Box Rolls Out Enhanced Cloud Storage Security Settings

Box, formerly Box.net, has rolled out a series of updates to its cloud storage platform designed to improve security while simultaneously giving IT pros more visibility and control over how content is getting shared.

The first new feature is “Smart Shared Links,” which Box describes in its blog entry as a tool to define what content can be accessed by whom. Users can make sure a file or folder is accessible only to those on a whitelist of company domains, or to those who have access to a specific folder. And that can be set by the administrator or by the user. Box is billing it as an industry-first feature that makes it far more secure for the business user.

Second up is “Trusted Access Management,” which gives the administrator the ability to see which Box-enabled apps, smartphones, tablets and other endpoints customers are using to access their storage and alert them when it’s an unrecognized device. Better still, the admin can set a maximum number of devices per user, cutting down on the possibility that someone will improperly access a Box account from an unapproved device.

Third is Active Directory integration: If an admin opts-in, Box user groups automatically will be repopulated in line with existing AD groups. And finally, Box now offers integration with Intel Expressway Cloud Access 360, which “automatically provision Box accounts, leveraging existing identity repositories and enable federated SSO to Box.” It’s designed to improve convenience at scale when using Box with a larger enterprise.

Box has put a lot of time, effort and money into expanding its platform into the enterprise. Updates like this are only going to solidify the value proposition for Box’s cloud reseller partners. Keep watching Talkin’ Cloud for more.