Axceler has introduced FileLoader for SharePoint 2010, a new product designed to migrate files originally stored in Windows file shares.

The company claims it delivers many of the benefits of SharePoint to Windows file shares, including: one standard platform for sharing files, improved version control, workflow capabilities, document retention abilities, improved search results, tighter security, and better access control.

"Many enterprises are seeking the benefits of SharePoint 2010 but have large amounts of content stored in Windows file shares without any sense of organisation or structure," said Michael Alden, President and CEO, Axceler.

"One of the most common reasons companies delay a migration to SharePoint 2010 is because of the need to move key content from file shares that may have been around a long time. Enterprises also ask for the ability to analyse and structure this content to work with the new Managed Metadata Service capabilities of SharePoint 2010, and we are excited to expedite the migration to SharePoint 2010 with this product."

FileLoader offers the ability to create Microsoft Excel ˜control files' that represent the file shares, allowing administrators and users to work together to clean up their file shares and apply metadata. It means managers can reorganise folder structures and distribute responsibility of content to stakeholders who know the content best.

Axceler FileLoader for SharePoint 2010 has the flexibility to support all three common approaches to moving file share data to SP 2010. These include: 1) moving file shares to SharePoint as-is and maintaining the file structure; 2) reorganising the content manually and pushing it to a new SharePoint layout; or 3) migrating iteratively, which allows the clean up, sorting, and transformation of the data to be performed on a user-defined schedule.