Box, Inc. (NYSE:BOX), the leading Content Cloud, announced the general availability of an enhanced Box for Microsoft Teams integration that enables customers to select Box as the default cloud content management solution in the Teams environment. Included in the release are new features that further improve the Box experience in Microsoft Teams. This integration can reduce content fragmentation and makes it easier than ever for customers to collaborate across the Box Content Cloud and Microsoft environments.
At Clario, we are focused on deploying the best of today’s modern tech stack so that our employees have what they need to be successful from anywhere,” said Jay Ferro, CIO and CTO at Clario. “Box and Microsoft are both essential parts of this equation, and the enhanced integrations between these two companies allows us to securely collaborate while limiting content fragmentation within our organization.”
Generally available today, this integration enables joint Box and Teams users to embed the core Box experience directly inside Teams so they can access, share, and secure content in Box while communicating and collaborating across Teams. The integration also provides admins with granular controls at the organizational level to streamline the deployment of Box within Teams and simplify user adoption. With this integration, organizations can now improve their user experience and reduce content fragmentation by unifying their content in Box under a consistent security, compliance, and governance policy.
As part of today’s release, Box also announced the following new features to deepen the Box experience within Teams:
Box as a personal app in Teams. This feature enables Box for Teams users to have access to all of their Box files in Teams. Generally available today, this builds on the previous integration where users only had access to Box content shared in their Teams’ channels and chats.
An updated Box user experience within Teams. This enhanced file preview mode delivers a cleaner interface, including larger thumbnails and the ability for users to open Box files directly from preview with one click. This feature is generally available today.
An automatic installation process for more frictionless rollout. Admins will be able to automatically install the Box for Teams integration for all users in their organization. This new feature will simplify deployment by eliminating the need for individual users to set up the integration on their own and will be available in the coming weeks.
A new Box file tabs within chats. This feature will give users access to the Box files tab within Teams’ chats, enabling easy access to Box files across channels and chats. This feature will be available in the coming weeks.
Pre-pinned access to Box within Teams. The Box for Teams integration will soon be directly accessible within the Teams chat toolbar, ensuring that users can easily upload to and share files from Box without having to take any additional steps. This new feature will be available in the coming weeks.
“In today’s dynamic and ever-changing work environment, we know teams need flexibility and integrated experiences that securely power collaboration and productivity,” said Diego Dugatkin, Chief Product Officer at Box. “We are more committed than ever to delivering a frictionless experience between Box and Microsoft applications to ensure that our tens of thousands of joint enterprise customers around the world can seamlessly use our products together from anywhere.”
“Box and Microsoft have been working together quite closely for the last couple years on integrations across Office, Teams, management solutions and more,” said Kirk Koenigsbauer, Chief Operating Officer & Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices Group. “Box is a great example of an enterprise-class SaaS company leveraging the power of the Microsoft 365 platform to provide customers with the choice and flexibility they need to get work done.”
In addition to integrating deeply with Teams, Box works more frictionlessly across the Microsoft 365 portfolio. Today, Box and Microsoft users can streamline collaboration by accessing Box files directly within the Office app, while Outlook users can eliminate the complexity associated with attachments by converting them to Box links and maintaining version control. Additionally, to protect the flow of information between both platforms, Box Shield restricts printing and downloads of suspicious files across all Microsoft 365 file types and enforces Microsoft Azure Information Protection classification labels. Box is also a member of Microsoft’s Intelligent Security Association.