Box is a neatly designed online storage system, providing fast synchronization and upload of your files, documents, pictures, etc. It is designed mostly for business purposes, since it offers options for collaboration and messaging between various users. The free option, however, has certain file size limit, which makes it fall against other file sharing services. Box is exclusively an online cloud storage system, providing an advanced web service. Its streamlined look allows even the least experienced users to use it with ease.
The system actually looks quite familiar. Does the Box task bar remind you of something?
Facebook, indeed. In reverse.
On sign up it provides four user plans.
- Personal (Free) – 10GB storage space / 250 MB file size limit – 1 user
- Starter (4 EUR/user/month) – 100GB storage space / 2 GB file size limit – 1 – 10 users
- Business (12 EUR/user/month) – 1000GB storage space / 5 GB file size limit – min. 3 users
- Enterprise (30 EUR/user/month) – unlimited storage space / 5GB file size limit – customized number of users
The service is a bit pricey but if you are a business person looking for an online storage system, the price/space ratio of the service is worth it. However, there are multiple cloud systems that offer a much cheaper service for online backup.
Box, on the other hand, is very advanced in terms of features. It provides multiple options, that are not offered by other cloud applications. When you upload your files, you can easily share them with other users and add permissions – whether they can view, edit, delete, etc. your files. Box also allows you to add description when uploading files. On your desktop device you can set Box to automatically sync all the files you place in the Box folder and subfolders. Also, you can manually turn off the synchronization.
When you first open your Box account, the following screen appears.
The upload section is easily and intuitively used for uploading files from your computer. The New section, however, is the more interesting part. This cloud storage system allows you to create new folders, bookmarks and documents. For creating MS office documents you need to download and install the Box Edit application, which allows you to easily create and edit documents.
The online system also allows you to create collaborations with other users, that is why it is particularly suitable for business purposes.
Shortly, Box is good for business purposes, especially when online collaboration and messaging is needed, and its interface is great, but for free, personal use, we would recommend other file sharing systems.
Box also provides mobile apps for Android, iPhone and iPad, and Windows Phone.
