Online file storage startup Box.net has unveiled a redesigned interface, introducing a number of new collaborative features in an effort to appeal to its new target audience: businesses and the enterprise. The site will continue to offer the same storage solution it has for years, but is looking to capitalize on businesses – the kind that are actually willing to pay – that have grown to become the site’s most frequent users.
Box.net launched back in 2005 as a fairly basic online storage site, and has continued to add functionality since then, introducing new features like a two-way storage widget, a platform that integrated a number of popular web applications, and a Facebook application that CEO Aaron Levie refers to as an “interesting effort”.
Over time, Levie says that the company found that its most avid users were businesses – a fact that became increasingly apparent when Box.net introduced collaborative and enterprise features that allowed teams of coworkers to quickly share files with each other. In light of this trend (and the fact that these companies actually pay for the service), Box.net is working to make itself better optimized for a group work environment.
First and foremost, users will notice a revamped interface. Each directory now includes a sidebar indicating which files have been recently modified, along with a listing of other members who have been working on the files. The site also now gives every user their own profile page, which presents standard contact information, a news feed of recent activity, and a list of common collaborators. Other new features include the ability to add discussions and bookmarks to folders, offering a level of communication beyond just file sharing.
The upgrades introduced today certainly emphasize the site’s shifting focus to collaboration, but I feel as if the new social aspect is missing a few key features (for one, I’d like to be able to send a direct message to one of my collaborators without having to include it as part of a general discussion). But Box.net is walking a fine line between maintaining the simplicity its users have embraced and building a full-blown file sharing social network (which it probably doesn’t want to become), so any further changes will likely be gradual. Still, don’t be surprised if we see some more collaborative features added in the near future.
As I told the box.net rep: I’ll wait for the GDrive.
No disrespect to any of the parties involved with Box.net or any of the Business’s that use their service, but do you really want all of your very private business communications, spreadsheets, and data on a third party file hosting service?
A lot of data could go missing or end up in the wrong hands.
Just my 2 cents, and I wish you all the best!
@Adrian … lol, yeah because that NEVER happens to internal organizations, does it? you fool
Interesting site!
cooljobsalways
http://tinyurl.com/7uj5ay
Is there any comparison between box.net and dropbox?
I like the absolute simplicity of dropbox. Especially for co-workers that appear to be almost braindead when it comes to computers.
“I’d like to be able to send a direct message”…
Isn’t that what we call “emails” or “IM” in entreprises ?!
and what about google docs?
I was thinking of the same thing. Google Docs is so simple that I am even using it for project management and shut down my Basecamp account.
It’s good that there is a more improved website for business and enterprise. We’ll just hope that it’s user friendly and has features that is useful.
While I have invested in their ‘competitor’, box.net guys are very good at what they do.
Thumbs up!
The service is so lame it hurts. Please turn of the web 2.0 speil. I would not use box.not if you paid me.
Give it up. Box.not is so utterly dumb it hurts to even say it. What the hell is TC thinking covering a f-ing press release.
Look web 1.0 companies raised 250m on this space and they all failed. AOL recently killed XDrive after a decade of failure. Look here. Storage is a commodity and it is a commodity that drops in value every year. Without fail. Why do you want to be in this business when EMC and SanDisk can’t make money?
Running to the enterprise? Get out. Draper what type of stupid last Ditch panic move is that?shut this dog down and claw back your cash and payoff your LPs. Given Drapers awful decade of returns they could use the help.
If there us money to be made here MSFT wouldve long figured it out. Groove anyone?
The ui and messaging and installed base will not scale period. The business users are parasitic. Don’t be fooled into thinking Box will capture paying customers especially among the big iron set. Security? Hah.
Yousendit is more than enough for file transfer. So what is Box’s value prop? More space than the next guy? I’ve got all I need with gmail. Collaboration? Not really bc our internal wiki and sharepoint has that covered. Consultants? Hello recession?
Drop-Box.net Draper. Save yourself.
You need less web 2.0 snakeoil in your portfolio.
This is like putting lipstick on a pig.
Box.net is a heaven for pirates…. who the heck wants to socialize while doing illegal stuff?!? Do you wanna get caught faster or something?!?!?
why the f does this story take so much real estate on the homepage. this is nothing new.
I am honing in on my knife-sharpening skills.
Keys to enterprise/org adoption:
1) Auth integration (LDAP/AD/OpenID);
2) NO SIGNUP REQUIREMENT for file URL recipients (shame services that do this, SHAME!);
3) DAV, or “native file” access to integrate with existing storage solutions/internal filesharing protocols;
4) Unified administration of org users, and permissions inheritance
5) Monitoring/usage quotas
Whoever gets all five first, wins.
And, notice all you “big IT” nerds: security is NOT an absolute requirement (not knocking security, but we’re all already pwned so badly by what users do on the sly, it’s much higher value to rope them all into a unified solution, and worry about securing that solution later).
drop.io? (www.drop.io)
I help set up tech and business operations for startups and small businesses and find box.net to be very a simple and helpful way to get that intranet of collaboration moving.
-I’ve tried wikis and they fail at bad attachment management, and getting non-technical employees to deal with new WYSIWYG formatting or wiki markup language isn’t easy. If all team members aren’t using it, it fails.
-Google docs came close, but still fails because there are always people who prefer to work on the actual office documents. You’ll never get a finance person to move their complex model out of excel into Google spreadsheets, marketing people to move away from powerpoint files, and legal people to move away from word’s version tracking.
-I don’t want to try sharepoint, why spend thousands of dollars at a time like this?
Box.net is lightweight and simple which goes a LONG way to getting ALL employees to adopt a solution like this, which is why I like it. although it would be nice to create simple spreadsheets or tables as webdocs, I hope they add that in the future.
My guess is that some of these comments don’t get that it is not about online storage, it is about working together around business documents and information. If you want to share videos or music, I don’t think box.net is right for you.
Too expensive. I’m unsure what it does and what value it provides for $15/mo/user.
Just use DROP.IO … they already have all of these bases covered plus it’s about 100 times easier to use. Box.net is so painful to use and look at it make me wish I was blinded by a shell in World War I ala ‘Johnny Got His Gun’ (my company signed up for an account, great idea guys).
Online collaboration isn’t hard to come by and it certainly shouldn’t be as expensive as box.net. Other companies are doing it better, smarter and cheaper (ahem… drop.io…)
Anyway, once Gdrive comes along, box.net and yousendit are gone, instantly. It’s the same with all of these companies that are about storage and not sharing. The question is always, “Why can’t Google come along, do exactly what you’re doing and sink your business?” Box.net, if you’re listening, you should start thinking up a good answer because those low thuds you hear from over the hill are Google’s lumbering footsteps. It’s not ‘05 anymore.
Its sad how box competitors have to anonymously bash the product, and without much substance either.
If you have a legitimate criticism, say it publicly and associate yourself with it, or at least have a better product to compete with.
I’d have to recommend Dropbox.
I’ve been using dropbox at socialmedia for the past three months or so and it’s been great. It integrates seamlessly with the file system on my mac.
It’s one of the few products out there that just works. Install and go.
I’m not a competitor I’m a customer. This space is a non space. It’s a joke.
And btw setting collaborative work environments is way overrated. They are rare. And I am not paying monthly for the priveledge of maybe sometime needing it.
Box has the wrong brand. We don’t want commodity boxes. We want collaboration and intelogent organization and management tools.
There is no such projct mgt and storage and messaging integration product out there. Give me outlook + ms project + sharepoint in a “box” then I’ll bite. Until then this stuff is crap.
More tired vc web 1.0 garbage. I hope the coming shakeout takes down everyone one of these idiotic capital inefficient business model du jour ore revenue “companies” run by infants with zero operating skill and boarded by flashy web 1.0 vc wannabes.