February 2016 Summaries

At the HIMSS trade show in Las Vegas, a new cloud-based solution was unveiled to revolutionize healthcare workflows, particularly for hospitals. This solution addresses challenges in data sharing by streamlining referral management, enabling secure sharing of DICOM files, and reducing reliance on manual processes like faxing and scanning. The Box DICOM Viewer, now FDA-cleared as a Class II Medical Device, allows for diagnostic use, enhancing the capability for remote diagnosis and improved turnaround times. Despite the widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs), many healthcare providers still face hurdles in data sharing, leading to the development of this solution which integrates cloud-based content management, governance, and partner capabilities such as HIPAA-compliant faxing and secure messaging. The solution is also reinforced by partnerships with industry leaders to enable more efficient clinical workflows, exemplified by deeper integration with TigerText for seamless collaboration on clinical imaging studies.

Box World Tour 2016 is an event designed to address the challenges of rapid business transformation, emerging security risks, and hypercompetitive markets by showcasing how Box and its partners, such as Okta and IBM, offer solutions for improving organizational collaboration, productivity, and security. The event features keynotes from Box CEO Aaron Levie and other industry leaders, who will discuss the integration of tools like Microsoft Office 365 and Box's new partnerships, which aim to empower a modern workforce through seamless collaboration and digital transformation. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with hands-on demos, expert sessions, and networking opportunities to discover how to adapt to new work styles while maintaining compliance and data security. The event underscores the evolving role of CIOs in leveraging interoperable technology to deliver real value quickly, and it highlights the importance of adapting IT strategies to meet the demands of a digital workforce.

Box Platform has significantly expanded its Preview Content API to support over 100 file types, including images, videos, medical images, 360 photos, and HD video, to enhance digital content experiences across various industries. This development aims to create engaging and immersive user experiences by integrating diverse content types into workflows, facilitating seamless collaboration and efficient content management. By providing a unified platform for content consumption, Box eliminates the need for multiple storage solutions, thereby enhancing team collaboration and maintaining reliable security. The platform's open and neutral stance on file formats makes it adaptable to current and future business demands, enabling industries such as Financial Services, Healthcare, Insurance, Construction, Retail, and Education to leverage modern content types effectively. Box encourages users to explore the Preview API endpoint and share their experiences to further refine and advance digital applications.

Unicef UK has adopted Box to enhance collaboration, content management, and mobile information sharing among its staff, marking a significant step in its mission to protect and advocate for children's rights globally. This decision highlights the growing trend in Europe towards adopting Box for creating a more mobile and collaborative workforce, joining other notable nonprofits like the International Rescue Committee, the UN Foundation, and Oxfam. According to Ian Williamson, ICT Director at Unicef UK, Box will help manage content more efficiently, thus boosting productivity in their operations for children. Box's initiative, Box.org, launched in 2014, aims to empower nonprofits by allowing them to innovate and achieve their goals, and Unicef UK's integration underscores this vision. Additionally, Unicef UK is committed to raising funds, influencing policy, and building partnerships to safeguard the rights of children, particularly focusing on the most disadvantaged.

Box Capture is a tool introduced at BoxWorks that revolutionizes collaboration by integrating mobile device cameras with work processes, allowing users to securely share photos without saving them on their devices. The latest update introduces document scanning, enabling users to connect physical documents to digital environments through easy scanning and sharing. The app offers features such as automatic detection, cropping, and filtering of documents, as well as editing options like cropping, grayscaling, and resizing. It also allows multiple scans to be stitched into a single PDF, facilitating collaboration with tools like DocuSign and Salesforce. Files are securely stored in Box, ensuring business information remains protected. This update streamlines processes that previously involved manual copying and scanning, offering a more efficient and secure solution for professionals across varied industries. Box Capture is available for free on the iOS App Store, promoting secure and efficient enterprise mobility.

In 2014, Box launched an initiative called Box for Industries to enhance business transformation in targeted sectors, notably Healthcare and Life Sciences, where it had already gained traction. This strategic move paralleled Salesforce's industry-specific cloud solutions approach and prompted a former Salesforce ISV program manager to join Box as Managing Director for Life Sciences. The focus was to deepen Box's platform offerings for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies, among others. Box's growing customer base in Life Sciences, featuring renowned organizations like Jazz Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline, leverages the platform for internal collaboration and external communications with regulatory bodies and key stakeholders. In 2015, Box introduced Box Platform, enabling users to build applications without needing to log into Box, thus allowing seamless app-user interaction. This was crucial for Life Sciences, as it facilitated secure access to sensitive clinical data and positioned Box as a central repository for industry content. As the Life Sciences sector faces challenges such as patent expirations and rising R&D costs, the adoption of cloud-based Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions like Box is expected to drive innovation and cost efficiency, with the industry's ECM expenditure already exceeding $2 billion and projected to grow.

Post-holiday retail analysis highlights the ongoing transformation from traditional storefronts to digital channels, as evidenced by the substantial role of e-commerce in driving retail growth despite overall lackluster holiday sales. The increasing importance of mobile technology is poised to reshape consumer interactions and operational efficiencies, as retailers invest in mobile apps and devices to enhance customer experiences and streamline operations. Additionally, the retail sector is undergoing a strategic shift towards cloud-based services to achieve greater agility and interoperability in delivering modern, omnichannel strategies. This evolution demands that retailers rethink traditional workflows and embrace secure, agile technology infrastructures to remain competitive, with the potential for significant growth and performance improvements if strategy and execution are effectively aligned.

Box, a company focused on secure cloud content management, has announced the expansion of its security offerings with the introduction of Box KeySafe, a service that allows organizations to manage their own encryption keys, providing independent control without compromising on user experience and collaboration features. This development follows the earlier introduction of Box Enterprise Key Management (EKM), which catered to businesses requiring dedicated hardware for encryption management, but Box KeySafe now offers both hardware and software solutions to make the technology more accessible. Working in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Box KeySafe is available in two forms: Box KeySafe with AWS CloudHSM, which utilizes a dedicated hardware security module, and Box KeySafe with AWS Key Management Service, which offers a simpler, software-based approach. The service promises ease of setup and minimal maintenance while supporting independent key control, unchangeable usage policies, and audit logs, enhancing security for Box's integrations with third-party applications like Salesforce, Slack, and Microsoft Office 365.