Webfiles will be phased out beginning Spring 2020
The software product at the heart of OIT’s Webfiles file sharing service, Xythos, will no longer be supported or maintained by the vendor as of December 2019. Without vendor support for bug fixes and security patches, the service presents an increasing cybersecurity risk. As a result, in the coming months, OIT will begin to phase out the Webfiles service.
All current Webfiles users are encouraged to migrate to another file-sharing solution. OIT will be ready to work with you in Q1 2020. We will set a date to sunset the service only after a significant number of current users have migrated. Once a sunset date is determined, OIT will make an announcement 90 days in advance to provide any remaining users an opportunity to migrate to another solution before Webfiles is turned off.
Still using Webfiles?
Read the FAQs and help pages to help you use Webfiles during the transition.
How to Choose the Right Migration Solution
Please view the chart below to determine the best migration solution for your data.
Low-to-moderate Risk Data
For low-to-moderate risk data, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive are good alternatives to replace Webfiles. Directions on migrating to Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive and how features in Webfiles map to these solutions will be published soon.
High-risk Data
For those campus departments that use Webfiles for the secure sharing of high-risk data (classified as P3 or P4 data under UC Electronic Information Security Policy 3), only Microsoft OneDrive enables the security controls required and only with the A5 licensing.
| What Can I Use to Share P1 – P4 Data? | Data Risk Level | Can I use Google Drive? | Can I use Microsoft OneDrive? (A3 License) |
Can I Use Microsoft OneDrive? (A5 License) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 – Public | Low | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| P2 – Internal | Medium | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| P3 – Proprietary | High | No | No | Yes |
| P4 – Statutory | High | No | No | Yes |
Notes:
- Google Drive offers unlimited* P1 & P2 storage space for Google Drive. Google Shared Drive (for teams) is available to all UCI students, staff, faculty, and researchers at no cost.
- Microsoft licensing requires the person doing the sharing to be licensed. The person(s) receiving access to the shared document does not need to be licensed. For low and moderate risk data (P1 & P2), Microsoft only requires an A3 license. All groups or departments that subscribe to the Microsoft Consolidated Campus Agreement (MCCA) have access to Microsoft A3 licensing. If you use Office 365 for email, you probably already have an A3 license.
- For high-risk data, Microsoft OneDrive with an A5 license is the only available alternative**. We are working on an intake process for A5 license requests and expect to have that ready in Q1 2020. At this time, departments that have A5 licensing include: Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, UCI Police Department, and OIT.
- Microsoft A3 licenses cost $46.20 per person per year, and Microsoft A5 licenses cost $95.52 per person per year. If you already have an A3 license, it only costs the difference ($39.32 per person per year) to upgrade.
- We encourage you to reach out to Enterprise Unix Services or Windows Services Group in Q1 2020 to assist with identifying your licensing needs.
We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for our Webfiles users. Please contact the Senior Director of Enterprise Infrastructure, Henry Jenkins, at henry.jenkins@uci.edu with any questions.
Notes
*Some campus units have their own Google G Suite tenant. Those tenants are outside of the campus agreement with Google and are unable to take advantage of the unlimited space offer.
**OneDrive is not appropriate for Protected Health Information (PHI) as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). OneDrive requires a process in addition to licensing to ensure proper protection of high-risk data. We are developing that guidance.