Dropbox vs eFolder-Anchor at IT Nation 2013

If money talks, then Dropbox is screaming from the rooftops at IT Nation 2013. Indeed, Dropbox has emerged as the diamond sponsor at ConnectWise‘s annual gathering of VARs, MSPs, IT services providers and ISVs. But that doesn’t mean Dropbox has cornered the market on file sync and sharing services here. Indeed, eFolder (armed with its recent Anchor acquisition) also is attending IT Nation in full force.

On the one hand, Dropbox has strong brand momentum — especially in the consumer market and across large enterprises. The service now has 200 million users plus a new Dropbox for Business client — which helps users manage personal and work files more easily.

With so many users Dropbox appears unstoppable. But take a closer look and you’ll see Anchor — the file sync and sharing service now owned by eFolder — also has a strong presence here at IT Nation. Last I heard, Anchor had about 350 channel partners in September 2013. But the business combo with eFolder — which offers backup and data protection services — has likely lifted that figure in recent weeks.

eFolder and Anchor have a pure channel sales model — an approach that IT Nation attendees usually applaud loudly. Also, eFolder VP of Marketing Ted Hulsy tends to fit the “go giver” profile; he personally assists MSPs with a range of business advice. People know him for it, and it drives industry loyalty to the services he promotes.

No doubt, many MSPs here at the conference want to blend their cloud storage and backup services with potential file sharing and sync offerings. Dropbox and eFolder/Anchor will surely open their arms to MSPs.

Also contending for attention here: LogMeIn, which is starting to promote its new Cubby service and M-Files, which offers an enterprise content management system. We’ll be poking around for more information soon…