March 2017 Summaries

The shift towards micro-services in Enterprise IT is highlighted through the use of Box Platform's APIs and the low-code development platform, Stamplay, to create innovative business solutions. Box Platform offers APIs as micro-services that integrate with business applications, providing flexibility and agility. Stamplay simplifies the process of working with third-party APIs by offering a visual workflow engine and pre-built "Blueprints" for common integrations, allowing users to build automated workflows without coding. Box's sales engineers, such as Salim Odero and Dirk Nielsen, utilize Stamplay to demonstrate practical use cases, like AI-powered digital asset management using IBM Watson's Visual Recognition and content classification for sensitive documents. These scenarios showcase the effectiveness of combining Box and Stamplay to enhance productivity through automation, faster deployment, and better management of digital assets and information classification.

In celebration of Women's History Month and International Women's Day, employees at Box, known as Boxers, shared personal stories highlighting the diverse backgrounds and common inspirations that drive their work and personal lives. These reflections reveal a deep appreciation for the women who have influenced them, from family members to colleagues, emphasizing the importance of historical narratives in shaping individual and collective identities. The stories shared underscore the ongoing struggle for gender equality and the significance of acknowledging women's contributions to society. Boxers expressed gratitude and humility, recognizing that their achievements are built on the experiences of those who came before them. The company encourages the continuation of these conversations beyond March, inviting others to share their stories and contribute to a broader dialogue on diversity and inclusion.

British universities are increasingly adopting Box for cloud content management, with over 100,000 seats allocated for staff and students across multiple institutions, including Imperial College London, University of Sussex, and Aston University. This shift reflects a broader trend in the European education sector moving away from traditional IT systems towards cloud technologies, facilitating improved collaboration and productivity. The adoption of Box allows students and faculty to seamlessly share documents and presentations, fostering innovative working methods. The platform's growth in the UK Higher Education sector underscores its role in enhancing research projects and content management. The Box World Tour in London is set to further explore these advancements.

Box emphasizes the importance of building a diverse team to drive success in the cloud content management industry, highlighting their commitment to inclusivity by participating in events like the Lesbians Who Tech Summit. This event offered Box employees the opportunity to connect with diverse tech talent and learn from influential leaders such as Leanne Pitsford and Megan Smith. Employees shared their experiences at the summit, expressing feelings of empowerment, increased connection within Box's queer community, and gratitude for working in an environment that values diversity. The summit reinforced Box's corporate value of embracing individuality and underscored their dedication to hiring and developing talent from varied backgrounds, which they believe enhances their overall effectiveness.

In the second installment of a series on Box Platform APIs by Stamplay CEO Giuliano Iacobelli, the focus is on building a Spark bot that enables seamless file sharing from Box within Cisco Spark without needing to leave the chat interface. This tool is particularly useful for those heavily reliant on cloud storage solutions like Box, as it allows users to search for files by name directly in the chat. The bot is set up using a Blueprint template, which guides users through creating and configuring the bot, including naming and integrating it with Spark. The bot operates through a single Flow that captures messages, identifies commands to retrieve files, and searches Box for the specified file, returning results directly in Spark. This setup requires a Box account at the Business+ level or higher due to its reliance on specific capabilities such as direct downloads and metadata templates. Users can refine their search to specific folders by configuring the Ancestor Folder IDs in the Find File action.

Cloud-based content storage necessitates effective information governance, emphasizing that while responsibility for data cannot be outsourced, cloud storage often offers superior security compared to traditional corporate data centers. Companies must adopt a modern, simplified approach to managing cloud content, recognizing its value beyond merely minimizing risks such as litigation or data leaks. The transition should begin with small, manageable steps, prioritizing action over perfection to ensure compliance and leverage information assets for business innovation. The whitepaper discusses these concepts and outlines how Box implements essential functionalities for cloud information governance. Chris Walker, a recognized expert in the field, advocates for practical governance strategies and offers advisory services to information management software providers.

Okta's third Businesses at Work report offers a comprehensive analysis of the ways organizations and individuals operate in the modern workplace, focusing on the use of apps and services by employees, contractors, partners, and customers to enhance productivity. As a leader in identity and mobility management, Okta collaborates with cloud-forward companies to facilitate secure access to devices and applications, safeguarding sensitive data. The report presents data on app usage among Okta's clients, highlighting trends such as the prevalence of mobile device access, with over 80% of customers using mobile to access apps, and lists the most popular apps, including Box, which ranks third among mobile apps accessed by Okta users. The report also provides insights into app preferences based on political leanings and encourages readers to explore the full report for further details.

Ten years ago, after the sudden death of her husband, Tencia began baking bread to support her three young sons, struggling with slow processes due to a lack of clean water in her village. In 2010, her community received a well from charity: water, transforming her business by providing a reliable water source. This charity, aiming to provide clean water globally, faces challenges that vary by country, requiring coordinated efforts and clear communication among its many partners. Ian Cook, Head of IT at charity: water, improved productivity and collaboration by adopting Box.org, a content management system that streamlined workflows and asset management, significantly reducing time spent searching for information. Box has enabled charity: water to connect more closely with its partners, facilitating global projects and opening up new technological possibilities. The organization continues to explore ways to enhance its systems while aiming to empower communities like Tencia's, where access to clean water has significantly improved livelihoods and health.

The Box World Tour returns to London on April 4th, offering a comprehensive event that emphasizes cloud innovation and Box product education for a pan-European audience. Attendees will benefit from exclusive sessions on data security, such as GDPR compliance, engage with Box executives including CEO Aaron Levie, and learn about the Box product roadmap through a keynote by SVP of Product Chris Yeh. The event also offers opportunities to connect with European brands like UEFA and network with partners like IBM, while a highlight will be a keynote by Levie on the Future of Work followed by a panel discussion featuring leaders from Google and Slack. The event is designed to provide practical insights and foster professional connections, making it a valuable experience for those interested in cloud content management and emerging technologies.

Box is enhancing its collaboration with Google by integrating its secure content management system with Google's productivity tools, such as Google Docs and Google Cloud Search, and the newly introduced Hangouts Chat. This partnership aims to create a seamless cloud experience for enterprise-sized organizations by combining Box's robust security features, including encryption and data governance, with Google's scalable team messaging and productivity applications. The collaboration seeks to facilitate fast and secure work processes without compromising data protection, allowing users to manage and share information efficiently across all devices. Box continues to focus on creating a unified experience where data and workflows move effortlessly across various tools.

International Women’s Day serves as a meaningful occasion for reflection and celebration of women's achievements and the ongoing journey toward gender equality. The writer shares personal insights on the importance of honoring historical and contemporary women who have paved the way for progress, while also recognizing the inspirational role of everyday women in their life. The narrative emphasizes the significance of individual actions, no matter how small, and the collective strength found in unity. Furthermore, it highlights the pervasive issue of unconscious bias, which poses a subtle yet significant barrier to true equality. Despite the challenges, the writer advocates for awareness and collaboration as essential steps toward combating gender discrimination and building a more inclusive future. This day stands as a reminder of both the successes achieved and the work still needed, underscoring the power of collective effort in driving societal change.

Box has announced the launch of Box Zones in the UK, expanding its global cloud initiative that began in 2016 to address data residency concerns in Europe. By partnering with IBM, Box allows customers to store data in the UK with backup options in Germany, making it the third European country and the eighth globally where this option is available. The initiative supports compliance with data privacy standards such as Binding Corporate Rules and the Privacy Shield, and integrates with Box KeySafe and Box Governance for enhanced encryption and document management. This expansion reflects Box's commitment to providing flexible infrastructure choices for secure and compliant data management, with further growth of the Zones network planned.