Files.com provides two powerful tools—Syncs and Automations—to help move and manage files between systems. While they share some overlap, they serve different purposes and are designed for different use cases.

About Files.com Syncs

Remote Server Syncs are intended to synchronize files between Files.com and a remote server, which could be a protocol transfer server, a cloud storage provider (e.g., AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage), or a content collaboration provider (like Dropbox, OneDrive, SharePoint or Box).

Syncs replicate files between 2 different folders, at least 1 of which is located on a remote server. The replication can be one-way or bidirectional, but there will always be a remote server involved whenever a file is synced.

Because syncs are designed to work with remote locations, they are also designed for resiliency, and to gracefully handle communication interruptions. If your partner's SFTP server goes offline for a weekend, a sync process that uploads files to the partner every day will re-attempt uploading when the server is reachable, including any files that could not be transferred in earlier attempts.

Syncs are designed to avoid waste, so they will not transfer files unnecessarily. If a file of the same name and size already exists in the destination, sync will not transfer the file again, unless you have configured the sync to overwrite in that case.

Sync Use Cases

Our customers use Syncs to solve a variety of business problems.

A company might use a Files.com sync to move files over to a system like SharePoint so they can easily share them on their intranet. For example, the HR or communications team might store important documents—like rules, news, or how-to guides—in a folder on Files.com. Instead of copying those files over to SharePoint by hand every time something changes, they can set up a sync that does it automatically. That way, the latest version of each document always shows up on the intranet, and everyone in the company can find the right info in one place.

A company might use a sync to automatically grab daily reports from a remote SFTP server so they don’t have to do it by hand. For example, a retail chain could have each store send its sales data every night to an SFTP server. Instead of someone downloading the files manually each morning, a Files.com sync pulls them in automatically. This saves time and avoids mistakes. Once the files are in, the company can run reports or load the data into tools that help them track sales and make smart decisions quickly.

A company with offices in different countries—like the US and the UK—might use Files.com to help their teams share files easily between completely separate CCP systems, such as a SharePoint server in the UK and a Box account in the US. They can set up a sync that copies files back and forth between the two locations, so everyone always has the latest version, and people in each location only need to connect to their local services. If someone in New York adds or updates a file, it automatically shows up for the team in London. And if the London team makes changes, those updates go back to New York. This way, both teams can work on the same files without having to email them back and forth.

Overview of Files.com Automations

Files.com Automations are more flexible than remote server syncs. Rather than synchronizing the contents of two folders, automations have a greater variety of actions they can perform. We'll focus in our examples on just Move File Automations and Copy File Automations because they are most similar to what syncs can do.

Automations do much more than just synchronizing the contents of folders. With automations, you can move or copy files to multiple destinations, rather than to a single folder. Automations can also change the names of the files that are being transferred and transfer them to different folder names than the source. You can even choose to "flatten" the source directory structure, locating matching files among a variety of subfolders and combining them into the same target directory.

Automations can operate on a path using globs (**) that affects multiple folders. Paths in automations can even refer to folders (both on the source or the destination) which don't yet exist when the automation is configured.

Automations do not require a remote server as the source or destination, so you can copy or move files within your site. Automations can be triggered by files actions (e.g., uploads, downloads, deletions), by external webhooks, or run on a schedule.

Automation Use Cases

Automations are extremely powerful, and are used for a wide variety of business process. Here, we highlight just a few of the use cases for automations that copy or move files.

Schools and universities often collect assignments from students online. With Files.com, students can upload their work to an inbox, which automatically places the file in a subfolder for that student. An automation can copy all of the files from the subfolders of the inbox to a processing folder for ingestion into a plagiarism checker. Another automation can move the original submissions to a location for grading.

In many companies, a single file might need to be shared with different departments. For example, when a new invoice is uploaded to a folder like /incoming/invoices/, Files.com can automatically copy it to multiple places at once - such as finance/ and procurement/ and compliance/. This way, all teams get access to the same file without anyone needing to email it or upload it again. It saves time, reduces errors, and makes sure everyone has what they need to do their job.

A media company could use automations with remote server mounts to auotmatically distribute certain programs to affiliates. On a scheduled basis, a copy automation can copy the program files to each affiliate's folder.

Syncs and Automations Comparison

Determining when to use a sync vs. a mount

While it's usually possible to use either a sync or an automation plus a mount to transfer files to or from a remote system, there are a few guiding principles to help you choose the right feature for your particular case.

Remote Server Reliability

Depending on the remote server, there may be concerns about issues like disconnects or timeouts. For example, if you're connecting to a high-performance remote server manged by your IT department manage (for example, an internal AWS S3 bucket), you can be confident that transfers will likely just work under all normal circumstances.

However, if you're connecting to a partner's SFTP server, and you have no visibility into or control over the the server configuration, it may be harder to guarantee that Files.com will be able to consistently connect and transfer data at the volume required for a mount. When you are concerned about the potential reliability of a mount, consider using a sync instead. The original files will remain stored at the source destination if the Files.com service is unable to connect to the remote server. The sync will pick up where they left off on their next run, guaranteeing no data is missed.

Time Sensitivity

The timing of file transfers can be a limitation for some workflows. For example, a POS system might need to send orders as soon as they are received to be consumed by accounting software linked to Files.com. Mounts are typically best for real-time transactions between a remote and Files.com as the action (upload, download, delete, etc.) is happening directly on the remote service.

Volume of Data Involved

Understanding how the data will be used and the volume of the data is extremely important to determine the best tool for use. For example, here are two use cases that relate to backups:

Backup 2TB of data each week to a remote service - A sync would be a great choice here, as it will run on a recurring schedule, capture any missed files in the case of any connection issues, and provide logging while the syncs are running.

Granting your internal support team access to 2TB of backup data for troubleshooting - in this case, it may not make sense to have a duplicate copy of the data on Files.com. Instead, you should create a mounted folder and provide access with user permissions to find and capture any data necessary directly from the remote origin.

Guidelines for Choosing Between Syncs and Automations

Syncs and Automations are powerful tools that enhance the flexibility and capability of your Files.com workflows. Syncs are best for simple, repeated file transfers between systems, while Automations shine when you need logic and orchestration.