Why cloud drives are a bad fit for client work
I've been building Droplana, and one thing I keep coming back to is how many businesses use Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive as a makeshift client portal.
It makes sense at first.
Create a folder. Share it with the client. Done.
The problem starts when you have 10, 20, or 100 clients.
Now you have:
A folder for every client
Different sharing permissions
Links sent through email
Files mixed with your internal documents
Comments happening somewhere else
Clients uploading files in places you didn't expect
Old clients potentially keeping access
No clear view of what needs your attention
And the biggest problem is that the drive is organized around files and folders, while client work is organized around people and relationships.
A client doesn't really care about your folder structure.
They care about:
"Where do I get the document?"
"Where do I upload this?"
"Which version is the final one?"
"Did you receive what I sent?"
"Where is that comment you made?"
That's why I think the problem isn't that businesses need a better cloud drive.
They need a different interface.
One private space per client.
Files, uploads, comments, statuses and approvals in that space.
No shared folder permissions to configure.
No client account to create.
No digging through Drive to figure out which client has access to what.
That's the idea behind Droplana.
Cloud drives are great for storing your company's files.
I'm building Droplana for the files that move between your company and your clients.
Curious how other businesses handle this. Are you still using shared Drive/Dropbox folders for client work, or have you moved to a client portal?
Hi ikaselj,
Well done so far!
Had a quick look at your website and couldn't find a contact email or contact page, which probably would be a good addition. Also, is there a way to delete an account (haven't created an account yet, partly because I'm unsure if I can delete it later, but might create a test one just out of curiosity; but the bigger point is that the copy on website focuses on security and data control, so it would be good to be proactive and emphasise total data control to the user)? If I create an account to check out the portal, a contact email might be easier to send feedback.
One thing that came to mind when reading about your venture is how much this sounds like a Deal Tray (the recessed counter tray used to pass items securely beneath security glass). Not sure if that's what you were thinking, but once that got into my head, it all made more sense to me, so I thought that sharing it with you might be useful to use in your marketing.
One other thing, this could be used as a way to share employment docs as well, such as payslips or contracts (well, as a future addition to your product, because you mentioned that this is not an archive). The reason I'm saying that is because when someone leaves an organisation, for example, unless they saved their payslips or contracts, somewhere locally on their computer, the only way to get them is to email their ex-organisation, which could be quite tedious.
Also, although the client gets a secure link to their portal, how do you make sure that link doesn't get lost in a WhatsApp chat or email thread? If it does, that would limit their access to the portal and hence it almost makes more sense to email the docs to avoid questions like "Where's that link?". As I said, I haven't create a test account yet (so, I can't tell if you do that now), but reading the copy on the website made me think that maybe an email should still be sent to either party when something changes in the portal as a start (after all, the email will still remain central to their relationship for communication purposes). At a later date, some other easier options could be considered (like an app, etc.).
One last thing, where's AI here? It became almost expected to have AI tools when dealing with a lot of words, so it'd be worth thinking of that too.
I hope any of this would be of help to you! Best of luck!
Hi @indiehackername99
Thank you so much for your comments! I'll try to be short and informative in answers.
[Contact] Sometimes you work on something so much and miss just the stupid thing as - contact form. Will be fixed! The mail is support at droplana com (can not post links here)
[Account Delete] Feel free to create the account, it can be deleted fully from the settings. No worries there.
[Usage Scenarios] You are completely right here too. Portal has sooo many usage scenarios. And it can be used as an archive too. But not in a sense - let's massively drop zillion of files in droplana. At the beginning we are targeting special industries because we think that we can sell them more easily. SEO does not like broad spectrum. But really, there is no limit for construction worker to have his before and after photos for each client in droplana. Not to mention, you have 'take a photo' button on the mobile view of the app...
[Links / Portal Access] This part took me a long time to design in my head. You are right for questioning and here is the answer. Actually business (you as an owner) can select one of 3 access levels depending on the delicacy of the stored files.
- Default is strict security - client gets short lived magic link on the mail.
- Second is permanent one time usable magic link.
- Third is long living magic link - being the least secure.
And all access can be revoked with one click without any data being deleted.
One important info here - When user has multiple spaces on droplana - say you have your own business. And you are client of several businesses. Going to login page and writing your mail in the login gets you a list of all your spaces :) I like that one really much.
[AI] There is no AI here :) AI helped me build droplana, but I don't think it has place in droplana as an app. Idea for droplana to be extremely simple.
Again - thank you for your comments! You can reach me directly at ivan dot kaselj at droplana dot com
Have a nice day
Ivan
Hi Ivan,
Nice adding the contact email. Would be good to emphasise somewhere in the copy on your website (other than the privacy policy) the full control the user has over their data, it would be quite a good marketing/selling point too. I noticed that you keep an audit as well, which is also a good thing from a data privacy and peace of mind for any client (especially because there's no login for clients, which might seem a bit odd at first).
Like the idea that you simply can access all portals using the email address at login. However, from a UX perspective, it's still the client's job to find their way to the portal, unless the account manager/agency specifically includes a link every time they contact the client. Might not be a big thing for a start, but it can soon become one.
Some quick ideas for this could be:
1. Custom Subdomain & Direct Gateway (The Root Login)
Instead of forcing the client to find a specific tokenised string, you can create a universal "Client Gateway" on the root subdomain, and the client simply bookmarks ("yourstudio.droplana[dot]com") . On that main page, there is a simple field: "Enter your email to enter your workspace." The client types their email, and the system automatically matches them to their isolated portal, texting or emailing them an instant entry token. They never need to remember a complex link.
2. Native Browser PWA (Progressive Web App) Pinning
The application can prompt the client's smartphone or desktop browser to "Add to Home Screen" upon their very first visit.
3. Email/SMS Push Notifications as Entry Points
Rather than expecting the client to randomly check the portal, the software can drive the interaction loop via automated external triggers, like notifications, email/SMS: "Your agency updated your deliverables. Click here to view." That's a great thing to have either way.
One thing that came to mind while writing this is also if multiple users with different email addresses (all representing the same client) can access the same portal? It seems to be true to an extent (i.e., if they use the same access link (correctly setup at Level 3)).
However, from a data privacy and audit perspective, if there are multiple users accessing the same portal using the same link, my understanding is that they all will be audited as "The Client" rather than individual names, which can become problematic for auditing. Same for the comments.
Also, sometimes, it happens that they want different access levels too (e.g., the business owner can see all employment contracts, but a payroll adviser can only access the payslips). Whoever from the client side has access to the portal can see the documents and that could lead to data breaches too.
Regarding your tiers, for a photographer, for example, if they have 3 client portals, and want a 4th one, they could close/delete one of the 3 and always stay in the free tier? Wouldn't that impact revenue? Which raises a bigger point - how you upsell your clients?
Also, you rely solely on organic traffic from what I understand, but with AI searches now, that wouldn't bring a lot of signups, would it? The "Anti-Platform" marketing strategy sounds pretty good, positioning the product explicitly as an un-bloated alternative: "We don't manage your projects. We don't track your time. We just ensure your clients actually hand you their files on time without the friction."
One last thing, a demo would be great: a video quickly presenting the product and a test account fully preloaded with files that anyone can use to quickly test the product.
Have you thought of white-labelling, collaboration caps or deep workflow automation (when a file is uploaded to Droplana, it would automatically and flawlessly route into the user's existing Google Drive, Slack workspace, or local CRM) for a premium? Also, what about integrating it with other platforms, like accounting software, to bring the product directly where the client is?
I hope you find any of the above useful!
Again, thanx for commenting!
I'll try to answer all :)
[Custom Subdomain - Client email] Actually it works just like that. With one subtle difference. If the client has link saved, it just works because the cookie is set. If the client has no cookie or has several businesses where he has files - he just enters his mail (or logs in with google or ms work account) and gets list of his spaces. It sounds complicated but actually it is really simple. And more to it - it is completely logical to person having one or more accounts. One - you get logged in. Two or more - select which one you want.
[Native Browser - PWA] Yep. It works :)
[Emails / Push notification] Ah... This is easy to implement. But I don't want to spam with mails. Imagine business uploading 10 files. Is that 10 mails? Or one digest daily? Weekly? I gave it a thought already. Will think of something. But great observation!
[Portal access with link] If the business decides to lower the security (remeber, default is mailed magic link) and use permanent or one time link without the mail address then yes - no valuable audit information exist. But then again, it is a business decision. In normal operation, we have a mail of the person opening the file. (Or signing the file to add it to the conversation)
[Different Access Levels] Droplana is built with simplicity in mind. That being said, all you need to do for client that needs different access levels is - two client portals. One named TheSuperCompany and other TheSuperCompany-Payroll. Easy right?
[Pricing tiers for photographers] We are fine with deleting one client and creating new one to fit in 3 free clients. Anyone who will use droplana in this way is more than welcome.
[White labeling] Of course. We are open for it.
Hope I answered all questions and happy to answer more!
Ivan
The distinction between a cloud drive and a client workspace is the strongest part here. The product becomes more compelling when the unit of organisation is the client relationship rather than the files themselves.
Hi Aryan,
Exactly! The personality itself has massive impact. And I hope that combined with simplicity makes droplana an interesting product.
Hey! I’d be interested in continuing the conversation a bit more. What’s the best email to reach you at?
Hi Aryan,
Write at support at droplana dot com . I'm behind that mail :)
Thanks! I’ve just sent it over.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts whenever you have a chance.