Home NavigateNext Tracking Every Change with LightUp.Cloud’s Audit Log: A Game-Changer for Architects and SMBs

Tracking Every Change with LightUp.Cloud’s Audit Log: A Game-Changer for Architects and SMBs

In industries like architecture, landscape design, photography, journalism, and private healthcare, keeping a detailed record of file changes is critical for accountability, compliance, and collaboration. Whether it’s tracking edits to a Lumion design or ensuring patient records remain secure, businesses need a reliable way to monitor file history without losing data. LightUp.Cloud , built on Erlang and powered by AWS S3, offers a robust audit log system that stores the history of changes, never truly deletes files, and allows users to set custom retention periods. With audit logs archived securely on AWS S3, LightUp.Cloud ensures transparency and peace of mind for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) like GreenHouse , a Ukrainian landscape design firm. This article explores how LightUp.Cloud’s audit log feature empowers architects and other professionals to maintain control over their data.

Why Audit Logs Matter for Architects and SMBs

For architects managing complex projects, such as 10 GB+ Lumion files, or healthcare practices handling sensitive data, every file change matters. A single overwrite or accidental deletion can disrupt workflows, delay projects, or violate compliance requirements like GDPR or HIPAA. Traditional platforms like Dropbox or fileCloud often lack robust tracking mechanisms, leaving businesses vulnerable to data loss or disputes. LightUp.Cloud’s audit log system addresses these challenges by providing a clear, tamper-proof record of file actions, ensuring accountability and enabling easy recovery. With 30.2 million SMBs in the USA and 24.7 million in the EU, this feature is a must-have for professionals seeking efficiency and trust in their operations.

LightUp.Cloud’s Audit Log System: How It Works

LightUp.Cloud’s audit log system is designed to be simple, secure, and user-friendly, ensuring that architects, like those at GreenHouse, can track every file interaction with ease. Built on Erlang’s resilient architecture and integrated with AWS S3, the system offers unmatched reliability and scalability. Here’s how it works:

Comprehensive History of Changes

Every action on a file—whether it’s an upload, edit, rename, or deletion—is recorded in LightUp.Cloud’s audit log. For example, when an architect at GreenHouse updates a Lumion rendering, the audit log captures who made the change, when it occurred, and what was altered. This detailed history is accessible through a user-friendly web UI, allowing team leads like Alex Koval to monitor project progress, verify contributions, or resolve disputes. The audit log ensures transparency, making it easy to track who touched a file and when, which is crucial for collaborative workflows.

Non-Destructive Deletion with Custom Retention Periods

Unlike many platforms that permanently delete files, LightUp.Cloud takes a non-destructive approach. When a user “deletes” a file, it’s marked as deleted but remains stored in the system, preserving its history and content. Users can specify a custom retention period —from days to years—determining how long these marked files are retained before being archived or removed. This feature is invaluable for architects who might need to recover an older version of a design or for healthcare practices ensuring compliance with data retention regulations. For GreenHouse, this means a mistakenly deleted Lumion file can be restored quickly, preventing costly rework.

Secure Archiving on AWS S3

Audit logs and marked-deleted files are securely archived on AWS S3 , leveraging its 99.999999999% durability to ensure data is never lost. S3’s cost-effective storage classes, such as S3 Glacier, keep archiving affordable, allowing SMBs to maintain extensive histories without breaking the bank. Stored in a private VPC, these archives are protected from unauthorized access, making LightUp.Cloud ideal for sensitive industries like healthcare or journalism. The system’s integration with Erlang ensures that logs are generated and stored reliably, even under heavy workloads, with no downtime—thanks to Erlang’s proven resilience in systems running decades without restarts on Ericsson hardware.

Benefits for Architects and SMBs

LightUp.Cloud’s audit log system offers tailored benefits for architects and other professionals, enhancing collaboration and customer experiences:

Enhanced Accountability : The audit log tracks every file action, allowing GreenHouse’s team to see who edited a Lumion file or blueprint. This transparency reduces errors and ensures accountability, critical for meeting client deadlines.

Rapid Recovery : Non-destructive deletion and custom retention periods mean architects can recover files instantly, whether it’s a deleted design or an older version needed for reference. This minimizes downtime and keeps projects on track.

Cost Efficiency : Using S3’s cheap storage classes, LightUp.Cloud offers up to 5 times savings compared to platforms like Dropbox or fileCloud. With fixed pricing and unlimited users/devices, firms like GreenHouse can store extensive audit logs affordably.

Compliance and Security : Secure S3 archiving and a private VPC ensure compliance with GDPR, CCPA, or HIPAA, protecting sensitive data like client designs or patient records. The audit log provides a verifiable trail for regulatory audits.

Seamless Integration : Deployable via AWS CDK in a 3-click setup, LightUp.Cloud integrates with tools like Jira, offering notifications for file changes and a user-friendly interface for reviewing logs.

Custom Branding : Architects can share files via custom-branded portfolio pages, with audit logs ensuring that clients receive the correct versions, enhancing professionalism.

GreenHouse’s Experience with LightUp.Cloud

GreenHouse, a Ukrainian landscape design firm led by Alex Koval, switched from Dropbox due to its high costs, slow speeds, and lack of robust tracking. Alex, a detail-oriented entrepreneur, needed a solution to monitor file changes and prevent data loss. After a video introduction showcasing LightUp.Cloud at their office, GreenHouse adopted the platform. The audit log system allowed Alex to track edits to Lumion files, ensuring his team collaborated efficiently. The non-destructive deletion feature saved time when an architect accidentally marked a file as deleted, and custom retention periods aligned with their project needs. A testimonial video from Alex highlights how LightUp.Cloud’s transparency and reliability transformed their workflow.

LightUp.Cloud’s audit log system, with its history of changes, non-destructive deletion, and secure S3 archiving, empowers architects and SMBs to collaborate with confidence. By tracking every file action and offering custom retention periods, it ensures data accuracy and rapid recovery, as seen with GreenHouse’s Lumion projects. Built on Erlang’s resilient architecture and AWS’s scalable storage, LightUp.Cloud delivers a cost-effective, secure, and transparent solution that outperforms competitors. For architects, landscape designers, and other professionals, LightUp.Cloud illuminates the path to efficient, accountable file management.

Ready to track your file changes? Explore LightUp.Cloud’s features or learn about API integration at https://lightup.cloud .

Related Pages