August 2016 Summaries

Box, a modern content platform, facilitates secure sharing, access, and management of content for millions globally, enhancing productivity across various industries. To bolster its offerings, Box is integrating Wagon Analytics' team, known for its expertise in data visualization and analytics, to enhance Box's analytics capabilities. This strategic move aims to provide deeper insights and advanced reporting for enterprises, allowing them to better understand and utilize their information. By combining Box's existing strengths with Wagon's innovative technology, Box plans to further evolve its platform, enabling customers to effectively monitor and interpret data about their usage, ultimately transforming workplace collaboration and decision-making.

Box is enhancing its platform by integrating with SAP SuccessFactors, a widely-used cloud-based HR solution, to streamline content management and collaboration for HR professionals. This integration allows users to manage, edit, and share employee files directly within SAP SuccessFactors, benefiting from Box's robust security, version control, and collaboration features. By leveraging Box as a content layer, HR departments can efficiently handle tasks such as applicant tracking, performance reviews, and talent management while ensuring compliance with international data protection standards. This move is part of Box's broader strategy to integrate with major platforms like Office 365, IBM, and Salesforce, providing seamless cloud-based productivity solutions. The Box and SAP SuccessFactors integration is set to enter beta testing shortly, with a general release planned by year-end.

The ASPCA is committed to enhancing animal welfare through innovative, data-driven programs and solutions, a mission supported by effective IT management under VP of IT, Nada O'Neal. The organization faces challenges in balancing technological progress with its impact on staff operations, especially when sophisticated systems demand adaptation to their logic. To address these challenges, the ASPCA has adopted Box for flexible and secure file sharing, especially useful for its mobile and collaborative workforce. Emerging technologies, such as advancements in 2D materials and machine intelligence, are anticipated to revolutionize IT by altering computer form factors and enhancing human-computer interaction. The ASPCA is participating in the BoxWorks conference to demonstrate how technology can improve animal welfare and to showcase its use of cloud-based systems to coordinate volunteer efforts nationwide.

Box is a platform that enhances content delivery and collaboration between employees and external parties, offering a combination of user-friendly content consumption and robust auditing controls. It operates primarily through asynchronous workflows, where documents are uploaded for others to access and act upon. To complement this, Box has integrated with Skyway from NTT Communications for real-time communication, and now with ScreenMeet for seamless screen sharing, which requires no downloads. This integration allows Box users, such as sales reps and financial services professionals, to share content securely and efficiently, using Box's storage and ScreenMeet's presentation capabilities. The partnership streamlines processes like document review and product demos, helping close deals faster and facilitate frequent client check-ins, all while maintaining compliance standards such as FINRA. The integration is designed for ease of use across various devices, enabling real-time collaboration without the need for additional software installations.

In a whimsical narrative, the author reflects on the evolution of scientific understanding, drawing parallels between historical misconceptions like the flat Earth theory and modern-day workplace inefficiencies. The author humorously introduces "Noah's Conservation of Work," a fictional principle likening the persistence of work tasks to the conservation of mass, suggesting that tasks merely shift between tools rather than disappear. Frustrated by the overwhelming notifications and tools intended to streamline tasks, the author expresses optimism about an upcoming collaboration between IBM and Box, aimed at improving workflow automation and reducing cycle time. The author teases an announcement of these improvements and invites readers to follow developments, emphasizing the potential for newfound efficiency akin to "making globes" in the extra time gained, and promotes the upcoming BoxWorks event where more details will be shared.

Beck, a renowned musician known for redefining musical genres since the early '90s, is set to perform at the BoxWorks 2016 Afterparty. His career spans from the debut single "Loser" to the multi-platinum album Odelay and the Grammy-winning Morning Phase. The announcement adds to the excitement surrounding BoxWorks 2016, promising an unforgettable experience at the event's afterparty.

Citizen development is increasingly enabling teams to create custom applications for their daily activities, with the Box Platform team focusing on enhancing this trend through strategic partnerships and technology updates. Recent collaborations with platforms like Zapier, ManyWho, and Workato highlight Box's commitment to facilitating seamless integration and automation across various applications. A significant development is the update of Box webhooks, now in public beta, which offers improved granularity, security, reliability, and detailed payloads, thus expanding integration opportunities and streamlining app development. Key partners such as Built.io and Stamplay leverage these updates to create sophisticated workflows that integrate with Box and other systems, enhancing efficiency by automating tasks and enabling innovative solutions across diverse business processes.

Box has enhanced its Platform Partner Program, initially launched with over 100 companies, by redesigning the partner onboarding process and introducing the new Box Platform Partner Community. The onboarding process is now more streamlined and automated, utilizing Workato's connectors for efficient workflow integration, including a registration form, CRM entry, and approvals. The Partner Community provides an online space for partners to access support, connect, and learn about Box's latest developments, facilitating the creation of successful integrations. These integrations expand Box's capabilities across various applications and industries, supporting secure information management and streamlining processes, as demonstrated by customers like Pandora using AdobeSign for e-signatures. Interested companies can join the program and begin building integrations by signing up for a free developer account.

Box Hack Day, a part of BoxDev and sponsored by Box and Amazon Web Services, invites developers, designers, and tech experts to San Francisco on September 6th to code, compete, and build enterprise applications. The event focuses on creating enterprise-grade solutions using Box Platform and AWS, and participants can work individually or in teams of up to six. Additionally, attendees have the opportunity to engage in an AWS Zombie Microservices Workshop to enhance their skills in building microservices with Lambda and API Gateway. Registration for Box Hack Day is free and includes a pass to BoxDev, with additional resources available on the Box developer website to assist participants in integrating Box Platform into their applications.

Business globalization is advancing rapidly, requiring real-time collaboration across international teams, which the cloud aims to facilitate by reducing silos and friction in workflows. Despite this promise, global collaboration faces technical challenges and data privacy concerns due to differing international regulations. Box is addressing these issues by expanding its global cloud content and collaboration services, introducing Box Zones in Australia and Canada to offer data localization, and enhancing Box Accelerator to improve global performance, with upload speeds increasing by 2-6 times in certain regions. Box also supports international compliance standards like ISO 27018 to ensure data protection, which is crucial for sectors like banking, healthcare, and government. As demand grows, Box is committed to simplifying international business collaboration while maintaining security and control, partnering with major platforms like IBM Cloud and Amazon to deliver comprehensive global cloud solutions.

The rise of the no-stack approach has led to a new wave of cloud applications that utilize best-in-breed services delivered via cloud-based APIs, allowing development teams to concentrate on creating unique functionalities and superior user experiences. Companies like Instacart exemplify this strategy by relying on APIs for non-core functionalities, such as using Sendgrid for email, Stripe for payments, and Twilio for SMS, enabling them to focus on market expansion and customer satisfaction. However, there is a notable absence of content and collaboration APIs tailored for enterprises. Box Platform has addressed this gap by offering APIs that have been adopted by various companies, from innovative startups to large enterprises, to develop new digital experiences and modernize outdated processes. The company has published an eBook highlighting four ways businesses can enhance their applications with secure content services, showcasing how these capabilities can be integrated into next-generation applications.

Western Union, a leader in global payment services, has chosen Box's content management platform to centralize its content and enhance cloud-based collaboration among employees and external business contacts. This move is part of Western Union's broader IT transformation initiative aimed at digitizing business processes, simplifying retention policy management with Box Governance, and enabling employees to access critical resources from any device, thereby improving flexibility and productivity. Mike Bartholomy, Senior Manager of Information Security at Western Union, emphasized the importance of enabling employees to access business materials from various devices, noting a significant increase in platform usage within two months. This partnership with Box also aligns Western Union with other financial services firms like KKR & Co. L.P., Nationwide Insurance, and AAA, reflecting a broader industry trend toward digital transformation and improved digital asset management.

Box has launched a revamped user experience for its Android app, focusing on enhancing productivity and collaboration for users working on mobile devices. This redesign embraces familiar Material Design patterns to create an intuitive and efficient interface, allowing users to easily view, manage, and share content. Key features include a streamlined user interface with improved iconography and ergonomics, facilitating seamless access to tools and information. The app emphasizes collaboration through easy communication and file-sharing capabilities, with actions like viewing, sharing, and feedback iteration prominently displayed. Additionally, Box has integrated its native SDKs into the app, enabling developers to create bespoke mobile applications with reduced development time and cost. This initiative aligns with Box’s vision of becoming a central hub for developers, supporting diverse use cases and fostering innovation. The Box for Android 4.0 app, built with these principles, aims to transform work processes and is available for download, with further insights to be shared at BoxWorks 2016.