Box Company Information and Review

Box had to be thinking outside of it when they decided what they were going to put into it. I’m hard pressed to come up with a feature that they don’t offer when it comes to enabling highly mobile professionals in the team workforce today. They have been working hard since 2005 to provide what their users are asking for, and the breadth and depth of the offering shows.

When you need a full featured, web-centric online collaboration service that can facilitate online file sharing and online file storage, Web 2.0 and much more, box brings a concise feature set to the table.

You can try it yourself and get a free account that comes with 5 Collaboration folders; 1GB of Storage and 25MB File uploads. If you and your team like what you see, you can upgrade to their Individual Plan, $7.95/USD/Month after 14 Day Free Trial, or their Business Plan, $15/USD/Month after 14 Day Free Trial.

Great service if you need: Online File Sharing, Online File Storage, Online Collaboration, Mobile Access, Security and File Storage.

Information obtained from the company website, Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission, May 2009.

Website: Box.net

Contact: Sales 877-729-4269

Company: Box

Location: 1895 El Camino Real, Palo Alto CA 94306

Telephone: 877-729-4269

Operating since: 2005

Summary: Online File Sharing, Online File Storage & Online Collaboration Service with multiple online applications and integration points for a full featured collaborative solution.

Details: Box helps your team improve their productivity, shortening project lifecycles. Your company reduces capital expenses by leveraging the Box SAAS capabilities, eliminating hardware, software and expensive implementation costs, timelines, support and maintenance costs. You are up and running in minutes instead of months, and you’ll know what your Operational expenses are for budgeting purposes. You will be able to manage risk with of deep security capabilities including encryption and user level access.

Box has the following capabilities- Online Workspaces, File Sharing, Folder Layer, Mobile Access, File Meta-Data (File commenting, Group Discussions, Online Document Creation and editing), Activity Updates Online and via e-mail, Versioning, Ease of use – all without sacrificing User Management and Security Controls.

Free Box account available: You can try all the plans for free for 14 days!

Paid Box account available: Yes, Two paid plans are offered. Individual Plan with 5 Collaboration folders, 5GB of storage, 1GB file uploads, 24/7 email support. $7.95/USD/Month. Business Plan with Unlimited Collaboration folders, 30GB of storage, 1GB file uploads, 24/7 phone support, Version History, Custom Branding (with your company logo), Admin console to manage the workspace, users etc. and Dedicated Support for $15/USD/Month per user.

Single file size limit: 1GB limit.

Free Trial: Yes. Both Individual and Business plans come with a 14 Day free trial. The Lite plan is always free.

Platforms supported: Platform agnostic, browser based. Files can be accessed anywhere you can connect to the Internet and have a web browser. Even access your workspace via iPhone or Blackberry.

Box.net client software download required for use: Not Applicable.

Online File Backup Details

Designed for easy online file backups: Not Applicable

Completely automatic backups: Not Applicable

User defined backups: Not Applicable

User defined bandwidth option for backups and restore process: Not Applicable

Can data be sent to Box.net to seed the initial backup: Not Applicable

Support for backup of attached USB drives: Not Applicable

Support for open and locked files: Not Applicable

Tracking and storage of multiple versions of files: Not Applicable

Can multiple PCs files be backed up using one backup account: Not Applicable

Can servers be backed up: Not Applicable

Designed for easy online file restore: Not Applicable

Designed that data be restored via web browser: Not Applicable

Designed so that data be sent to you on DVD, Hard Drive or other device: Not Applicable

Online File Storage Details

Designed for easy data storage: Yes

File transfer: Not Applicable.

Online File Access Details

Online access to files from anywhere: Yes

Search capability to help you locate specific files: Yes- including inside file contents, not just file names

Online File Sharing Details

Designed for easy file sharing: Yes

Designed for easy music sharing: Yes

Designed for easy photo sharing: Yes

Designed for easy video sharing: Yes

Online Team Collaboration Details

Online team collaboration features beyond file sharing / folder sharing: Yes. Additional features include ability to edit Word and Excel files in any web browser with Zoho, fax documents and presentations to any fax machine directly from the box with eFax, accept electronic signatures on documents with Echo Sign, preview CAD files directly in the web browser with AutoDesk Freewheel, Annotate and work collaboratively on graphics and images online with Concept Share, edit and elaborate on complex Excel spreadsheets online with EditGrid, and preview private and shared PowerPoints, documents and PDFs directly in the web browser with iPaper from Scribd. There is also integration for Web 2.0 properties.

Online & Offline File Synchronization Details

Online file sync across multiple computers or devices: Not Applicable

Offline file sync across multiple computers or devices: Not Applicable

Web 2.0 Support Details

Support for integration with online editing of text data files: Yes

Support for integration with online editing of multiple document types: Yes

Support for integration with online communities such as Facebook, MySpace and others:Yes (Salesforce, LinkedIn for example).

Security & Encryption Details

Encryption for sign up and login: Yes (SSL)

File transfer processes encrypted: Yes

Files encrypted on local computer as part of Box service: No

Files encrypted on Box.net systems: No

Encryption type for storage: Not Applicable

Encryption key management for storage: Not Applicable

Data Center Information

Datacenter/s location disclosed: Yes

Datacenter/s facilities described: Yes, two geographically separated, enterprise grade Level 3/Tier 1 data centers with ongoing audits, 24×7x364 monitoring and video surveillance. Physical and process safeguards/systems are in place to protect data. Backups are run daily and are transmitted to a third site.

Datacenter/s telecommunication capability described: Yes, Multiple connections to the Internet backbone

Datacenter/s security levels described: Yes, physical and software security protocols are followed and audited

Customer Service & Support

Site Searchable: No

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and other “Self-Help” available: Context based assistance under the “Contact Us” heading on the Company page. Asks what you are trying to accomplish and shows helpful information with respect to that task.

How Do You Request Assistance: Fill out form

Live Support Chat Available: Unknown

E-Mail Support: Unknown

Remote Control Support Available: Unknown

Telephone Based Support: Unknown

Customer Feedback E-mail or Form Available: Yes, form available-All non-sales related contact starts by filling out the form.

Better Business Bureau Record Summary: As of May 28 2009, no known matches.

Federal Trade Commission Summary: As of May 28 2009, no known matches.