In short: Egnyte Storage Sync is a hybrid add-on that runs as a virtual machine in your office and keeps chosen folders in sync with the Egnyte cloud, giving local-network speed and offline working on site. The same licence covers Smart Cache, Egnyte's newer hybrid device. It is licensed per instance, billed monthly, on the IFS, Elite or Ultimate editions.
What Egnyte Storage Sync is
Most organisations moving to Egnyte go fully cloud. Some cannot, or not yet: an office with a slow or shared connection, a team opening very large drawings or video all day, or a site that must keep working through an outage. Egnyte Storage Sync is the hybrid answer. It runs as a virtual machine on VMware or Hyper-V, holds files on the VM's disk or a mounted SAN disk, and keeps them synchronised in both directions with the Egnyte cloud. Office users map a network drive to the device and sign in with their Active Directory credentials; remote users work on the cloud copy.
The cloud remains the single source of truth for permissions, sharing and governance, so external collaborators and remote staff work on the same content as the office. Egnyte describes uses including business continuity if local storage fails, keeping branch offices in step, consolidating data from several sites and staging a migration off a file server.
Storage Sync or Smart Cache?
Egnyte now directs new hybrid deployments to Smart Cache, its newer hybrid technology, and focuses new development there. Smart Cache uses the same licences as Storage Sync, so the add-on covers either.
| Storage Sync | Smart Cache | |
|---|---|---|
| How users connect | Network (SMB) share mapped to the device | The Egnyte desktop app, through its usual drive letter |
| What is held locally | The folders you choose to sync | Frequently used files cached automatically, plus any folders you choose to sync |
| File locking | Within the sync design | Global file locking across cloud and office users |
| Offline in the office | Synced folders stay available | Only synced folders; cached files need the internet |
| Supported hosts | VMware and Hyper-V | VMware ESXi, Nutanix and Hyper-V |
Storage Sync can still be the better fit where users work on virtual desktops or terminal servers, which the desktop app does not support, or with file types the desktop app does not handle. There is no direct disk migration between the two: a new Smart Cache device fills from the cloud when it is installed.
How Egnyte Storage Sync is licensed
Storage Sync is an add-on licensed per instance, billed monthly, on top of an Egnyte Platform subscription on the IFS, Elite or Ultimate edition; it is not available with Starter. Each Storage Sync or Smart Cache device needs an instance, so a business with two offices that both need a local copy would normally license two.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Unit | Per Storage Sync or Smart Cache instance |
| Billing | Monthly |
| Prerequisite | Egnyte Platform IFS, Elite or Ultimate |
| Users | Covered by your power user licences; standard users cannot use Storage Sync |
You also provide the virtual host and storage it runs on. Prices depend on the number of instances and your Platform edition, so ask us for a quote.
Requirements and deployment
Before ordering we check four things:
- Host: a supported VMware or Hyper-V host in the office, with memory, processor cores and disk sized to Egnyte's guidance for the number of users and the folders you want held locally.
- Scope: which folders genuinely need local copies. Syncing everything everywhere wastes storage and bandwidth.
- Bandwidth and firewall: enough upload capacity for changes to reach the cloud in reasonable time, and outbound access to the Egnyte addresses the device needs.
- Backup: the cloud copy is your master, but we still plan cloud backup and recovery around it.
For staff who work from home or travel, the Egnyte desktop app and its offline folders do a similar job on each laptop without any on-site hardware.
Who it suits and how we help
Storage Sync and Smart Cache suit design, engineering and media teams working with large files in a fixed office, sites with limited connectivity, and organisations that want a staged move off a file server rather than a single cut-over. Smart Cache also has a setup option aimed at Revit, Civil 3D and AutoCAD collaboration.
We help you choose between Storage Sync and Smart Cache, size the host, set up sync and cache policies, and add instances when you open a new office. Pair it with the Specialized File Handler if your teams work with CAD and BIM files, or contact us for a quote.
How Forever Systems supplies your software licences
Forever Systems Ltd supplies business software subscriptions to UK organisations from one account, with one monthly invoice and a UK team who know the products.
- The right edition first time: we check what you need before you buy, so you are not paying for features you will never use
- Monthly or annual terms where the vendor offers them, and help timing renewals and commitments
- Licence changes handled for you: add or remove users, upgrade editions and true-up without starting a new contract
- Deployment and support from engineers who run these products every day, not just a reseller account
- Consolidated billing and renewal reminders so nothing lapses unexpectedly
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations of all sizes.
Need a licence quote or a second opinion on your renewal?
Tell Forever Systems what you need and we will come back to you by email with options, not a hard sell.
Contact usFrequently asked questions
How is Egnyte Storage Sync licensed?
Per instance, billed monthly, as an add-on to an Egnyte Platform subscription on IFS, Elite or Ultimate. Each Storage Sync or Smart Cache device needs an instance.
What is Egnyte Smart Cache?
Smart Cache is Egnyte's newer hybrid device. It caches frequently used files in the office, supports global file locking and connects users through the Egnyte desktop app. It uses the same licences as Storage Sync.
Do I still need a file server with Storage Sync?
You need a virtual machine host for the device to run on, but the Egnyte cloud becomes the master copy, with permissions and sharing managed centrally.
Can users keep working if the internet goes down?
Yes, for folders synced to the local device. With Smart Cache, files that are only cached rather than synced are not available without an internet connection.
Is Storage Sync the same as the Egnyte desktop app?
No. The desktop app gives each user a drive and offline folders on their own computer. Storage Sync and Smart Cache keep a shared local copy for a whole office.