RCS ShareFile, launched in 2021, is proving to be a popular storage solution for Carleton University’s research needs.
Offered by the Office of the Vice-President, Research International (OVPRI) and Information Technology Services (ITS) through Research Computing Services (RCS), ShareFile is a secure, online file sharing platform for researchers to store their data and collaborate with Carleton faculty and students, as well as external collaborators.
In the past year, ShareFile has seen a sharp increase in usage. Researchers uploaded nearly 250 per cent more research data to the service in 2022/23 than the previous year. The number of users has also grown from 951 to 1,332, a 40 per cent increase.
ShareFile is a good choice for Carleton researchers for several reasons.
Safety and security is one reason. RCS ShareFile has been fully assessed by ITS’s information security professionals to be operating within the acceptable risk tolerance as defined in the University’s Risk Management Framework. Based on this, the Carleton Research Ethics Boards deemed it an acceptable platform for research data.
Another reason is that this service is hosted at Carleton and all research data is stored in Carleton’s data centres, ensuring confidential information does not leave campus unless shared externally by researchers.
And ITS supports the service, providing regular software updates and backing data up to ensure resiliency.
“With the ever-increasing size of research data sets, the increase in demand for data availability and collaboration, the necessity for safe and secure data storage, and the Tri-Agencies roll out of mandatory Research Data Management Plans, a service like ShareFile is becoming essential for researchers from all academic backgrounds at Carleton,” says Andrew Schoenrock, Manager of Research Computing Services. “I’m happy to see how well received the service has been and expect to see similar growth moving forward.”
This story is a part of ITS’s Year in Review for 2022/23. Read more at our Year in Review homepage, or follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #ITSYearinReview. Thanks for reading!