File Shares: Good, bad, or ugly?

[Guest]

Hi,

My company is currently evaluating alternatives to SOS, of which Vault is a candidate. As a long time VSS/SOS user, I have become somewhat dependent on file shares. We have dozens of projects, for example, that use the same idl files, or subsets thereof. My lobbying efforts for Vault are based in part because of this feature.

Alternatives such as CVS or Subversion, of which I have no experience, lack true file shares. Users obtain similar functionality through the use of modules or external definitions, and their proponents claim them to be superior to file shares.

Does anyone have experience with both approaches? Are file shares good, bad, or ugly?

Cheers.