Implementing Digital Office for SMBs with Workplace Hub (THE HUB) and filePod (THE POD)

Today SMBs can get all of their IT services delivered via on-premise ‘IT-in-a-box’ edge appliance that’s complemented with transparent private and public cloud-based infrastructure and applications and micro-edge mobile access devices. #DigitalOffice implementation for #SMB using bluFON’s #filePod and Konica Minolta’s #WorkplaceHub #ITinaBox technologies

by NinoVidovic Ph.D.

The Hub and the Pod infrastructure components of IT-in-a-box solution

Summary

Traditionally, IT infrastructure services have been provided via on-site hardware. More recently, an alternative has emerged for very small SMBs: moving these services into the cloud.

Right now, something new is emerging: a hybrid alternative for larger SMBs. It’s an approach which has been made possible by highly integrated, virtualized, intelligent edge systems such as clearBOX by ClearOS and HPE and Konica Minolta’s Workplace Hub.

Furthermore, the demand of today’s increasingly global business requires employees to be able to access all the services and all the company data anytime, anywhere, on any device and in online as well as offline situations. As a result, there is a requirement for a new, more agile, more secure, and more user-friendly mobile digital office.

This new mobile digital office solution is enabled by a powerful next generation of smart mobile devices such as filePod^TM. This paper looks at the Mobile Digital Office implementation for SMBs using bluFON’s filePod and Konica Minolta’s Workplace Hub “IT-in-a-Box” technologies.

Hybrid cloud with edge and micro-edge appliances as “IT-in-a-Box” digital enterprise solution for SMBs

Today medium to large SMBs can get all of their IT services delivered via on-premise ‘IT-in-a-box’ edge appliance that’s complemented with transparent private and public cloud-based infrastructure and applications and mobile access devices.

Picture 1: Hybrid IT infrastructure for SMB : cloud, office and on-the-go

All the IT management functions are centralized into a multi-tenant cloud-hosted management service. This solution requires far less IT expertise to set up and manage SMB’s IT services, which leaves companies to concentrate on their day-to-day operation and business.

Picture 2: IT management functions centralized into a multi-tenant cloud hosted management service

Such a hybrid cloud with intelligent edge appliances offer SMBs the same IT business experience as a fully managed local IT service but delivered via the internet from secure data centers. It’s a far more straightforward alternative to owning and managing on-premise IT infrastructure, and has significant advantages:

Cost savings: services can cost 30% to 50% less
Improve productivity: it’s faster to get employees up and running with new services
Low equipment investment: use existing computers, maybe buy some smart mobile devices
Easy setup: a simple transition from on-premise IT infrastructure
Hassle-free: cloud providers offer fully managed IT systems
Reliable: many cloud providers already provide more than 99% availability
Predictable: a wide range of Service Level Agreements for support and management
Future-proof: no long commitments are needed, and the cloud provider upgrades the technology
Remote access: users can connect to a business IT system from anywhere over the internet
Business continuity: provides a disaster recovery solution

Also, with micro-edge appliances, IT now can extend full control over company data. These micro-edge appliances are fully managed from a central location with a reduced cost:

Identity – authentication, and access thru remote password changes and account lock
Content – enforcing device and selective file encryption, as well as whole volume or selectively files can be remotely deleted
Location – the device could be tracked, locked, or data use can be restricted based on geofencing policies
Privacy – no need to install any management/control/tracking software on employee personal devices (i.e., issues related to privacy vs. control is resolved)
Cost – cost per managed device is reduced since IT is now managing only a single device per employee of the same type (vs. managing multiple devices of a different type)

The Hub: “IT-in-a-Box” SMB Office Solution

Workplace Hub (WPH) is an” IT-in-a-Box” solution by Konica Minolta. WPH is a hybrid system designed to offer SMBs a comprehensive IT Service provided by an on-premise virtualized system – delivered by new hardware and software (Picture 3).

Picture 3: On-premise virtualized infrastructure with cloud back-end

Workplace Hub platform combines infrastructure and applications into a single on-premise device, supported by hybrid cloud services, including file sync and share and backup (Picture 4).

The Admin Dashboard is providing a complete overview of users, assets, applications, server and storage and enabling tasks such as reviewing resource usage, managing user rights or infrastructure status, changing site support or adding and removing applications.

The User Dashboard simplifies the way to access all key information
from one place to improve productivity, collaboration
and communication providing management of applications via the MarketPlace or by linking to third-party providers.

Picture 4: Hardware, software and delivered via managed IT services

The POD: A Mobile Digital Workplace

FilePod^TM (THE POD or Mobile Digital Workplace) is a way to secure all your files and to enable you to access company files anywhere whether you are online or offline. Given your nomadic life, whether you are traveling for work or pleasure, you need to work wherever you are. So filePod^TM is the world’s first automatically and autonomously synchronizing personal file storage device, small, and lightweight. It’s number one priority – provide a secure file management system in a pocket-sized design. With a single login, and instant access right when you needed it and to all your digital files. One home. One unified view across all your cloud accounts which you can now access interchangeably without having to synchronize it to your device again. Avoid logging in over and over again.

And, very importantly, filePod^TM works offline. You needed to access files even when you could not get a wifi signal. So, work on your laptop or tablet, then save the latest version of your files directly into filePod^TM, and once it’s online again, it automatically syncs everything again.

Today, this portable personal file storage works with iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux. It’s encrypted and password-protected for added security. For anyone who wants the security of cloud storage, filePod^TM will tame the chaos and brings order to your files.

Picture 5: FilePod synchronizes all your cloud storage and makes it available on all your screens

Workplace Hub Setup

The new Mobile Digital SMB Office system consists of highly integrated, virtualized all-in-one edge appliance such as Workplace Hub by Konica Minolta, regular desktops computers, printing devices and IoT devices such as web cameras, keyless door entry systems, motions sensors and mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, and filePods. See picture of the SMB office (Picture 6).

In this particular setup. Workplace Hub is configured to provide the following services:

User identity management service
Local file sync and share service
Router operating as an internet gateway with Sophos XG Firewall providing router, firewall and VPN services
Office wireless local network
Virtual run-time IaaS for containerized and virtualized applications

Logical diagram shown in Picture 6.

Picture 6: The Workplace Hub, IT-in-a-Box Intelligent Edge by Konica Minolta in SMB office

Workplace Hub User Identity Management Service

Workplace Hub provides basic user management. Users information can be loaded from an LDAP compliant user base:

Workplace Hub user storage using Samba 4 (default option)
Microsoft Active Directory (on-premise user base)
Microsoft Azure Active Directory (cloud user base)

Workplace Hub stores user information only when using the default user management option (Samba).

When using Active Directory, either on-premise or in Microsoft Azure, Workplace Hub does NOT store user information. Instead, the system reads and writes user information directly into Active Directory.

Konica Minolta IT services would configure which user base the SMB customer prefers to use. The configuration is done in Basic System Settings.

The User management application allows administrators to edit values stored in custom attributes in their Active Directory. When configuring integration with Active Directory, administrators can set labels for selected Active Directory custom fields. These labels and corresponding editing interface will appear when editing users in User management.

Administrators can create, update, and delete users in their Active Directory through the User Management application.

Workplace Hub File Sync and Sharing Services

The File sharing application allows users to store files on the Workplace Hub server and share them with other users. Supported file storages:

internal Workplace Hub storage
Microsoft OneDrive storage

By default, the system uses the internal storage. If integration with Office 365 is configured, users have the option to choose between the internal storage and OneDrive storage.

Workplace Hub VPN services

Workplace Hub has embedded Sophos XG Firewall and VPN services. WPH VPN Service is configured by an IT Administrator using the XG Web Admin (please refer to the article Sophos XG Firewall: How to conﬁgure SSL VPN remote access).

THE POD – filePod is Mobile ON-THE-GO Workplace

Employee’s “on-the-go” (OTG) workplace setup is simple, elegant and effective (See Picture 7)

It consists of filePod^TM, laptop, tablet, and smartphone. Detailed connectivity diagram is shown in Picture 8.

Setting up your filePod for the First Time

Before using the FilePod^TM, you must insert an SD card. You can use any micro SD card. FilePod^TM supports high-capacity SDXC cards up to 2TB. There is no limit on individual file sizes. Connect the FilePod^TM with your personal computer using the supplied USB cable.

NOTE: If you are using your FilePod^TM for the first time before you continue with the setup process, let the FilePod^TM stay connected for 30 seconds so that the battery gets an initial charge.

In your browser, access the FilePod^TM’s internal website using the following URL:https://myfilePodTM.io:8080/

Watch the Getting Started video on the main page.

Picture 9: FilePod web UI is simple and intuitive

Click on the drop-down menu to select your WiFi router to connect to the internet.

Your basic setup is now complete. For details on how to configure more features check out the “How to section” and videos on the FilePod^TM website (https://www.filepod.io.)

FilePod – Configuring User

Register your account on the FilePod^TM by entering your workplace hub email and a password. Now log in using your new user id and password credentials.

Once you are logged in, follow a simple procedure to configure your time and time-zone settings and update our user profile.

FilePod – Configuring Storage accounts

Using same web UI, you will configure all of your storage accounts that you want to synchronize with your FilePod^TM.

The content of both MS OneDrive account and WPH Storage Server account are synchronized whenever there is a change in your account’s WPH Storage partition or the corresponding account directory on the FilePod^TM’s SD card. You don’t have to worry about configuring the directory structure of these accounts since FilePod^TM collects directory structure from both MS OneDrive and WPH Storage Server accounts.

Adding Microsoft OneDrive account

Press “+” symbol in cloud accounts and select MS OneDrive storage service. filePod connects to MS OneDrive web service. Type in your account credentials and login to your MS OneDrive account to add that account to filePod.

After you completed authentication, your MS OneDrive account will appear under Cloud Accounts showing that your FilePod^TM is linked to your MS OneDrive storage

Click on the OneDrive account tab to view the directory structure for your account. You can now select which directories you want to synchronize, specific directories or all the content.

Picture 10: Adding Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage account on filePod

Now that you have added your MS OneDrive account to your filePod decide what you want to synchronize. Select the MS OneDrive account from the list. filePod displays content of your MS OneDrive account in the corresponding MS OneDrive account tab. Select all or only directories in your MS OneDrive account you wish to be synchronized by filePod

After making a selection and saving the setting FilePod^TM would now automatically keep your selection synchronized between filePod and the corresponding MS OneDrive account directory on the FilePod^TM’s SD card. You can always change your selection, but you need to click on Save Settings every time your selection is modified.

Picture 11: Selecting content to synchronize

FilePod OneDrive 2-way-sync app will keep content of your filePod and the corresponding account synchronized.

Adding Workplace Hub WebDAV account

It is the same procedure for adding your WPH Storage Server account as adding Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage account. We will Use WebDAV 2-way-sync app. WebDAV (Web-based distributed authoring and versioning) allows mapping the internal storage of Workplace Hub to filePod. This enables users to manipulate files stored in Workplace Hub without logging in to the web interface.

Press “+” symbol in cloud accounts and select WebDAV app icon. filePod opens WebDAV login webpage. Type the URL of the workplace hub WebDAV endpoint: https://wph.local/services/ file-sharing-service/WebDAV/files/HOME, where wph.local is the hostname of your Workplace Hub device.

filePod connects to WPH WebDAV web service. Type in your account credentials and login to your WPH WebDAV account to add that account to filePod

Picture 12: Adding WPH storage account on filePod

Now that you have added your WPH WebDAV account to your filePod decide what you want to synchronize. Select the WPH WebDAV account from the list. filePod displays content of your WPH WebDAV account in the corresponding WPH WebDAV account tab. Select all or only directories in your WPH WebDAV account you wish to be synchronized by filePod

After making a selection and saving the setting FilePod^TM would now automatically keep your selection synchronized between filePod and the corresponding WPH WebDAV account directory on the FilePod^TM’s SD card. You can always change your selection, but you need to click on Save Settings every time your selection is modified.

Picture 13: Selecting content to synchronize

FilePod WebDAV 2-way-sync app will keep the content of your filePod and the corresponding WPH WebDAV account synchronized.

FilePod – Configuring Virtual Private Network (VPN)

A virtual private network, or VPN, is an encrypted connection over the Internet from a device to a network. The encrypted connection helps ensure that sensitive data is safely transmitted. It prevents unauthorized people from eavesdropping on the traffic and allows the user to conduct work remotely.

FilePod^TMsupports OpenVPN technology. First, download and install the OpenVPN Client plugin application from filePod^TM’s private Appstore. Once you installed the OpenVPN Client app, you’ll need a profile and a password to use the VPN client.

WPH generates the profile and password. From the browser, sign in to the user portal using the Sophos XG Firewall’s public IP address and the user portal HTTPS port. In this example, the user portal is accessible at https://183.83.216.23>:<8443>

Note: The user portal HTTPS port conﬁgured in the Sophos XG Firewall can be found in Administration > Admin Settings > Admin console and end-user interaction > User portal HTTPS port

Now that SSL VPN client/conﬁguration profile file is generated you can save it in any of your cloud storage accounts e.g., WPH WebDAV or MS OneDrive (those you have already added to your filePod).

Back in filePod’s web user interface, open the OpenVPN Client app’s settings in /Settings/OpenVPN. Then click ‘OVPN Profile’ button and in the ‘Import Profile’ page, go to cloud storage account where you previously saved your unique .ovpn file from WPH VPN app. Find and select the .ovpn file and then click the ‘IMPORT’ button.

Click on the option to connect and a virtual IP will be leased to the filePod with the status Connected.

How all of this works

In addition to having local access to all of your cloud storage files on Microsoft OneDrive, it is easy to configure your filePod to automatically connect to your WebDAV server on your WPH system at office and synchronize the content of your WPH files with filePod.

Previously IT admin has configured WebDAV server on your WPH system as well as VPN service for access to your office network. The logical network of your mobile digital workplace in action from a remote location is shown in Picture 12.

Now that everything is nicely configured on Workplace Hub and for on-the-go use, you can start using filePod^TM as any other ordinary USB attached device. To your laptop, tablet, or smartphone, it looks like an attached USB/WiFi drive. At the same time, it is also secure “tunnel” into the Internet. So, no more worrying about snooping and prying “cyber eyes” – you are safely connected to all Internet services. And the best thing of all there is nothing to do on your laptop, tablet or smartphone, no additional software to download and install, no new applications to configure – use your devices as if you are in your home network. The filePodTM is doing all the hard work.

Using filePod^TM as Secure Access to Internet and Office Network

Connecting your filePod^TMto your VPN Server via VPN tunnel has several advantages.

First, Surfing the web is just as if you are at the office when you are not

filePod^TMand WPH VPN Server allow you to easily set up an encrypted connection from anywhere in the world to your home. Although you are outside on public network, your security protection is just as if you are at home.
You can access the internet as secure as you are at office.
If you are at a place that controls internet access, you can use this to get around that.
You don’t need to open additional ports on your router when you are outside and want to view your office camera or file system.

Second, you now have unrestricted access to your SMB private network from anywhere.

In addition to being safely connect back to your office, it also allows you easily access all your network-enabled office devices, such as IoT devices, NAS file system (e.g. WPH storage server), etc.

The VPN connection is a transport service provided by security certificates; it is much more difficult to be attacked than an HTTP service provided by your camera. It also encrypts all traffic between you and your home network, whatever sites you are surfing or files you are accessing are kept in private, won’t be snooped by anyone in-between.

Using filePod^TM as Ordinary Local Attached USB Drive

There are two ways how to access files on filePOD’s SD card. One way is using standard USB Mass Storage Mode, and another way is to use a built-in WebDAV server. In this article, we will show the use of WebDAV server. Please note that when using WebDAV approach, you can be accessing the SD card from your host computer using native file manager applications (e.g., macOS Finder or Microsoft Windows Explorer) while filePOD 2-way-sync applications (e.g., MS OneDrive and WebDAV 2-way-sync apps) can be accessing the SD card simultaneously.

To use WebDAV client on your laptop to access files on the FilePOD’s SD card, you don’t need any third-party software. Popular desktop operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux can all do this out-of-the-box.

There are two ways how to access files on filePod^TM ‘s SD card. One way is using standard USB Mass Storage Mode, and another way is to use filePod’s built-in WebDAV server. The difference is that, when using WebDAV approach, you can be accessing the SD card from your laptop using native file manager applications (e.g., macOS Finder or Microsoft Windows Explorer) while filePod^TM 2-way-sync applications (e.g., MS OneDrive and WebDAV 2-way-sync apps) can be accessing the SD card simultaneously.

As an example, using WebDAV to access files on the filePod^TM ‘s SD card user don’t need any third-party software, MacOS can all do this out-of-the-box with Finder file manager. Mac OS X has built-in WebDAV support. On your Mac OS X computer, start the Finder application. Open the Finder, click the Go menu, and select Connect to Server to see the Connect to Server dialog and type a WebDAV server address to connect to the filePod^TM built in WebDAV server. For example, you’d enter https://myfilepod.io:3000 (See Picture 15).

Picture 15: Mounting filePod as attached storage using filePod’s WebDAV server function

Accessing Workplace Hub Disk and Microsoft OneDrive

Now that your computer has “connected” filePod^TM, you’ll then be able to browse its contents and download, upload, copy, paste, delete, edit and save files directly from the Finder window into your’ filePod^TM’s SD card. (Picture 16).

Picture 16: All files on filePod’s SD card are now locally accessible from connected laptop

Conclusion

Setting up your mobile digital office can be a fun and simple thing to do. All of the components are plug-and-play, and after connecting the power, network and USB cable and initial simple set-up and configuration would just work.

To your desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone filePod^TM looks like an attached USB drive and secure “tunnel” into the Internet, all at the same time. It is like “Swiss army knife” of computing.

No more worrying about snooping and prying “cyber eyes” and there is nothing to do extra on your laptop, tablet or smartphone, no additional software to download and install, no new applications to configure – use your devices as if you are at home connected to your home network. All the hard work is being done by the filePod^TM.

REFERENCES:

https://www.filepod.io/

https://workplacehub.konicaminolta.com/en_us/

Workplace Hub | Konica Minolta Global R&D. https://research.konicaminolta.com/workplace-hub/

Sophos XG Firewall: How to configure SSL VPN for android devices using OpenVPN Connect – https://community.sophos.com/kb/en-us/134175

Mobile Digital Office for the Small Office Home Office SOHO with FilePod, Firewalla and webDAV

Whether you travel a lot for fun or for work, you may count yourself among the new generation of digital nomads, the remote workers who are not tied to any one place. With FilePod, Firewalla and WebDAV your small office home office is now mobile.

by Nino Vidovic, PhD

Mobile Digital Office for Small Office Home Office (SOHO) with filePod, Firewalla and webDAV

Summary

Whether you travel a lot for fun or for work, you may count yourself among the new generation of digital nomads, the remote workers who are not tied to any one place. Unrestricted by the traditional confines of the office, or by typical office hours in the past, you may relate to this statement as in line with your reality: “the future of your work is anywhere, anytime.” In fact, over 23% of remote workers recently surveyed in a study conducted by And.Co^[1] confirmed that their employer’s organizations were “fully distributed.” Over 55% of those surveyed stated that they were fully remote, and over 43% confirmed that they were partially remote. This trend can be easily validated, with more and more organizations enabling telecommuting and placing value on attracting quality talent to work for them, wherever they may be. However, working on the go is not by default easy, streamlined or secure. Over 1-in-5 remote workers cite infrastructure problems as presenting significant new challenges. 47% remote workers point to a white space for tools to help them better manage remote work.

The mobile workforce is growing rapidly. Whether you are a freelancer, or you work within your firm’s “distributed” workforce, you are no doubt grappling with issues that on-site IT resources might have tackled. Now, you must take all the steps necessary to surmount the complexity the digital workplace presents. Given the many devices, tools, apps and content sources we must use, securely navigate or integrate within our workflows, we are constantly challenged to operate more efficiently, collaboratively and most critically, securely.

Data is the other thorny consideration. The sheer amount and density of the data we need to access for work or play requires a lot of space, and bandwidth. The need to manage and store or synchronize massive data sets that are often distributed, residing on local or cloud-based corporate file systems, not to mention the many other enterprise file sync and share accounts out there poses many challenges.

At BluFON Corp, we have a mission to empower today’s shapeshifting workforce. Whether you’re working from your home office, or as a “digital nomad,” we want you to be in a position to work effectively, securely and easily.

In this paper, we will present you with a means to securely and instantly access all your data, wherever you are, whether you’re online or offline. Your online experience will never alter, as you can replicate the same experience anywhere.

Let’s explore a day in the life of Jenny.

Meet the User – A Tech Writer and Freelance Designer

Jenny is a freelancer tech writer and graphic designer. She works primarily from her home office where she has two large 25” screens and a beefed-up Mac mini. When she is writing content, she likes to go to her nearby Peet’s coffee shop where she puts her headphones on and writes tech manuals and articles on her MacBook Air. When she is on the go, she tends to use her iPad for customer presentations.

Jenny has a lot of content on her home office computer. These tend to be very large files that are mostly graphics, video and audio content that she uses for graphic design projects. She writes a lot and also has a huge digital library of reference documentation. Over the years, she has worked on hundreds of projects, and as a result, Jenny has accumulated over 250GB of video, images, graphics, audio and text files. Graphics files are over 1GB in size. For Jenny, it is very important that wherever she is she has instantaneous local access to all of her prior and current work. That is why she chose filePod^TM. Jenny needs to carry all of her work with her. She wants her files accessible locally, whether she is working on her home computer, tablet, laptop or smartphone. She wants to be productive the moment she heads over to her coffee shop.

Getting access to all of Jenny’s digital content (video, music, pictures, and files) at home can be hard and complicated. Jenny’s solution was FilePod^TM, preconfigured with Firewalla and WebDAV. Now it’s a breeze, achieved quickly with a very simple setup.

FilePod^TM is Jenny’s personal and portable data cloud in a tiny WiFi or USB – enabled device that she can plug into her Mac mini, her laptop, and her tablet
SD Card – you will need one (with up to 2TB space on it) for your filePod^TM
Firewalla is Jenny’s cybersecurity firewall appliance that connects to Jenny’s router. This is her home security solution which secures all her digital content
WebDAV is Jenny’s self-hosted productivity platform. WebDAV Server is Jenny’s simple file sync and share application. WebDAV offers free, secure, and easy cloud-like accessible file storage on Jenny’s home computer. All three appliances are easy to setup and configure, and Jenny’s small home office (SOHO) setup is simple and effective (See Picture 4).

What is FilePod^TM

FilePod^TM is the world’s first autonomous personal file storage device. It’s small and lightweight. Automatically synchronizing all your digital files wherever they reside into one unified, yet partitioned digital storage device, FilePod^TM will tame the digital chaos and bring order to your workflow.

Whether you are online or offline, FilePod^TM secures all your digital files whilst enabling you streamlined access to all your files, wherever you are. Whether traveling for work or pleasure, you need the ability to work everywhere. With filePod^TM,you can easily be a digital nomad.

Providing a secure file management system within a pocket-sized design is our number one priority. With a single login, get instant access to all your digital files. FilePod^TM is home for all digital content. You’ll never lose that content even if you were to lose your device, for your content is always synced to its original cloud storage, private storage and file directories. And if you WERE to lose your device, no fear, it is totally secured and encrypted and can be wiped remotely as well. The key here is you having a unified view across all your connected (cloud) accounts. Once you set up and sync your FilePod^TM the first time, from this point on, your updates and changes are the only things that synchronize to your pod. You will never need to initiate a new synchronization process across an account or multiple accounts after the first sync, even if you have multiple Dropbox, Box, Google Drive or other accounts. Log in once to access all accounts instantly so that you can easily work offline. You will no longer be a hostage of WiFi connectivity in order to access any or all of your files. Work however you work, it might be on your desktop, your laptop, your tablet; whatever it is, just save the latest version of your files directly to your FilePod^TM, and whenever you are online again, FilePod^TM will automatically syncs those changes.

Today, this portable smart file storage device works with iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux. FilePod^TM is 256 bit encrypted and password-protected for added security.

Picture 1: FilePod securely connects and synchronizes all your cloud storage and makes it available on all your screens

What is FireWalla

As we move towards an ever-connected age, where our cars, homes, and money are all connected and controlled by computers and IoT devices, taking steps to ensure better security is an absolute necessity. The stakes are much higher. Hackers will be able to attack bank accounts, our cars, our homes. Connected consumer and business products have begun flooding the market, but security has been an afterthought. The world now has to figure out how to secure these connected things.

Firewalla is a vital addition to every home and small business with network and internet of things (IoT) devices. This flexible smart device provides continuous protection from crippling cyberattacks even as new threats evolve. Firewalla is plugin and play, there is no configuration.

Firewalla VPN Server places the VPN server inside your house. It runs inside of that little Firewalla box. By using this VPN service when you are outside of the house you will get the same level of security protection as if you are at home.

Picture 2: Accessing Internet services from all your remote devices securely connected to your home network

What is WebDAV

WebDAV transforms your computer into a powerful and secure online storage system, letting you access and share files from any connected computer or device in the world. WebDAV lets you simply set up and operate your own secure file-sharing site.

WebDAV is an easy-to-use server that runs on your own computer enabling you to access and share inbound and outbound private documents, photos, videos, or other files, from your personal devices. With WebDAV server you can:

Create your own private or a multi-user file storage system from which you can share files with friends, family, or business colleagues Maintain online privacy and via secure, unblocked, encrypted access to the Internet with tunnel/proxy (VPN) technology

Automatically and securely distribute files of any size, even huge files, to any number of contacts via regular email
Avoid ongoing and expensive service fees
Easily access documents stored on your computer from anywhere

Designed for non techies, WebDAV is easy to use and secure.

Picture 3: WebDAV enables remote access to files stored on your home PC

The Home Office Setup

The home office system consists of a home WiFi router (e.g. AirPort), a VPN box (e.g. Firewalla Blue), a home computer (e.g. Mac mini), a large 25’ display and a FilePod^TM. See picture of the home office (picture 4)

Detailed network diagram shown in Picture 5.

First let’s set up the WiFi router for home wireless network.

Following is the most common method to set up a network with AirPort Time Capsule:

Connect the Ethernet cable (hooked up to your cable or phone company’s modem) to the WAN port on the AirPort base station.

NOTE: If you want to network a USB printer, connect it to the USB port on the AirPort. You can also connect a USB external hard drive to store or share files across the network.

Plug the AirPort into a power outlet.

NOTE: AirPort doesn’t have an on–off switch. It turns on when you plug it in; and it turns off when you unplug it.

To go wireless, on your MacBook Air or Mac mini, run the AirPort Utility setup-assistant software, located in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder^[2].

Next, let’s set up the Firewalla VPN box.

In addition to the modem/router combo provided by ISP, you purchased another router which you use to connect to all your household devices.

Picture 6: Firewalla connects to your home router/access point

For our setup, in addition to the modem/router combo provided by ISP, we are using an AirPort router to connect all our household devices. We will plug the Firewalla box into one of the LAN ports of the AirPort.

Connect Firewalla box to the AirPort router using the Ethernet cable provided in the package. Then, connect the device to a power source using the Micro-USB cable provided in the package.

NOTE: It may take up to 5 mins for the Firewalla Box to completely boot and upgrade process when powered on. Please be patient.

On your mobile phone launch the Firewalla App. If the Firewalla Box is ready to be paired, you shall see either ‘+’ or ‘New Firewalla’ icon, or you may see both icons. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.

NOTE: Make sure the mobile phone which will launch Firewalla App is connected to the WIFI network provided by the AirPort router that Firewalla box is plugged in and that VPN is disabled on your phone.

For more details or if you have questions, please visit Firewalla’s support website (https://firewalla.com/pages/install)

Now set up your WebDAV Server on Mac mini home computer

WebDAVNav Server is a free basic WebDAV server from Schimera which can be used to quickly share files and folders from your Mac with other computers, mobile devices and apps. You can download WebDAVNav server from Apple App Store.

Again, the setup is simple and straightforward. After you have downloaded and installed the WebDAV Nav server, start the application, select the folder you want to share to and confirm the selection.

Picture 7: WebDAV server setup on Mac OS

You have now successfully configured the WebDAV server on your Mac mini computer.

Finally, let’s set up your filePod^TM

NOTE: If you are using your FilePod^TM for the first time, before you continue with the setup process, let the FilePod^TM stay connected for 30 seconds so that the battery gets an initial charge.

In your browser, access the FilePod^TM’s internal website using the following URL:https://myfilePodTM.io:8080/

Watch the Getting Started video on the main page.

Picture 8: FilePod web UI is simple and intuitive

Click on the drop-down menu to select your AirPort WiFi router to connect to the internet. Register your account on the FilePod^TM by entering your email and a unique password. Now login using your new user id and password credentials.

Once you are logged in, follow simple procedure to add as many cloud storage accounts (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, MS OneDrive etc.) that you want to synchronize with your FilePod^TM.

Picture 9: Setting multiple cloud storage accounts on filePod

Your basic setup is now complete. For details on how to configure more features check out the “How to section” and videos on the FilePod^TM website (https://www.filepod.io.)

Mobile ON-THE-GO Office

Jenny’s “on-the-go” (OTG) office setup is simple and effective (See Picture 10)

It consists of: FilePod^TM, Jenny’s MacBook Air, Jenny’s iPad and Jenny’s iPhone. See Picture 11 for a detailed connectivity diagram shown

How all of this works

In addition to having local access to all of your cloud storage files (such as Dropbox and Google Drive) it is easy to configure your FilePod^TM to automatically connect to your WebDAV server on your Mac mini at home. You are not only accessing files in your cloud storage accounts, but also files on your computer, synchronizing all the content with your FilePod^TM.

Previously we installed and configured a WebDAV server application onto your Mac mini computer. Now we will configure VPN access to your home network and add WebDAV storage to your FilePod^TM. See the logical network of your mobile digital SOHO office from a remote location in Picture 12.

Picture 12: Accessing and synchronizing content between FilePod^TM and WebDAV server on home computer via Internet

Configuring Virtual Private Network

Configuring VPN Server on Firewalla

Firewalla^TM VPN Server allows you to easily set up an encrypted connection from anywhere in the world to your home. Although you may be outside, working on a public network, your security protection is the same as what you set up at home. With a VPN tunnel terminating inside your home network, every request you make from your laptop while you are on the road (using the described setup) will have an IP address of the home router provided by your ISP service provider. As far as the world is concerned, any service, whether that is Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google etc. will consider your laptop to be at home.

The very first step is to turn on the VPN server on your Firewalla box. You can do this using your Firewalla mobile app. Firewalla box will start a pre-installed OpenVPN server. When the VPN server starts, it will generate a unique key and this key is only for your box. Once you done that, click on the “Setup” arrow and it will guide you through the setup.

Picture 13: Firewalla VPN server setup using mobile app

Now you need to Configure Port Forwarding. If your router has UPNP enabled (as most routers do), it is simple, Firewalla will do everything for you. If your router doesn’t support UPNP, Firewalla will need you to manually set up port forwarding on your home router.

In this step, another thing is very important to check. That is, “Make sure the router that your Firewalla is plugged in has a public IP assigned by your ISP“. For more details see Firewalla’s Tutorial: How to set up port forwarding for VPN Server.

Configuring VPN tunnel on the filePod^TM

FilePod^TM supports OpenVPN technology. First download and install the OpenVPN Client plugin application from FilePod^TM’s private Appstore. Once you have installed the OpenVPN Client app, you’ll need a profile and a password in order to use the VPN client.

The profile and password are generated by Firewalla, they are device-independent and can be shared. In your Firewalla App, in VPN settings page, click “Download OpenVPN Profile”, save .ovpn file (client profile for OpenVPN) on your android phone’s local storage. Please also note down the ‘Password’, which will be used later.

Picture 14: VPN profile is saved to cloud storage account

Now that profile file is generated you can save it in any of your cloud storage accounts (e.g. Dropbox or Google Drive) that you have already configured on your FilePod^TM

Back in FilePod^TM’s web user interface, open the OpenVPN Client app’s settings in /Seetings/OpenVPN. Then click ‘OVPN Profile’ button and in the ‘Import Profile’ page, go to cloud storage account where you previously download your unique .ovpn file from Firewalla mobile app. Find and select the .ovpn file and then click the ‘IMPORT’ button.

Now Toggle on the switch button to connect.

Adding your WebDAV Server storage to FilePod^TM

The process of adding your home WebDAV Server account which you want to manage using the FilePod^TM is the same as adding any other cloud storage such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

The content of the connected WebDAV account is synchronized whenever there is a change in the WebDAV home server storage or in the corresponding account directory on the FilePod^TM’s SD card. You don’t have to worry about configuring the directory structure of these accounts since FilePod^TM collects the directory structure from the WebDAV server storage account itself.

After you completed authentication, your WebDAV account will appear under Cloud Accounts showing that your FilePod^TM is linked to your WebDAV Home server.

Click on the WebDAV account tab in FilePod^TM to view the directory structure for that account on your home computer. You can now select which directories you want to synchronize whether those are specific directories or all your content.

After making the selection and saving the setting, FilePod^TM will now automatically keep your selection synchronized between your home computer and the corresponding WebDAV account directory on the FilePod^TM’s SD card. You can always change your selection, but you need to click on Save Settings every time your selection is modified.

Using filePod^TM

Now that everything is nicely configured at home and for on-the-go use, you can start using FilePod^TM just as you would any other ordinary USB-attached device. Whether the FilePod^TM is connected to your MacBook, your iPad or your iPhone, FilePod^TM looks like an attached USB drive. At the same time, it is also a secure “tunnel” into the Internet. Ensure your safety with this setup: no more worrying about snooping and prying “cyber eyes” – you are safely connected to all Internet services. Best of all, there is nothing to do on your laptop, tablet or smartphone. You have no additional software to download and install. There are no new applications to configure or update regularly. Just use your devices as if you are on your home network. All the hard work is now being done by the FilePod^TM.

Using filePod^TM as a USB drive

There are two ways to access files on FilePod^TM ‘s SD card. One way is using standard USB Mass Storage Mode. The other way is to use a built-in WebDAV server.

In this article, we will show how to access files using the WebDAV server. Note that when using the WebDAV approach, you can access the SD card from your host computer using native file manager applications (e.g. MacOS Finder or Microsoft Windows Explorer) while FilePod^TM’s 2-way-sync applications (e.g. Dropbox and Google Drive) can be accessing the SD card simultaneously.

To use WebDAV to access files on the FilePod^TM ‘s SD card you don’t need any third-party software. Popular desktop operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux can all do this out-of-the-box.

In Jenny’s case, she prefers to use WebDAV to access files on the FilePod^TM ‘s SD card. She won’t need any third-party software, her MacOS can do this out-of-the-box with the Finder file manager.

Mac OS X has built-in WebDAV support. On your Mac OS X computer, start the Finder application. Open the Finder, click the Go menu, and select Connect to Server to see the Connect to Server dialog and type a WebDAV server address to connect to the FilePod^TM
TM built in WebDAV server. For example, you’d enter https://myfilepod.io:3000 (See Picture 15).

Picture 15: Mounting filePod as attached storage using filePod’s WebDAV server app

Now that Jenny’s computer has “connected” to the FilePod^TM, she is able to browse its contents and download, upload, copy, paste, delete, edit and save files directly from the Finder window into her FilePod^TM’s SD card. (Picture 16).

Picture 16: All files on filePod’s SD card are now locally accessible from connected MacBook Air laptop

Using filePod^TM as secure access to Internet and home network

Connecting your FilePod^TM to your Firewalla box via VPN tunnel has a number of advantages.

Firstly, even when you are far from home, when you are surfing the web, the experience feels just like you are doing so from home. Your device settings do not adjust based on location, time zone, languages, etc.
- FilePod^TM and Firewalla together allow you to easily set up an encrypted connection from anywhere in the world to your home. Although you are outside on public network, your security protection is just like at home. You can access the internet as secure as you would be from your home setup. If you are at a place that controls internet access, you can use this to get around that.You won’t need to open additional ports on your router when you are outside and want to view your home camera or file system.
Now you have unrestricted access to your home network from anywhere. In addition to being safely connected to home, you can now easily access all your network-enabled home devices, such as your IoT devices, NAS file system (e.g. WebDAV server that we configured on Mac mini in this example) etc.

The VPN connection is a transport service provided by security certificates. It is much more difficult to be attacked than an HTTP service provided by your camera. It encrypts all traffic between you and your home network, whatever sites you are surfing or files you are accessing are kept private. You, and only you can see them.

Another benefit: take your video subscriptions anywhere! Stream Netflix, Hulu or any service just as you would at home. There are no restrictions. Access your banking / financial sites just as if you are home. Bypass internet censorship or filtering when traveling to a foreign country.

Conclusion

Today, you can easily set up the ideal digital home office simply and quickly. You do not have to be an engineer or IT pro. As illustrated in the steps above, all of the components are plug and play, and after you power on, connect to your network, plug in the USB cable and perform the initial steps to set up and configure your filePodTM, FirewallaTM and WebDav, everything is good to go. It just works.

To your desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone, the FilePod^TM looks just like an attached USB drive. But really, it’s like a digital “swiss army knife” (connects to file sync and share and bundled with a smart and secure “tunneling” connects securely into the Internet). No more worrying about digital privacy. Once you are set up, there is nothing else you need to do on your laptop, tablet or smartphone, no more time wasted on setting up applications, or constantly worrying about configuring and maintaining them.

There are so many things one already needs to optimize to become as productive as possible. With time being the most valuable resource, any tool or process that can give you back your time and safety is worth adopting. With filePod^TM, reclaim your time, be productive and not worry about digital privacy. Just keep using your personal devices as if you were at home, connected to your home network. All the hard work is being done by the filePod^TM, the ultimate productivity agent.

REFERENCES

http://www.filepod.io/

firewalla.com/

http://www.cloudwards.net/what-is-webdav/

http://www.and.co/anywhere-workers

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/11/digital-nomads-work-technology-asia-cities-wifi

http://www.alliancevirtualoffices.com/virtual-office-blog/how-to-be-a-digital-nomad-and-work-from-anywhere/

http://www.carefulcents.com/create-a-mobile-office/

http://www.travelinglifestyle.net/top-world-coworking-spaces-for-digital-nomads/

20 Coolest Coworking Spaces Around the Globe – 2020

MY 10 BEST “OFFICES” So Far – Digital Nomad Lifestyle

https://www.carefulcents.com/create-a-mobile-office/

How to be a Digital Nomad and Work from Anywhere

20 Coolest Coworking Spaces Around the Globe – 2020

MY 10 BEST “OFFICES” So Far – Digital Nomad Lifestyle

https://www.carefulcents.com/create-a-mobile-office/

^[1] https://www.and.co/anywhere-workers

^[2] This step involves responding to a series of questions on what to call your network, passwords, and so on. You may have to enter specific settings from your Internet provider, along the lines of a static IP address or DHCP client ID. Through the AirPort Utility software, you can manually apply various advanced security and other settings. For more details visit Apple’s support website (https://support.apple.com/airport )

Paperless Office Workspace with filePOD™ and Adobe Document Cloud

The goal to achieve the paperless office has been around for some time now.

by Nino Vidovic

FilePod and Adobe Acrobat DC tools – simple, yet powerful solution for your paperless office

Summary

For years now, companies have been aiming to achieve the coveted “paperless office”. In such an office, you can easily store documents, e.g., reports, faxes, invoices, letters, etc. digitally on a local disk and in cloud storage, eliminating the need for cumbersome paper documents and their associated bulky storage.

Once you begin implementing a paperless office, you can improve your speed, security, accuracy, and ease of document search and retrieval. As an additional bonus, you ultimately eliminate the need for additional physical storage space for your physical files.

The idea that paper could be removed entirely from the everyday work-life is still somewhat illusory. Nevertheless, the concept continues to draw the attention of technology companies, and productivity minded people. It is debatable if the entirely digital workflow is achievable. However, technologies already exist to enable a seamless and efficient digital workflow. Those could offer considerable cost-saving and efficiency increases to the most business of any size: SOHO, SMB to very large enterprises.

The good news is, there are affordable technologies available today, such as filePod™ personal pocket-cloud storage device, Adobe Acrobat DC desktop applications, and Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Scan mobile apps.

Here we will illustrate one way you can implement your own paperless personal digital workspace.

What is FilePod™ for Adobe Document Cloud

What is filePod™?

FilePod is your programmable, miniature, mobile, personal pocket-cloud storage device. It also works as an own WebDAV server and can connect to many devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and many other networked devices such as Multi-Functional Printers (MFP).

FilePod synchronizes all your content across many cloud storage services and systems and makes it locally accessible from any of your personal devices

Furthermore, FilePod™ securely connects to numerous cloud storage services, both public (i.e., Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, and MS OneDrive) and private (i.e., SharePoint, NextCloud) and any other WebDAV compliant storage via SSL or private VPN connection.

FilePod™is smart on its own but can become even more intelligent by downloading additional applications from its private Appstore. FilePod™ supports different categories of applications such as file sync and share, security, and VPN client apps.

What is Adobe Acrobat Document Cloud?

Millions of organizations around the world are relying on Acrobat Document Cloud (DC) to create and edit smart PDFs, convert PDFs to other formats (e.g., Microsoft Office), and do so much more. When you are on the go, and you need to collaborate with your co-workers, technology, or business partners in other locations, Acrobat DC can make it happen.

Adobe Document Cloud brings an all-digital document experience to any size business

Whether you are individual consultant, SOHO, SMB, or a large enterprise, it is a good chance you have collaborators spread across the remote locations as well as across multiple screens. Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Sign, and other apps assure that projects and businesses can execute in a distributed and multi-device world.

Adobe has numerous applications for processing PDF document

Whether in the office or on the go, collaboration with colleagues and clients is easy. Acrobat DC enables viewing, reviewing, signing of your PDF documents and helps you track and manage digital document workflows.

Acrobat Reader mobile app has all the tools you need to view, annotate, sign, and share PDFs on the go. With Acrobat Pro DC, you can create, export, organize, and combine as well as edit PDFs on tablets and smartphones.

Going Paperless with filePod and Adobe Acrobat Document Cloud

Meet the User

Janney has been searching for a better way to manage digital documents workflow and get rid of the physical papers in her workspace. She wants to scan her bills, travel receipts, contracts, NDAs and other important documents, to clean her desk. Ideally, she would like to scan all her papers with a scanner that can deliver the scanned files directly into a folder. She also wants to be able to search all documents by type, sender or date and sort by name and category.

Overall, the most important objective would be to index the files sent from a printer/scanner, thereby saving time when searching for something. She hopes to reduce the clutter in her workspace and at the same time protecting the environment.

Getting started with filePod

Since this is her first time using the filePod, Janney needs to insert an SD card^[1] and then connect the filePod with her laptop using the supplied USB cable. On her computer, in Chrome, she punches following URL https://myfilePodTM.io:8080/.

NOTE: For the first-time users – watch the GETTING STARTED video on the main page.

After connecting to the local office WiFi router and registering her account on the FilePod™, she is ready to log in and do the work.

It’s important to point out that filePod™ also functions as a secure “tunnel” into the Internet; no more worrying about snooping and prying “cyber eyes” – she is safely connected to all your Internet services. Best of all, she does not need to configure anything on her laptop, tablet, or smartphone. There is no additional software to download and install. There are no new applications to set or update regularly. The FilePod™ is now doing all the hard work.

Configuring Adobe Document Cloud and other Cloud Storage accounts

FilePod enables you to connect to many cloud storages accounts (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive, MS OneDrive).

Janney’s company is using Google Drive as the company’s primary cloud file sync and share storage service. Some of her external team members are also using Dropbox.

In addition, Janney has a personal account on Adobe Acrobat Document Cloud.

After performing simple ‘add cloud-storage account‘ procedure, she adds both of her Google Drive and Dropbox accounts to filePod.

Simple way to add as many cloud storage accounts as you want

NOTE: In filePod adding cloud storage account is a simple and straightforward procedure: select cloud storage service, login into your account, select what content you wish to synchronize and accept those settings. (See video ‘How to add cloud storage account’ on http://www.filepod.io website).

With that, her basic setup^[2] is now complete, and she can start using FilePod™ as if it is an ordinary USB-attached device. To her laptop, tablet, or smartphone, filePod ™ appears as an attached disk drive.

Using filePod as a USB drive

There are two ways to access files on FilePod’s SD card. One way is using the standard USB Mass Storage Mode. The other way is to use a built-in WebDAV server. In both cases you can access the SD card using your computer’s standard native file manager application.

Popular desktop operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux have built-in WebDAV support, so you don’t need any third-party software. For example, on a macOS X computer, in Finder, filePod will show as a mounted network drive “myfilepod.io”. There you can browse its content, download, upload, copy, paste, delete, edit and save files directly from the Finder window into the FilePod’s SD card.

Conveniently access all files on filePod’s SD card as locally attached disk

This makes it extremely simple to work with all of your files whether they are stored in Dropbox, Google Drive or Adobe Acrobat Document Cloud. All files are also stored and accessed locally in filePod.

Using Finder application, Janney creates “MFP SCANS” directory on filePod’s SD card where she wants to put all the MFP scanned documents.

All scanned documents are located in directory “*MFP SCANS*”

She can also organize her directories so that all the documents end-up automatically synchronized (i.e., backed-up) into cloud storage service of her choice e.g. Google Drive.

Accessing filePod from Acrobat DC application

To process newly scanned files in filePod, Jenny is using Adobe Acrobat DC application on her MacBook Air laptop.

NOTE: In Adobe Acrobat, select “My Computer” and browse directory hierarchy to /Volumes/myfilepod.io/MFP SCANS directory.

Access all your filePod files directly from Acrobat DC

Converting paper documents to PDF

So if you receive lots of paper documents and don’t have their electronic originals, you can use the MFP’s scanner feature to create digital versions. MFP devices, which can scan bulk documents, will helpfully scan both sides of multiple sheets simultaneously and combine them into a single digital document.

To start, first, connect filePod™ to your office local network or the Internet. The easiest way is to connect filePod™ to the office’s internal WiFi access point.

From MFP scan your documents directly into filePod for digital processing

She loads a stack of paper containing multiple documents into the MFP tray and enters her filePod address, user login information and presses scan.

After the MFP is done scanning, the scanned document is uploaded and now appears as one large file in your “MFP SCANS” directory. From her laptop, she opens a Finder window, navigates to “myfilepod.io:3000” mounted network drive, and goes to “MFP SCANS” where she finds the newly uploaded file.

NOTE: When she is on the go, she uses the Adobe Scan app to scan documents from her mobile device and synchronize with her Creative Cloud account. These “scanned” images appear in her Adobe Document Cloud account in directory “Adobe Scan”.

Processing and organizing scanned documents with Adobe Acrobat Tools

Adobe Acrobat has rich set of tools for processing and organizing all of your digital documents. Adobe Acrobat tools allows you to:

Create and edit pdfs
Convert to other formats
Create forms
Process signatures
Share and review
Collaborate and comment

Acrobat has rich set of PDF file processing tools

Convert scans to editable text.

Having scanned her paper copies, she uses Acrobat DC’s Enhance Scans feature to convert the content into searchable text. She can then export to plain text or Word documents if she needs to do more work.

There she can use Adobe Acrobat DC application to open the file and then “cut” it and save it as individual files in any of the directories e.g., invoices, contracts, NDAs, expenses, payroll stubs, tax return.

Create electronic forms.

Some of the documents that contain forms can be converted into digitally fillable forms using Acrobat DC’s form wizard. Use it to add text fields, multiple choice options, check boxes, radio buttons and more to PDFs which can then be completed and returned using Acrobat Reader for free.

Collaborate and comment

She can also use Acrobat Pro, Acrobat Reader or the Adobe Acrobat Reader to collaborate with colleagues to add comments, drawings, images and even audio.

Store and share PDFs

To access files in Acrobat Document Cloud, Jenny launches Adobe Acrobat DC application on her MacBook Air laptop and login into her Adobe DC account.

In Adobe Document Cloud she has two directories: “Adobe Scan” contains all the scans done uploaded from her mobile phone. She has also created new directory “My filePod Documents” which contains all the PDF documents she is working on.

Adobe Scan directory holds all your scanned documents done by Adobe mobile app

She stores her digital documents online through her Adobe DC storage account or on any other cloud services such as DropBox and Google Drive. She can then share them with the rest of the team.

Conclusion

Using filePod and Adobe Acrobat Document Cloud you are one step closer to achieving paperless office.

References:

Why paperless office and how

https://www.business.com/articles/create-a-paperless-office/

https://theblog.adobe.com/achieved-paperless-office/

Six Steps To Going Paperless With Adobe Acrobat

https://www.pcworld.com/article/138254/article.html

http://www.thecyberadvocate.com/2015/06/03/9-shameless-paperless-office-tips/

FilePod

www.filepod.io

Adobe

https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/acrobat.html

^[1] FilePod™ supports high-capacity SDXC cards up to 2TB, and Jenny is starting with SanDisk 512GB.

^[2] For details on how to configure more features check out the “How to section” and videos on the FilePod™ website (https://www.filepod.io.)

Multi-Functional Printers together with filePOD’s RPA bots Makes a Simple Way to Digitize Paper Documents

More and more businesses are using Multi Functional Printers (MFP) to scan a large number of paper documents into digital documents format ready for further processing. Use FilePod RPA imBOT apps as your Digital Worker Assistant to scan, analyze, process and manage digital documents.

Summary

More and more businesses are using Multi Functional Printers (MFP) to scan a large number of paper documents into digital documents format ready for further processing. In many cases, scanned i.e. digital documents are just “pushed” into various public cloud storage systems such as Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive or sent directly to another cloud-based application/service for further processing (e.g. SAP or ECM).

To facilitate these conversion MFP manufacturers have implemented a number of “connector” applications which connect MFP to a cloud service (e.g. Dropbox). A user of MFP first needs to download, install and configure such “connector” applications for each individual cloud service. Then to use it a standard procedure is for a user to login into an account on a cloud storage service from MFP’s LCD screen, then scan a document which will be then sent to corresponding destination account with the cloud storage provider. If there are a number of documents that need to be sent to different locations than this process needs to be repeated for each destination account over and over again.

The better approach is for the user to use its own personal filePod device. In this scenario, the user would use MFP’s standard WebDAV connector to login into filePod as WebDAV server. All scanned documents would then be sent to the user’s filePod. A great new feature of FilePod is the ability to execute different Robotic Process Automation (RPA) imBOT applications which can scan, analyze, process and redirect each digital document to an appropriate destination. In this use case, each human can have his/her own digital worker assistants capable of performing a number of different functions.

Meet the User: Enzo is an Owner of a Small Business and wants to have a Paperless Office

Hi, my name is Enzo. I ran a small business. I have been searching for a good way to manage papers in our office. Over the years our small office became even smaller due to piles of boxes with all sort of paper documents. I want to scan my letters, bills for guarantees, and important documents to reclaim more physical space in my office.

So, what do I want?

I want to scan all papers with a scanner which can send or put the scanned files into a folder. I would like to be able to index all of the pdf files. I also want to be able to automatically sorts all letters by sender or datum, and for bills by retention period for the guarantees.

The main important thing is, to index files sent from a printer/scanner. I think everyone wants to index their physical letters and save time when searching for something.

I hope I can reduce the amount of paper and protect the environment and of course save a lot of space in my own office.

So How is Enzo Going to do it? – Simple, by Using filePod’s RPM imBOTs

To start using filePod, Enzo will first connect it to his office local network where his old and tired MFP is quietly sitting in the corner. To do this he will simply connect his filePod to the office internal WiFi access point.

Now you are asking: What in the world is filePod?

FilePod is your programmable, miniature, mobile, personal pocket cloud storage device. It is also a personal WebDAV server. filePod can connect to a number of devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, MFPs, and many other networked devices.

FilePod can also securely connect to numerous cloud storage services both public such as Dropbox, Box, Google Drive and MS OneDrive and private storage services such as SharePoint and any other WebDAV compliant storage via SSL or private VPN connection.

FilePod is smart but can become even smarter by simply downloading applications from its private Appstore. FilePod supports different categories of applications such as file sync and share, security and VPN client and, what is most important for Enzo, RPA imBOT[1] apps.

But wait: What are these RPA imBOTs?

RPA stands for Robotic Process Automation.

RPA software utilizes bots to automate routine tasks within software applications normally performed by a company’s employees. These products are used to save time and eliminate the need for humans to conduct time-consuming, repetitive, and tedious tasks. RPA can be used to automate labor-intensive workflow, infrastructure or a back-office process. These software bots can interact with an in-house application, website, user portal, etc.

The RPA is a software program which runs on an end user’s pc, laptop or mobile device. It is a sequence of commands which are executed by bots under some defined set of business rules.

A bot (short for “robot”) is a program that operates as an agent for a user or another program or simulates a human activity. “Bots” are configurable software set up to perform the tasks you assign and control.

There are even intelligent bots that can learn. So when you show your bots what to do, they will learn and do the work. They can interact with any system or application in the same way humans do.

FilePod and RPA

FilePod system is a programmable and extensible platform. It can be used for many purposes and can be configured from a single function device to a multi-functional, multi-purpose system. Extensibility comes from its unique dual-OS runtime and its private Appstore. Dual-OS runtime is based on Linux and Android environments which can run filePod Android plugin applications as well as Docker containerized applications.

filePod RPA system consists of the main RPA Engine application and number of bot applications called imBOTs. imBOT is the type of a bot that runs on the micro-edge appliances, usually mobile devices or end-points such as filePod.

To activate robotic process automation functionality user needs to download RPA Engine application. Once RPA Engine is installed user would download appropriate imBOT application from the Appstore.

There are whole kind of imBOTs. Here are some:

imBOT FileSplitter, is a bot which splits large file into number of small files based on the page count
imBOT FileSticher, is a bot which analyze two files to determine if the files belong to same logical document and then puts them together
imBOT FormFinder, is a bot which analyze file and determines if the file contains form type document, any type of the form
imBOT InvoiceFinder, is a bot which analyze file to determine if the document is invoice type document
imBOT LegalFinder, is a bot which analyze file to determine if the document is legal document
imBOT NameGiver, is a bot which analyze file to determine the title and renames file based on the document title
imBOT TimeStamper, is a bot which analyze file to determine when the document was issued and assign the date to the file
imBOT ContractFinder, is a bot which analyze file and determines if the file contains contract type document, any type of the contract

filePOD RPA system is open system that enables anyone to develop imBOT applications. These 3^rd party imBOTs could be uploaded to the Appstore as community contributions, free of charge, or could be sold for profit sharing.

Now that I know what I need about filePod and RPA imBOTs I am ready, so let’s do it!

First let’s Enzo setup his filePod^TM^.

Since this is his first time using the FilePodTM, he needs to insert an SD card[2] then connect the FilePodTM with his personal laptop using supplied USB cable or the magnetic USB cable. On his laptop, in Chrome, he punches following URL https://myfilePodTM.io:8080/.

NOTE: For the first time users – watch the Getting Started video on the main page.

Click on the drop-down menu to select your local office WiFi router. This would also connect to the Internet. Register your account on the FilePodTM by entering your email and a unique password. Now log in using your new user id and password credentials.

Once you are logged in, follow a simple procedure to add as many cloud storage accounts (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, MS OneDrive etc.) that you want to be synchronized with your FilePodTM and your basic setup[3] is now complete.

Now that everything is nicely configured, you can start using FilePod^TM just as you would any other ordinary USB-attached device. Whether the FilePod^TM is connected to your laptop, your tablet or your smartphone, FilePod^TM looks like an attached USB drive.

At the same time, it is also a secure “tunnel” into the Internet, no more worrying about snooping and prying “cyber eyes” – you are safely connected to all Internet services. Best of all, there is nothing to do on your laptop, tablet or smartphone. You have no additional software to download and install. There are no new applications to configure or update regularly. All the hard work is now being done by the FilePod^TM.

Using filePod as USB drive

There are two ways to access files on FilePod^TM ‘s SD card. One way is using standard USB Mass Storage Mode. The other way is to use a built-in WebDAV server.

Here, we will show how to access files using the WebDAV server. Note that when using the WebDAV approach, you can access the SD card from your host computer using native file manager applications (e.g. macOS Finder or Microsoft Windows Explorer) while FilePod^TM’s 2-way-sync applications (e.g. Dropbox and Google Drive) can be accessing the SD card simultaneously.

To use WebDAV to access files on the FilePod^TM ‘s SD card you don’t need any third-party software. Popular desktop operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux can all do this out-of-the-box. For example, on macOS users can do file management out-of-the-box with the Finder, a native file manager.

MacOS has built-in WebDAV support. On your macOS X computer, start the Finder application. Open the Finder, click the Go menu, select Connect to Server to see the Connect to Server dialog then type your filePod’s address. For example, to connect to the FilePod^TM’sbuilt-in WebDAV server you’d enter https://myfilepod.io:3000

FilePod^TM will show as a mounted “network drive” and you are now able to browse its contents, download, upload, copy, paste, delete, edit and save files directly from the Finder window into the FilePod^TM’s SD card.

Enzo decided to create “My Scanned Documents” directory. That is where he wants to put all the scanned documents.

Now, let’s login to MFP and do some scanning

Use MFP’s LCD display to locate WebDAV application and then when asked, sign into your filePod. On the screen that appears, you enter the username, password, and address associated with your filePod^TM.

Once logged in, the application’s Home screen will appear, displaying your filePod^TM’s folders and files. By tapping on or swiping the files and folders listed, you can access additional functionality. You can also tap on the scroll bar or finger swipe the screen to scroll through folders and files.

To scan a document into a folder, do the following:

Choose a folder to scan e.g. “My Scanned Documents” by tapping on a folder listed on the left-hand side of the screen
Tap on the Upload icon. The File Upload pop-up screen will appear
On this screen, you can do the following:
- Specify a name for the uploaded file in the File Name field.
- Choose scan settings:
  - File Type. Swipe or tap on the arrow button to choose from a list of supported file types (PDF, Compact PDF, TIFF).
  - Resolution
  - Color (Color or black/white)
  - Density
  - One-sided / Two-sided
  - Rotation
Tap on the SCAN button when you are done.
The uploaded file will appear in the filePod’s “My Scanned Documents” folder once the scan/upload operation is complete.

Manual Processing of Scanned Document

Scanning documents is laborious and long drawn process. You essentially have two options:

So Enzo has decided and he is going with second option. After some time, after scanned document is uploaded and is now showing as one big file in his “My Scanned Documents” directory, he will go and on his laptop open new Finder Window, navigate to “myfilepod.io:3000” mounted network drive and in “My Scanned Document” find newly uploaded file.

There he can use Adobe Acrobat or Apple Preview to open the file and then “cut” it and save it as individual files in any of the directories he chooses e.g. Invoices, contracts, NDAs, Travel Expenses, payroll stubs, tax return etc.

You can also organize your directories so that all the documents end up automatically synchronized (i.e. backed-up) into your favorite cloud storage service under one or more accounts

FilePod also allows you to create encrypted volts where you can deposit sensitive documents. These volts can be also stored in cloud storage account and service of your choosing.

Using filePod’s RPA imBOTs to Process Scanned Documents

Initially Enzo just wants to separate that one big scanned file into number of files, where each file contains only one document. So he will download RPA Engine first and then FileSplitter and FileSticher imBOTs.

While filePod ARP system is doing his job he will think about the document categories and how to set directory structure. Then he will have more imBOTs to help him sort it out.

References:

www.filepod.io
Konica Minolta BizHub Connector for WebDav (https://us.konicaminoltamarketplace.com/market/product/45)

[1] RPA imBOT is filePod^TM’s Robotic Process Automation intelligent mobile BOT plugin application

[2] FilePod^TM supports high-capacity SDXC cards up to 2TB, and Enzo is starting with SanDisk 512GB.

[3] For details on how to configure more features check out the “How to section” and videos on the FilePod^TM website (https://www.filepod.io.)

How to Access FilePOD’s SD Card Using WebDAV in Mac OS X Finder File Manager

Use Finder on Mac OS to access all the content on filePod

There are two main ways to access files on filePOD’s SD card. One is using the standard USB Mass Storage Mode; the other is to use a built-in WebDAV server.

In this article, we will show the process behind utilizing a WebDAV server. Please note that when using the WebDAV approach, while you can access the SD card from your host computer using native file manager applications (e.g. MacOS Finder or Microsoft Windows Explorer), filePOD’s 2-way-sync applications (e.g. Dropbox and Google Drive) can be accessing the SD card simultaneously.

Using WebDAV to access files on the FilePOD’s SD card does not require any third-party software. Mac operating system can all do this out-of-the-box

Picture 1: To connect to WebDav open the Finder, click the Go menu, and select Connect to Server

Type a server address to connect to the WebDAV server. For example, you’d enter http://myfilepod.io:3000 (See Picture 2).

Picture 2: Type a server address http:myfilepod.io:3000 to connect to the WebDAV server

After you did, you’d be prompted for a username and password. If your WebDAV server is configured with username /password you would enter it or otherwise select Guest (See Pictures 3 and 4).

Picture 3: If your FilePOD WebDAV server is configured with username /password, enter it now

Picture 4: If your FilePOD WebDAV server is not configured with username /password select Guest and click Connect button

You’ll then be able to browse its contents and download files directly from the Finder window (Picture 5 and 6).

Picture 5: Your FilePOD SD card is now connected as WebDAV server

Picture 6: Select myfilepod.io location from the sidebar menu to display any directory and file on your FilePOD SD card

How to Access FilePOD’s SD Card Using WebDAV in Microsoft Windows Explorer File Manager

Use Windows Explorer on Windows OS to access all the content on filePod

There are two main ways to access files on filePOD’s SD card. One is using the standard USB Mass Storage Mode; the other is to use a built-in WebDAV server.

Using WebDAV to access files on the FilePOD’s SD card does not require any third-party software. Windows 10 operating system can all do this out-of-the-box.

Windows Explorer has built-in WebDAV support. On your Windows 10 computer, start Windows Explorer (See Picture 1).

Picture 1: On your Windows 10 computer start Windows Explorer application

To access a WebDAV server on FilePOD simply type its address into the location box. For example, you’d enter http://myfilepod.io:3000 (See Picture 2). If a username or password is necessary, you’ll be asked for it and you can provide it when prompted.

Picture 2: In location box type http://myfilepod.io:3000

You can also use the Add a Network Location wizard for this. The wizard shows you how to properly enter the path to a WebDAV server. It also provides a Browse dialog that will scan for nearby shares on your local network and provide an easy list so you can add them.

On Windows 10, right-click This PC in the sidebar (See Picture 3).

Picture 3: Right-click This PC in the sidebar to open the pop-up menu

Click “Add a network location” on the pull-down menu and the “Map Network Drive” pop-up window will appear (See Picture 4)

Picture 4: Click “Add a network location” on the pull-down menu to open “Map Network Drive” pop-up window

In the Folder text field enter http://myfilepod.io:3000 and click the Browse button (See Picture 5).

Picture 5: Enter http://myfilepod.io:3000 and click the Browse button

A shortcut for the network location will appear under This PC or Computer when you’re done, giving you easy access to the remote location in File Explorer or Windows Explorer (See Picture 6).

Picture 6: A shortcut for the new network location will appear

You can rename this and give it a shorter name, such as MYFILEPOD (See Pictures 7, 8 and 9).

Picture 7: Right-click on the new network drive shortcut to open the pull-down menu and click Rename

Picture 8: Rename giving it a shorter name, e.g. MYFILEPOD

Picture 9: Network drive with a new short name MYFILEPOD

A shortcut for the network location appears under This PC or Computer when you’re done, giving you easy access to the remote location in File Explorer or Windows Explorer. Now at any time, you can access the content of the FilePOD SD card by simply clicking on the MYFILEPOD Drive under This PC in the sidebar or click on the MYFILEPOD Drive icon under Devices and Drives (See Pictures 10 and 11).

Picture 10: A shortcut for the network location appears under This PC or Computer “Devices and drives”

Picture 11: Click on the MYFILEPOD(Z:) shortcut to open and show a content of any directory in that drive

How to Access FilePOD’s SD Card Using WebDAV in Linux File Manager

Use Nautilus on Ubuntu Linux to access all the content on filePod

There are two main ways to access files on filePOD’s SD card. One is using the standard USB Mass Storage Mode; the other is to use a built-in WebDAV server.

To use WebDAV to access files on the FilePOD’s SD card you don’t need any third-party software. Linux operating system can all do this out-of-the-box.

Linux offers a wide variety of different desktop environments, and each one has its own file manager with its own way of accessing network shares. We’ll focus here on the Nautilus file manager used in Ubuntu and other GNOME-based distributions, although other file managers will function in very similar ways. Just try finding a “Connect to Server” option in your file manager of choice (See Picture 1).

Nautilus makes this very obvious with a “Connect to Server” option under the Network heading in its sidebar. You can also use the menu — just click File > Connect to Server.

Picture 1: Use Connect to Server in the sidebar of Nautilus file manager to find or add new WebDAV server location

Connect to Server window will pop up (see Picture 2)

Picture 2: Connect to Server is used to browse existing or to enter new remote server

As on other operating systems, you’ll need to enter the appropriate server address starting with the protocol. Enter dav://myfilepod.io:3000 for FilePOD WebDAV server (See Picture 3).

Picture 3: To connect to filePOD WebDav server enter dav://myfilepod.io:3000 into the Server Address field

Linux will connect to the WebDAV server and mount the SD card as an external disk. The files on the SD card will be shown. You can browse the files just as you would for those on your own computer. The server will also be added to the sidebar myfilepod.io:3000 so you can access it quickly in the future (See Pictures 4 and 5)

Picture 4: Now that your computer is connected to a server you can browse and view files on that server, exactly as if they were on your own computer.

Picture 5: Showing the content of the FILEPOD directory on FilePod SD card

Taming Digital Clutter

Your on-the-go workSpot with filePod mobile digital office solution

In this day and age, just about everyone with a computer struggles with digital clutter. Whether you are the type of person who has a thousand neatly named files organized within an extensive folder hierarchy in Dropbox, or you’re the sort that jumps from their company’s Sharepoint to their desktop and back again, we can all relate to that moment when you’re looking for a file and not entirely sure where to find it. Now, if you’re like me, you’re juggling a handful of customers and your shared directories are organized, but difficult to manage. You’ve probably thought to yourself that there must be a better way than constantly jumping from web app to web app, account to account.

Finally, there is.

Here enters FilePOD —a portable device that doubles as an anchoring point for all your cloud accounts, as well as a local content manager.

Take this blog for example. Here I am, sitting at my gate on my way to the next Dreamforce conference, and I’m itching to get some work done. You know as well as the next guy that not all airport wifis are created equal. I could sit here for the next two hours, fighting to gain even the simplest access to my files on their various web apps (let alone trusting the connection that gets me there), or I could pull out my FilePOD and have immediate access to all my files, across all their platforms.

Was the latest version of that one demo stored in customer A or customer B’s Sharepoint? Did we distribute through one of my countless Dropbox directories, or did this customer prefer Google Drive?

Well, you see where this is going.

FilePOD’s two-way-sync applications allow you to not only access all these documents from one centralized point, but also gives you the capability to add a multitude of user accounts. Better yet, once you connect to the internet, your files sync after every change. Even with multiple two-way-sync applications, the accounts synchronize regardless of if the change is made in the cloud storage account or in the corresponding account directory on FilePOD’s SD card. You don’t even have to worry about configuring the directory structure of these accounts, as FilePOD integrates the directory structure straight from the cloud storage account itself. The device supports services like Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Amazon drive.

Now, I’ve got to be honest here, I had a few caveats when I first got this gadget. First, if I was going to be trusting it with both my and my customer’s files, it had to have some security options. I was pleasantly surprised with the included ability to encrypt FildPOD’s content for additional confidence in the safety of my files. Second, I am obviously a traveler. One week my customers could require a presentation in Beijing, and the next week I could be halfway to London for another conference. It is pretty imperative that I have access to whatever resources I need, regardless of my location. With FilePOD, once you’ve connected your accounts they become accessible via a secure connection from any location in the world.

This handsome little device has almost instantaneously simplified my day-to-day business. As a marketing and content developer for my many customers, it falls to me to keep organized amidst the great onslaught of digital clutter. Efficiency is key to my successful partnerships, and everything that can make my life just that much easier is a welcome addition to my portfolio of tools. As they say, it may be small, but FilePOD’s capacity to optimize my workflow sure is mighty. Cut out the extra steps, add this pocket-sized middleman to do all the dirty work for you, and enjoy a simplified version of the organization and access we all wish to attain.

New Tech Makes Managing and Using Your Cloud Files a Breeze

Google Drive is one of the most user-friendly cloud storage solutions out there to date. It sports deeply empathetic UX and UI with features such as offline document access and offline editing, self-syncing during times of stable internet connectivity, easy content organization, and flexible sharing settings for both folders and individual documents/sheets/media. However, it too requires some troubleshooting from time to time and moreover, it can be a hassle to keep switching between Google Accounts just to view different work drives.

With FilePod, you can have all your cloud storage accounts elegantly organized and displayed in one single view after one single login. FilePod is a featherweight, pocket-sized gadget that packs a serious punch. It allows for fast, seamless and secure access to numerous cloud services (and it’s sync-savvy).

Getting Started with FilePod Is as Easy as 1-2-Well That’s It Actually!

To set up your super nifty new device simply follow these steps:

Connect FilePod to your PC or mobile device with a USB cable and hop onto WiFi.
Using the web browser login and configure your dashboard by clicking on the storage account apps (Dropbox, Box, Google Drive) you wish to add, then logging into all your cloud storage accounts, and finally selecting if you want to synchronize ALL files or only SELECTED directories. Note that after this initial setup you are good to go!

Once a cloud storage account is added to FilePod and the user has selected what to synchronize, FilePod will do all the hard work in synchronizing and organizing all content from that point on.

This gadget is impressively easy to integrate into your daily life. Use FilePod as your standard USB drive — open and edit files, create directories, cut and paste files, etc.. FilePod’s SD card simply displays as a mounted USB Disk on your computer, and users can employ their standard file manager apps to access content (ex. File Explorer on Windows and Finder on MacOS, respectively).

The Specs Are Spectacular

INTERFACE FRIENDLY

FilePod can be used with any host device (Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android) — blending into the host environment and allowing you to use the host’s native interface as if you’re using any other typically attached storage.

EASY TO CONNECT

FilePod can be used like a flash drive (using USB) or can be accessed wirelessly over WiFi. This device is optimal for both personal and professional use. Take traveling for instance, you can access all of your necessary work files as well as your entire video library for in-transit entertainment.

AUTOMATIC SYNCS

FilePod can be accessed with or without internet connection while in ‘Offline Mode’. Then as soon as connectivity becomes available, all interactions or changes to files are automatically synchronized.

CONSERVES STORAGE

FilePod enables you to access files using any device without sacrificing the precious storage space on your personal mobile device. In addition you may eliminate the disarray of holding multiple copies of files across devices.

PASSWORD PROTECTED

Device passwords are not stored in the cloud and your FilePod password is only known to you. No need to trust your cloud passwords with any third party vendors! Sign in to all of your cloud data providers using OAuth2, providing data access to FilePod while protecting your login credentials.

ENCRYPTED

FilePod is built from-ground-up with strong security features to protect your data. All data is encrypted using industry-standard AES 128. In case of theft, you can remotely wipe all data off the device while your data remains safely synchronized with your cloud provider. All communication between you, your FilePod and your cloud data provider use SSL-secured HTTPS connections.

To learn more about FilePod, visit our informational video here.

Don’t Get ‘Boxed in’ – a New Solution to Managing and Using Your Cloud Files

You’ve all been there… that is, logging in and out of your accounts trying to figure out why your Box files are seemingly stuck in a sync-limbo. Trying to manage and sync multiple accounts (whether they be personal, or business, or a combination of both) has been a complete nuisance, if not totally crippling from a day-to-day work perspective. If you’re new to the problem at hand, just take a look at this sad community forum where Box users have been hoping for a solution to come along since 2016 or check out the ‘CliffsNotes version’ below:

As it were, the team at FilePod has some great news — you don’t have to suffer any longer. FilePod is a featherweight, pocket-sized gadget that packs a serious punch. It allows for fast, seamless and secure access to numerous cloud services (and it’s sync-savvy).

Getting Started with FilePod Is as Easy as 1-2-Well That’s It Actually!

To set up your super nifty new device simply follow these steps:

Connect FilePod to your PC or mobile device with a USB cable and hop onto WiFi.
Using the web browser login and configure your dashboard by clicking on the storage account apps (Dropbox, Box, Google Drive) you wish to add, then logging into all your cloud storage accounts, and finally selecting if you want to synchronize ALL files or only SELECTED directories. Note that after this initial setup you are good to go!

Once a cloud storage account is added to FilePod and the user has selected what to synchronize, FilePod will do all the hard work in synchronizing and organizing all content from that point on.

The Specs Are Spectacular

INTERFACE FRIENDLY

EASY TO CONNECT

AUTOMATIC SYNCS

CONSERVES STORAGE

PASSWORD PROTECTED

ENCRYPTED

To learn more about FilePod, visit our informational video here.

Summary

Hybrid cloud with edge and micro-edge appliances as “IT-in-a-Box” digital enterprise solution for SMBs

The Hub: “IT-in-a-Box” SMB Office Solution

The POD: A Mobile Digital Workplace

Workplace Hub Setup

Workplace Hub User Identity Management Service

Workplace Hub File Sync and Sharing Services

Workplace Hub VPN services

THE POD – filePod is Mobile ON-THE-GO Workplace

Setting up your filePod for the First Time

FilePod – Configuring User

FilePod – Configuring Storage accounts

Adding Microsoft OneDrive account

Adding Workplace Hub WebDAV account

FilePod – Configuring Virtual Private Network (VPN)

How all of this works

Using filePodTM as Secure Access to Internet and Office Network

Using filePodTM as Ordinary Local Attached USB Drive

Accessing Workplace Hub Disk and Microsoft OneDrive

Conclusion

REFERENCES:

Summary

Meet the User – A Tech Writer and Freelance Designer

What is FilePodTM

What is FireWalla

What is WebDAV

The Home Office Setup

First let’s set up the WiFi router for home wireless network.

Next, let’s set up the Firewalla VPN box.

Now set up your WebDAV Server on Mac mini home computer

Finally, let’s set up your filePodTM

Mobile ON-THE-GO Office

Configuring VPN Server on Firewalla

Configuring VPN tunnel on the filePodTM

Adding your WebDAV Server storage to FilePodTM

Using filePodTM

Using filePodTM as a USB drive

Using filePodTM as secure access to Internet and home network

Conclusion

REFERENCES

Summary

What is FilePod™ for Adobe Document Cloud

What is filePod™?

What is Adobe Acrobat Document Cloud?

Going Paperless with filePod and Adobe Acrobat Document Cloud

Meet the User

Getting started with filePod

Configuring Adobe Document Cloud and other Cloud Storage accounts

Using filePod as a USB drive

Accessing filePod from Acrobat DC application

Converting paper documents to PDF

Processing and organizing scanned documents with Adobe Acrobat Tools

References:

Meet the User: Enzo is an Owner of a Small Business and wants to have a Paperless Office

So How is Enzo Going to do it? – Simple, by Using filePod’s RPM imBOTs

Now you are asking: What in the world is filePod?

But wait: What are these RPA imBOTs?

FilePod and RPA

Now that I know what I need about filePod and RPA imBOTs I am ready, so let’s do it!

First let’s Enzo setup his filePodTM.

Now, let’s login to MFP and do some scanning

Manual Processing of Scanned Document

Using filePod’s RPA imBOTs to Process Scanned Documents

The Specs Are Spectacular

The Specs Are Spectacular

Using filePod^TM as Secure Access to Internet and Office Network

Using filePod^TM as Ordinary Local Attached USB Drive

What is FilePod^TM

Finally, let’s set up your filePod^TM

Configuring VPN tunnel on the filePod^TM

Adding your WebDAV Server storage to FilePod^TM

Using filePod^TM

Using filePod^TM as a USB drive

Using filePod^TM as secure access to Internet and home network

First let’s Enzo setup his filePod^TM^.