Google to partner with Box to work on integrating products

Google said yesterday that it was partnering with Box to allow users of the enterprise cloud storage and content services platform edit documents with Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, but keep them stored inside Box.

According to commentators, that was a vast departure from the direction the company had taken earlier, which required people to store files edited with Docs inside Google Drive. According to Google, it was working on turning its Docs productivity suite into an open platform, and was open to collaboration with other storage providers.

Google Drive would continue to be the default storage system for Docs, Sheets and Slides, even as the company pushed its open platform strategy.

The move would provide security advantages for shared users of Box and Google Docs and administrators would be able to manage access to documents using the same Box management console that they were used to, while still letting users work with the Docs suite.

Enterprise customers who wanted to use Google Docs with Box, would need a paid Google Apps subscription, while consumers would be able to use Box as the storage service for Google Docs for free.

The two companies are touting the combination as one of Box's security when it came to managing content and Google Docs' ease of use in file collaboration. ''At Box, our mission is to transform how people and organizations work. The combination of Box's enterprise content platform with Google's world-class cloud technology will help businesses of all sizes unlock productivity across their organizations,'' said Aaron Levie, Box's cofounder and CEO, in a release on the news.

Google Cloud Platform chief Diane Greene said in a statement that Google continued to expand its cloud business due to its efforts in data analytics, machine learning and more. ''On the apps side, we want our customers to have flexibility in their choice of tools and to have the most productive and collaborative suite possible for their needs'' Greene added.'' We're excited to partner with Box in our mutual quest to transform how companies work in the cloud.''