Box now integrates directly with the Files app on a Chromebook
While new mobile SDKs were announced at the annual Box Dev Day earlier on Wednesday, Google held a Chrome for Work webcast where it shared some additional news: Box now integrates directly in the Files of Chrome OS, just like Google Drive.
Chromebox and Chromebook users will have to navigate to the Chrome Web Store to add Box to their device; there you'll find a beta version of the Box for Chrome OS app. Once installed, Box will appear natively in the operating system.
I ran through the install process and had access to my Box account within Chrome OS in about 60 seconds. It's really that simple. And it beats having to use a browser tab to access files or folders stored on Box's servers.
I suspect that Box is taking advantage of the relatively new File System Provider API Google added to Chrome OS. Google'sFrançois Beaufort highlighted the API earlier this month although it became available to developers in version 40 of Chrome.
During the Chome for Work event, Google highlighted the many ways it thinks Chrome is an ideal platform for enterprises, saying that the majority of apps have recently shifted from legacy Windows apps to browser and mobile apps. That explains the Box integration, which I anticipate will be just the first of many cloud services to appear natively in the Chrome OS Files app.