The box will also introduce more integrations later this year, for native Office clients on iOS, Android, and Windows
Tech Giant, Microsoft and Cloud wunderkind, Box have found common ground as the two companies have collaborated to announce Box for the Office Online. The Microsoft Online File sharing service made its debut on Tuesday. This enables the enterprise users to edit, store, and collaborate on Microsoft Office files on the cloud.
While Microsoft Office 365 is there for these purposes, the corporation has persistently stressed that it wants to focus on cloud and wants to partner with more players from the industry. For instance, back in 2014, the company partnered with salesforce.com, a move that surprised most of the industry at the time.
At the same time, Box also had a change of heart for Microsoft as well it seems, Box is more willing to learn from its partnership with Microsoft. In 2013, Box recruited Steven Sinofsky, former chief of the Windows division as its adviser.
Box CEO and Co-founder, Aaron Levie, at the 2014 BoxWorks summit said: “Microsoft is taking a much more open stance. They are becoming more inter-operable.” The company only recently became a member of the Office 365 Cloud Storage Partner Program.
Box for Office Online will save users from having to install extra software, regardless of the operating system; Box for Office Online will work for any computer, instantly transforming it into your workstation without any extra effort.
Vice President of mobile devices at Box said in an online post: “This not only makes working from anywhere more flexible and seamless, it also makes the collaboration process more secure because it eliminates the need to repeatedly download files on different machines”.
Box Business clientele with an Office 365 license as well as all other Box users holding individual accounts will be able to use Box for Office Online. The company has also promised to deliver additional integrations with local Office clients on Android, iOS, and Windows later in the year.
