In a recent column on how we use and abuse email, I mentioned the idea of passing attachments "by reference" rather than "by value." Unfortunately I overlooked a product recently reviewed by InfoWorld that does exactly that. The Xythos WebFile Server has a companion WebFile Client that hooks File Attach (in Notes and Outlook) and replaces attachments with secure links to an access-controlled and versioned instance of the document. Cool!
The $50K price tag, as our reviewer noted, "may keep smaller companies away." But other implementations of the idea are clearly possible. I've received a bunch of responses to the column saying: "We attach files because IT gives us no alternative." Xythos offers an alternative. I'd like to see the "Intellittach" concept turn into a broadly-adopted convention.
Former URL: http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2004/05/11.html#a996