On Friday, Amazon Web Services announced the release of Amazon Zocalo, an enterprise grade storage and collaboration platform. Zocalo delivers file storage, the ability for users to annotate files and provide feedback for team members in addition to version control and fine-grained access permissions. Users of Zocalo can request feedback from team members and return to the section in the original document to which the feedback refers as illustrated below:
Image source: Look Out Box and Dropbox – Here Comes Amazon’s Zocalo
Collaborators can highlight words or phrases in the original document and receive notifications via email about recently inputted feedback or impending deadlines. Moreover, users have the ability to set up a folder that synchronizes with Zocalo by means of an encrypted connection across all relevant devices. Enterprise customers can use Zocalo as a production-ready collaboration platform that allows employees to dispense with lengthy email collaborations to finalize documents. Moreover, Zocalo features advanced security functionality marked by data encryption, audit logs and integration with Active Directory, all for the low cost of $5 per user for 200 GB of storage per user. The Zocalo platform represents direct competition to file storage and collaboration vendors Box and Dropbox, both of whom target personal users and enterprise customers alike, although Amazon’s pricepoint and breathtaking ability to roll out features renders it an attractive option out of the gate despite being a late arriver to the enterprise file storage landscape. Most importantly, Zocalo constitutes yet another example of Amazon’s investment in courting enterprise customers by delivering a solution that meets enterprise needs for security, simplicity and collaboration-centric functionality.
Cloud Computing Today 