NetExplorer vs SharePoint: which solution should you choose to protect your data?

Managing data securely has become a critical concern for companies in the digital age. Cloud file management solutions keep multiplying, but they are not all equal when it comes to security, regulatory compliance and ease of use. In this article we compare two major options: NetExplorer and SharePoint. While SharePoint, backed by Microsoft, is a popular choice, NetExplorer is a French solution emerging as a serious contender thanks to its advanced security features and its commitment to data sovereignty.

Our aim here is to help you understand, in complete transparency, which points to weigh when hosting your organisation's data in the cloud, by setting out the essential differences between our solution and Microsoft's.

So that you can grasp the main differences quickly, and to make this often detailed information easier to take in, we have also produced a comparative infographic of NetExplorer and SharePoint. Click here to see it.

Background

The technology landscape is moving quickly, and with it the stakes around data security and protection. Against that background, organisations face crucial questions: how do you choose the best platform for storing, sharing and collaborating on sensitive, confidential data? While SharePoint is a well-known option, it is crucial to understand that NetExplorer offers a solid alternative, with leading-edge security backed by numerous certifications and stronger compliance. This comparison aims to give our readers an informed perspective to help them make the best choice when it comes to storing and managing their data.

A point-by-point comparison: NetExplorer vs SharePoint

In this comparison we go through the main areas and features of each tool, in order to establish the differences between them and let you choose the solution best suited to your organisation's needs.

Backup and data retention

NetExplorer stands out through its robust backup strategy, with a double backup in two data centres in France, geographical redundancy and 30 days of retention, whereas SharePoint places responsibility for backup in users' hands with retention limited to just 14 days. The fine-grained retention NetExplorer offers also allows precise recovery, while SharePoint limits that ability. This crucial difference means your data stays protected and recoverable when you need it with NetExplorer.

Exposure to extraterritorial law

One of NetExplorer's strengths lies in its status as a sovereign provider, which guarantees complete immunity from extraterritorial law, unlike SharePoint. As an American solution developed by Microsoft, one of the big tech giants, SharePoint is subject to the Cloud Act, which can compromise the confidentiality of data. That distinction is crucial for organisations: with NetExplorer, French and European law guarantees complete confidentiality over the data held in that space. We covered the subject in our webinar "5 risks of storing data with the big tech giants", alongside Oriana Labruyère, lawyer and data protection officer at La Robe Numérique Avocat.

Traceability and rights management

Traceability is essential to data security. NetExplorer offers full traceability with exportable event logs, so you can follow what users do. SharePoint, by contrast, provides no traceability and no event log, which leaves organisations in the dark about their users' activity. NetExplorer's advanced, customisable rights management also offers granular control, while SharePoint has limitations on large folder trees.

File sharing

How easily you can share matters a great deal in a cloud file management solution. NetExplorer offers unlimited sharing with no size limit, internally and externally, along with the ability to set validity dates and custom rights for files shared by email or by link. All of those settings give the user complete control over the data they share. SharePoint, by contrast, has limitations: restricted rights management, no option for setting a validity date, and limits on file and folder sizes, which makes the whole thing awkward and forces users to adopt a second solution alongside it.

While SharePoint has no advanced sharing options, NetExplorer offers protection of shared files by SMS code or password, a download limit and a download receipt, all of which keep the integrity of shared data out of harm's way.

Collaboration

The central plank of the NetExplorer solution is collaboration in a secure cloud. That collaborative side comes through several features, and lets users co-edit documents together in real time. With our tool, exchanges are smoother: you can review documents, add annotations or comment while tagging members of your team. You can also invite internal colleagues and external partners to collaborate.

SharePoint likewise offers features around collaborating on documents and co-editing them with ease. The difference is that NetExplorer goes further, bringing stronger security measures to protect files during collaboration.

While NetExplorer lets you impose an expiry date on a guest account, that option is not available in SharePoint. Microsoft's tool also only lets you invite people to collaborate within a folder, with just two levels of rights: edit and preview. With NetExplorer, an invitation to collaborate comes with broader levels of rights, including the ability to generate a preview of the file, download it, or invite other people to collaborate on it.

Document approval, an integral part of collaboration, is a feature built directly into the NetExplorer solution, so users can get more done without adding another collaborative tool. SharePoint, by contrast, makes document approval available only through an integration you have to configure by hand with Power Automate.

Electronic signatures

One of the flagship features of the NetExplorer solution is the electronic signature. It is a genuine way of bringing every stage of a document's lifecycle together in a single interface. NetExplorer has three levels of electronic signature, two of which carry legal weight: the scanned handwritten signature, the eIDAS electronic signature, and the advanced eIDAS electronic signature. Whatever the document, you can therefore sign it or send it for signature with NetExplorer. Microsoft's solution, for its part, has no electronic signature feature at all, which forces its users to bring in yet another tool.

File synchronisation

NetExplorer allows several million items to be synchronised across different devices, whether a client machine or a server, which offers maximum flexibility. That scale of synchronisation is made possible in particular by NetSync, a tool developed in-house and included in our plans at no extra cost, which automatically synchronises every file on the web platform onto the desktop and back again. SharePoint, by contrast, recommends synchronising no more than 300,000 items, only for the client machine, and has no dedicated tool for it.

Technical support

One of NetExplorer's greatest added values is having technical and commercial support close at hand, based in France and available to its users. Our support team can be reached by phone or email every working day from 9am to 6pm without a break, so help arrives quickly. Client satisfaction is one of our chief concerns, and 95% of our clients are satisfied with these services.

Companies frequently call on outside providers to manage their IT support and install the various tools they use. Those services represent a significant cost: every time a need arises, they have to pay for more work. Using a complete solution such as NetExplorer, with its many features, limits the number of tools in use internally, and support is included in the plans.

With SharePoint, technical support comes through a generic helpline. The choice is yours.

Customisation

The NetExplorer platform is 100% customisable so it reflects your brand. Visually, you can add your logo and set a dominant colour. The address people use to reach the platform is not generic either: clients always customise it so they can use their company name and get a platform in their own image, which is not the case with SharePoint. All of that lets NetExplorer users work day to day with a tool that matches their brand and their business applications. With SharePoint, customising the platform is perfectly possible too, but it requires integration work that brings additional costs.

HDS certification (Health Data Hosting)

Security and compliance are at the heart of what NetExplorer does. Aimed at healthcare organisations handling sensitive patient data, HDS certification lets us demonstrate to healthcare facilities that we are compliant when it comes to hosting and managing sensitive data: medical records, prescriptions and the like, with the highest level of confidentiality.

With HDS certification and hosting in France, NetExplorer therefore offers a solution compliant with French and European regulations, a major advantage for organisations handling sensitive data. While SharePoint does not hold HDS certification, the solution can be adapted to certain measures through specific arrangements, without matching the strict HDS framework issued by an independent certification body in full. And it is worth remembering that using an HDS-certified IT provider is a legal obligation for healthcare facilities and organisations in the medical sector.

Conclusion

This comparison between NetExplorer and SharePoint highlights the significant advantages of the former when it comes to security, data sovereignty and ease of use. NetExplorer stands out as a favoured choice for organisations looking to protect their sensitive data in line with French and European regulations. With full traceability, advanced sharing and collaboration features, and a security-first approach, NetExplorer offers a complete answer to organisations' complex needs around data protection.

Choosing a cloud file management solution should not be taken lightly. It is a strategic decision that will affect the security of your data and the productivity of your company. Before making up your mind, weigh the advantages and drawbacks of each platform carefully against your specific needs.

Data security and protection are key parts of any company's digital strategy, and NetExplorer offers a solid way of meeting those challenges successfully.

We are here to support you in your choice and to answer any questions you have about data security and sovereignty. Do get in touch today to find out how NetExplorer can help strengthen security across your organisation and give you complete control over your data.

To see our detailed NetExplorer vs SharePoint infographic, head here.