Box expands key software integrations as part of continued enterprise push

Box is expanding its integrations with key software players -- including Adobe, Splunk, IBM, Slack and Microsoft -- as it continues to build up its enterprise appeal. Specifically, the cloud storage company said it's bringing a full-featured Acrobat web experience into the Box platform, and bolstering Box Shield with planned security integrations into Splunk and IBM. Box also previewed updates to its integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Overall, the integrations line up with Box's transition and growth strategy, which is to be the cloud layer for content management via integrations with systems of record in the enterprise.

The Adobe integration will enable users to edit and collaborate on PDFs directly from Box. Joint Adobe and Box users will also be able to send for and capture e-signatures. All work done with Adobe Acrobat tools will be saved back to Box.

Box's chief product officer Jeetu Patel said the new Adobe integration will eliminate version control issues and the need to download files to the desktop. 

Meanwhile, the Splunk integration, which will link Box Shield with Splunk's security and compliance capabilities, is designed to help joint customers mitigate risk, reduce threat response times and improve compliance. The new security capabilities are a key part of Box's transition from file storage and collaboration company into a full suite of cloud content management tools. 

Announced in August, Box Shield puts more security controls, threat detection and analytics around content assets. The Splunk for Box Shield integration will let users monitor Box Shield with the Splunk app, and security teams using Splunk Phantom to automate response actions directly in Box. 

"With the intended Splunk for Box Shield integration, security teams should be able to enjoy the benefits of Splunk's cloud-based monitoring and the ability to investigate several security incidents such as data exfiltration, insider threats and anomalous behavior," said Splunk CTO Tim Tully.

The Splunk for Box Shield integration is expected to roll out "in the near future" and the Adobe integration is set to arrive next year. 

The new IBM integration will link Box and the IBM Watson Knowledge Catalog InstaScan. The aim is to help joint customers figure out what content areas have a high concentration of sensitive information, which would allow them to reduce remediation times and better meet audit compliance requirements. The companies also announced plans to integrate IBM X-Force and IBM QRadar with Box Shield, and to give users access to IBM Cloud Identity for single-sign on.

The Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations are meant to more tightly integrate user experiences for seamless and secure collaboration. Box said these integrations will be available in public beta later this year.

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