Sites

A regulated industry organization keeps active customer files on its main Parent Site and moves files older than a defined retention threshold to an archival Child Site. The archival Child Site has different access policies, a longer retention period, and a smaller set of users who can reach archived content. Sync or automations on the Parent Site move files from active folders into the archival Child Site on a schedule. When auditors request historical data, the archival site is queried directly without affecting active operations.