Announcing Box – File Storage and Collaboration
We are excited to announce that Box will be available to all current employees and students within the next few months. The Box team is hard at work implementing Box and wanted to share this exciting news with you, as well as answer a few common questions.
What is Box?
Box is a collaborative, cloud-based, file storage system that works with virtually every internet-connected computer or device. In addition, Box allows collaboration on Microsoft Office documents directly from a browser, tracks file revisions and version history, and preserves department and team files when individuals leave the University.
Why are we using Box?
Many faculty and staff asked for an alternative to current file storage options to enhance collaboration with peers in the University and beyond. Box cloud-based storage was determined to best fit our needs, (safety, unlimited storage, automated backup, end-user control of sharing, off-campus access, etc.). As an added benefit, as a cloud-based service, Box allows us to avoid the cost of replacing outdated file servers .
Is Google Drive going away?
No. It is part of our Google Apps for Education platform and we’ll continue to support it in the same manner as we do now. Although Google Drive was evaluated as an option to replace file-servers, it does not allow for group or departmental based files.
What’s Next?
As we get closer to deploying Box, we’ll send out further communications to the community with more information about the benefits and uses of Box, as well as providing training materials and training opportunities. We’ll also be sharing the migration plan for files sitting on local file servers, and how we’ll work with owners of current files and folders to ensure a smooth transition.
Do I have to do anything?
Right now there is no action needed on your part. Because we are testing Box in some areas of the University of Maine System we wanted you to hear about it first from us. Stay tuned for more information about migrating to this new platform and enhancing your work and collaboration experiences.