Panzura works well for companies that have a high amount of data with cross site collaboration being done. The caching ensures you don't need huge investments of storage at each site and the cloud storage ensures high availability over what can be done locally. Also helps eliminate duplicate data across sites and/or small variations in the same data.
When doing daily jobs, if you’re sharing large files, I think Dropbox works a lot better but if you have a system where you’re working within that system and you want to be able to work with that system and have certain folders that you have access to all the time then SugarSync might be just the ticket.
I would like to see more connectors. Tie in to traditional block storage or NAS. Additional cloud connectors to products like Hitachi Content Platform.
I would like to see a collaborative product created between Panzura and Riverbed. I envision an almost perfect small footprint ROBO solution where Riverbed provides the compute+WAN optimization and Panzura provides the storage/risiliancy components. Combine the boxes into a single 4U solution and you have a near perfect product for remote offices.
Can only think of one thing. I have helped others to get going with SugarSync and they if they have problems it is understanding the cloud.... So maybe (if it dosen't exist already) I would like to have a animation of the proces with "flying" folders between desktops, clouds etc. Otherwise SugarSync is just great.
Hands down support is the best part of Panzura. Their techs are always helpful, always knowledgeable, and consistently solve complex problems quickly. You can definitely tell they hire their support folks from the top tier of other companies and they go above and beyond what I have come to expect in terms of support compared to other companies.
SugarSync, like all solutions, has its place in the data storage stack within a company. The main reason SugarSync is better than the other solutions is that it enables me to leave my hard drive organized and keep my existing file trees. I don't have to constantly move or copy files to a specific folder if I want them backed up.