But more importantly, we saw enormous potential in what this new class of mobile devices could do to really shape how people share and interact with their business content. We launched the new Box App for iPad and had a tremendous response from press and users alike. But we want to do more. We want to do something really big.

We asked ourselves, “Is the iPad ready for business?” And we realized that we should take this question straight to the people. We want to take a business – either a current Box user or one totally new to Box – and put up to 20 iPads in their employees’ hands (along with our iPad app and Box accounts if the company doesn’t already have them). With help from our friends at The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), we also want to profile how Box and iPads fit into a business’ daily work life for a month.

What’s the catch? We want to share this story, so we are looking for a business that’s willing to let us observe and share their experiences along the way. We’re not just looking for praise either. We’re interested in getting the whole story – the good, the bad and everything in between.

Visit our submissions page if you’d like your business to be considered, where you can find additional details and FAQs about the program. Applying is easy – just upload a statement of 200 words or less on how your business could benefit from using Box with iPads and why your business is ideal for this experiment.

The deadline for submissions is April 29, 2010, so get to it!

And yes, you get to keep the iPads once the program is over. It’ll be our thanks to you for all your help and sharing your story with the world.

Post by Sean Lindo, Marketing Communications Manager

Aaron will address this topic on Wednesday from 2:00-2:30pm, in a presentation titled “Cloud Content Management: Why You Should Pay Attention” (Application Showcase Theater, Booth 1549). He’ll explain why CCM is gaining traction in a rapidly evolving business landscape: employees are more web-savvy than ever before, with access to free online tools that help them share and collaborate beyond the firewall. With CCM, businesses now have a web-based alternative to managing, collaborating and sharing business content – one that is built for the realities of today’s web-centric paradigm while addressing long standing enterprise concerns: security, visibility, productivity. And Aaron will share eight reasons why the platform employees want to be using is the one businesses should be deploying, adding an essential layer to existing ECM infrastructure.

But we want this to be a conversation, not a monologue. As newcomers to the AIIM Expo, we’re looking for viewpoints and tough questions from content management experts and fellow AIIM attendees. Aaron will answer questions during his presentation, but we’d like to get a dialogue started now, on Twitter. We hope that our post on John Mancini’s Digital Landfill blog, 8 things you need to know about cloud content management, will inspire some early questions, which we’ll then attempt to address on Wednesday during the presentation. These questions could be around open platforms, security, cost or what CCM might mean for the role of IT.

…and win an iPad!
And because we’re big fans of how mobile computing enhances collaboration, and illustrates the power of CCM in particular, we’ll be giving an iPad away to the person who tweets the best question between now and Wednesday. Just be sure to include #iPadCCM, and give us your best challenge in 140 characters. We’ll be announcing & tweeting the winner following Aaron’s presentation, so be sure to join us at his speech or keep an eye on Twitter claim your prize!

We’re looking forward to seeing you all at AIIM, so please swing by Box booth #2429 to chat and demo our snazzy iPad app, or tweet @boxdotnet or @ashleymayer if you’d like to meet up.

Post by Ashley Mayer, Communications Manager

ChannelWeb

And integration with Software-as-a-Service content management applications from Box.net makes it easier for Sugar users to share and collaborate on developing proposals, marketing collateral, sales contracts and other documents.

April 15, 2010

CMSWire

NetSuite, like Box, is a cloud solution. It is a full suite of solutions for business including CRM, eCommerce and financials. What is appears to lack is content management, and this is where Box comes in.

April 15, 2010

CloudAve

It’s an integration that Box have built using NetSuite’s SuiteCloud development platform, and it allows NetSuite customers to access, manage, share, and collaborate on all their content online, within the NetSuite applications.

April 15, 2010

April 15, 2010

With Box.net for NetSuite, we’re bringing all of Box’s collaboration and workflow tools directly to the NetSuite platform, meaning users can access, manage and share content without ever leaving NetSuite. This is particularly powerful since NetSuite customers tend to run their entire business on the NetSuite platform – from sales and support teams, to accounting and billing departments. By connecting NetSuite with Box’s cloud content management, organizations will be able to engage with all their content on the same application used company-wide to track customer interactions.

Box.net for NetSuite helps keep disparate departments in sync by providing a central platform for all crucial business content, and it also enhances productivity. When viewing a customer record on NetSuite, users have the option of browsing and accessing all their content from the Box tab, or just specific files and folders they’ve associated with that record. They can also perform basic Box functions such as uploading, downloading and sharing files, as well as any OpenBox action, like sending a file using Outlook or Gmail, sending a contract to be signed using EchoSign, or printing with FedEx Office. All this, without ever leaving NetSuite. And as an added bonus, we’re providing unlimited cloud storage for all NetSuite customers who take advantage of the Box integration.

We’re really excited about what this integration means for NetSuite and Box customers, as well as the broader implications. By connecting complementary, best-of-breed cloud services, cloud vendors are making it possible for organizations to run their entire business in the cloud, reducing cost and maintenance while boosting efficiency.

To get a first-hand look at this integration, SuiteCloud attendees should swing by Box booth #2. Hope to see you there!

Post by Karen Appleton, VP of Business Development

Created by SnapLogic, Snaps offer a new approach to connecting data sources to local and internet services. In Box’s case, this means that an organization could use the Box Snap to migrate users’ content from another service (web-based or on-premise) to Box, or to easily connect the Box platform to other cloud applications. Without getting too technical, the current Box Snap consists of about 20 components, each of which connects to one of our API methods.

The SnapStore model is pretty cool: both SnapLogic and third-party developers can design Snaps, which are then certified and placed on the marketplace for anyone to purchase. So if a developer makes a Snap to migrate files from S3 to Box, a business with this need could purchase it from the SnapStore.

Check out our SnapStore listing to play around with the current Box Snap (free!), and stay tuned for new, interesting ways to connect Box to other services.

Post by Ashley Mayer, Communications Manager

April 13, 2010