The cloud storage provider Box has announced a number of updates to its platform and services that will reduce risk, improve collaboration and make it easier for users to work securely from anywhere on any device.
To help distributed teams more easily collaborate on content in real-time, the company is introducing annotations for iPad and mobile as well as enhancements to its no-code workflow solution for automating business processes around content, Box Relay.
Earlier this year, Box added the ability to create annotations in the Box web app when previewing commonly used file types such as images, PDF and slide decks. This feature is now coming to its mobile app and users will be able to select text, an image or highlight anywhere and leave a comment on the preview of a document. Box will then automatically create and send a push notification to collaborators to alert them about the new annotation. At the same time, the company will also add support for Apple Pencil so that users can leave free-form mark-ups and text comments directly on files in the Box app for iPad.
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Box Relay is used by hundreds of Box's customers to automate everyday processes like digital asset reviews, work order submission approvals, regulatory reporting approvals and grant reviews. The company is expanding Box Relay by adding custom-built templates and new API sensibility that will enable customers to power cross-system business processes across the enterprise by connecting their workflows within the service to third party applications like Salesforce or ServiceNow as well as their custom apps.
Security and compliance
Earlier this year, Box added both native malware detection and intelligent, automated classification to Box Shield its security solution for protecting content in the cloud. The company is expanding its solution by adding a new policy exception capability, that must be opted-into at the corporate level, to allow employees to make policy exceptions by providing business justification which is then recorded for auditing purposes.
When it comes to compliance, Box already supports rigorous compliance standards such as FINRA and GDPR. However, the company plans to expand on this further by adding FedRamp High certification and building out its GxP validation offering for federal and life sciences customers respectively.
In addition to helping customer track data and meet compliance standards, Box will also add event-based retention to its content lifecycle management toolset. Customers will soon be able to enable retention and disposition of files for a configurable amount of time depending on the needs of their business.
Co-founder and CEO of Box, Aaron Levie provided further insight on the company's latest updates to support remote workers in a press release, saying:
"Work today looks very different than five months ago. More people are working remotely, collaborating with teams around the clock, accessing sensitive data from personal devices, and using more applications than ever. It’s never been more challenging for enterprises to both secure their data and keep up with the pace of business. Our vision has always been to provide a central source of truth for your content in the cloud. At BoxWorks Digital, we’re enhancing that vision with innovation that will make it incredibly easy to collaborate on a single platform that’s secure, simple to use, easy to manage, and that extends to all the apps your teams use every day."
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