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Box: Upscale enterprise Dropbox
RICHARD WEINER
Technology for Lawyers
Published: August 16, 2013
Probably the first time you heard about Dropbox was in a small little column like this one.
Well, Dropbox now has a 70 percent penetration into the legal market. Dropbox has its weaknesses: it may be hard to initially figure out how to invite people to share a file, and it is relatively unsecure, and at least one hacker has demonstrated how to compromise Dropbox files remotely.
Dropbox only encrypts files that are being transferred, although there are a few outside apps that will encrypt Dropbox files, which is recommended (Viivo and Boxcryptor are two of them).
Now comes a slightly more sophisticated Dropbox-like program called Box, which is being formatted for the needs of lawyers, according to the company.
Box has a free version which is similar to Dropbox, but its pay version ($15 per month) adds a number of potentially useful features. Primary among these is a user-interface administrative console, where users can add and delete users and groups, assign rights to folders, and monitor file activity. This is all fragmented in Dropbox.
All documents are also encrypted to a military level.
Other functions in the pay Box version include file synchronization across multiple platforms, different levels of access to files, the ability to edit files using the owner’s native desktop applications, complete version histories, the ability to post comments while collaborating, and the ability to assign tasks to files (like update, approve, etc.)
Box also has a separate set of apps for itself.
Box also integrates with practice management program Clio and information security app IntApp. It also integrates with all Google apps, so it works with Google Drive (formerly Google Docs).
The company is promising more functions that will be dedicated specifically to the needs of lawyers, as well. Be advised, though, that the pay version requires a minimum of three users. Solo acts can only use the free version, which is not as robust.
At the same time, Box is still a cloud program, and there is no telling where a server may be located. If any of these documents would be subject to any legal proceeding, there could be all kinds of jurisdictional intrigues, as at least one commentator has mentioned.