Policy overview

Connected supports several types of policies. A policy defines specific aspects of a how a feature functions for one or more groups of users. Although Connected provides some predefined feature behavior that applies to all groups, you should configure custom policies to better meet corporate needs.

Types of policies

Connected supports the following types of policies:

  • Agent configuration policy. Specifies Agent preferences, such as the type of desktop notifications Agents display and whether Agents start automatically when users log on to their computer. For more information, see Agent configuration policy overview.
  • Backup policy. Defines which files Agents target for backup and whether users can view and download copies of their backed up files from the Connected web application. For more information, see Backup policy overview.
  • Retention policy. Defines which versions of users' Connected files the retention process keeps each time that it runs. All other versions are permanently removed. For more information, see Retention policy overview.
  • Sync policy. Defines the devices that users can sync, the types of files that they can sync from those devices, and whether they can sync over a metered connection. Connected For more information, see Sync policy overview.
  • Sharing policy. Defines who users can share files with, the types of files that they can share, and how long their shared files remain available to others. Users cannot share files until you create a policy that allows them to do so. For more information, see Sharing policy overview.
  • System resource policy. Defines the maximum amount of system resources, such as network bandwidth, that Connected applications consume. For more information, see System resource policy overview.

Policy scope

When you create a policy, you define who it affects:

  • Partner level policy. Partner administrators can apply a policy to all the companies under the partner or specific companies.

  • Whole company. Customer-level administrators can apply a policy to the whole company to create a corporate policy. This policy affects all Connected users in the company, regardless of the group to which they belong. Locking specific rules in a corporate policy, if supported, prevents rules from group-level policies from overriding them. Connected supports only one corporate policy for each policy type. Group-level administrators cannot access corporate policies.

  • Group. Any administrator can apply a policy to groups that they control. Policies applied to a group affect all users assigned to that group. Rules in group-level policies override unlocked rules of the corporate policy and any policies assigned to that group's direct ancestors. You can assign a single policy to multiple groups to define the same behavior for those groups. However, you can assign a group to only one policy of each type.

    For example, suppose that you apply both a sharing and sync policy to the Sales group. You could also apply the same sharing policy to the Marketing, Finance, and Human Resources groups to affect their behavior in the same way. Alternatively, to affect the behavior of those groups in different ways, you could create three additional sharing policies and apply one to each group.

The most efficient way to apply policies to users is for customer-level administrators to create a corporate policy that meets the needs of most users. Then, group-level administrators can create policies for their groups that either override corporate behavior or define additional behavior for those groups.