YouSendIt, an online file transfer service with a focus on businesses, is removing the beta label from an Outlook plugin that automatically reroutes large attachments through its so-called “FedEx for the internet” system.
Email accounts tend to place really low caps on attachments - don’t even think about sending 2GB of movies to your friends and expect them to land successfully in their inboxes. But with this plugin, all attachments over a designated size (2MB? 5MB? you pick) are automatically transfered by YouSendIt rather than standard email. Large files are uploaded to YouSendIt’s servers where they remain until the recipient downloads them via an emailed link, all without requiring the sender to change attachment his or her habits.
This is just the first plugin that YouSendIt has planned for integrating into apps with which users tend to exchange files. A plugin for Thunderbird is under development, as are browser plugins that will deliver the same attachment functionality for webmail services such as Yahoo Mail. Two Facebook apps are also in the works (for sending and receiving with friends there). And a popular Photoshop extension already enables creative types to directly export their images to colleagues using YouSendIt.
YouSendIt is a freemium service; a free version places a 100mb cap on individual files, while three paid versions - Pro, Business Plus, and Corporate - lift that cap and deliver extra goodies like branding, security, longer-term storage, bandwidth and tracking. I’m told that businesses embracing YouSendIt not only rely on it for handling large files; they also send smaller files through it so they can be tracked and managed more effectively.
The company claims about 7 million registered users and says it transfers about 10 million files per month. It runs two data centers in the US (one on each coast), and a fairly new center in London for supporting European users.
Competitors include Pando (which also has an Outlook plugin), Leapfile (ditto), Drop.io, Megaupload, SendThisFile and Rapidshare - not to mention online storage and syncing solutions like newly-(re)introduced MobileMe, Dropbox and SugarSync.
FedEx for the internet sounds too glorious for them
Check out celum.com for a more enterprise-like approach.
The real key for success in this area is security assurance which for any decent size company is essential. The problem yousendit has and will have, is that it has grown as a consumer focused brand and solution, and therefore corporate users such as myself will have doubts.
By far my favourite solution out there is drop.io, which blows me away every time I use it. But I have to be very careful indeed in sending company reports etc because I’m not certain of its security.
They are a tad late with their Outlook plug-in, we ( http://www.sendyourfiles.com ) already have Outlook support for over 2 year, not to mention the Outlook Express and Vista’s Windows Mail plug-ins.
Guess not offering any Free service is just not trendy enough to get any coverage on serious blogs.
been using yousendit for a while - very elegant execution relative to competitors, though the file size limit and the inability to send more than one file (unless you pay) is an annoyance.
@3 Peter - you can use encryption to guarantee that confidential documents, reports, etc. are securely transfered (by email, yousendit or any other solution)
For instance at http://www.cgeep.com we provide an OpenPGP-compliant plugin to encrypt emails and attachments in Outlook. It also works as a standalone application to encrypt files and entire folders in Windows.
Has anyone tried http://www.eatlime.com? You can send a link as soon as you start the upload process, and the recipient can start downloading it right away. It is meant for videos, but you can send any type of file here: http://www.eatlime.com/files/
I’ve long been a (free) user of Yousendit for sending video files for client approval. However, I’m also a .mac user and I read that the new .me service Apple have launched means I can send links to large files on my iDisk - giving me a free 10Gb limit on file send size (free meaning no extra cost, as I already pay for .Mac). Could be curtains for yousendit for users like me - unless .me proves to be slow. I’ve always had good transfer speeds (even on uploads) from them, and never had a file fail to send.
They seem to be expensive for what they provide. I have used dropsend.com which is nice and has been around for a while. Dropbox (getdrpbox.com) and Zecter (zecter.com) are two news services that are still in private Beta, but both are much better and much cheaper, with a lot for free. They use Amazons datacenters which lets them outsource stability, reliability, security and availability and hence have better economics.
These new services don’t have plug-ins, instead they give you a folder where any document you add will automatically be sharable.
With Zecter you get a lot more control of the document, with the ability to update documents even after you have sent it. This is really cool and has saved my ass from sending another email out when I had sent out the wrong version the first time around and discovered this 5 mins after hit the send key. It also allows the receiver to view the document prior to downloading.
I used to be a yousendit user but cant justify the prices any more with so many free choices. The new improved mobileme from Apple should add to the commoditization of this service. I think Yousendit needs a little more than a plugin to justify their prices.
@peter I never send any important docs across the ether without encrypting them.
I use YouSendIt at least 3-4x per week. Love these services, for me it’s good riddance http://FTP.
Yet another hold over from the web 1.0 era. A crappy little start up that has been through several iterations of management and business strategy which means they are late with features and low on funds. The current management team seems adequate at best and they are probably too late in the market to get anything more than a break even exit when a competitor buys them…
Um, if I remember, YouSendIt was/is file sharing service like some time ago till Rapidshare came and killed everyone?
This is actually quite an elegant plug-in. Nice job, YSI.
you know whats not funny about YouSendIt? Companies I know are transmitting very sensitive information using this service. Sensitive information as names, numbers, account information, telephone, email, etc.
It is horrifying. Companies put morons who don’t know what FTP is in positions where they are responsible for transmitting large amounts of data (i.e. excel files with personal information). What happens when they can’t email the files because they are too large?
….they use YouSendIt….
damn dangerous. I can guarantee you that 20% of TC readers have had their private information transmitted over YouSendIt.
Phil Dewey is a smart guy. Pay attention to his comments are they completely spot on.
Considering how long this took to get out of beta, I’d say that the other plugins are going to be quite far off from being delivered to users. And why would they even consider a Thunderbird plugin when the user base for that email app is so small? Mac Mail and Entourage are clearly the next email apps they should be aiming their targets at as YouSendIt is supposed to be targeting creative pros.
All aboard the fail bus, destination: Campbell.
@trenety
Yes, most of these file transfer sites do not provide security, which can be a huge issue for businesses that needs to send files with confidential information back and forth.
I believe YouSendIt does provide some level of security, but most of their users are “consumer/individuals” that don’t care much about security. Leapfile, mentioned above, claims to be one of the most secure out there (compliance with SOX, HIPAA, SAS70…yada yada). As this “industry” or market matures, and even with the journey from Web 2.0 to 3.0, I believe there will be a greater segmentation between consumer and business-focused SaaS services out there, in which case YouSendIt will be stuck in the middle and companies like LeapFILE will be cleaning up the business market because of the particular needs that business needs…i.e., security, customer support, etc.
Thanks tones810, good follow up to the press release you wrote for Leapfile in March:
http://www.pressreleasepoint.c.....vity-its-c
“London Luxury LLC Deploys LeapFILE Secure File Transfer Solution to Enhance Workflow Productivity with its Customers & Partners
Posted March 11th, 2008 by tones810″
In response to some of the comments regarding file security, I think there’s a far more pressing issue that hasn’t been brought up. If you read through the YSI terms and conditions you’ll find, buried deep:
“YouSendIt does not claim any ownership rights in any User Files that you make available through the Service. However, by making User Files available through the Service, you hereby grant to YouSendIt a nonexclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable, worldwide license to use, copy, distribute and process User Files on the Sites and through the Service.”
That is seriously UNCOOL! YouStealIt?
Yes, there are plenty of file sending products/services out there but one that’s straight up and at it is 2Large2Email which is good for small businesses.