TL;DR:
- Box and Google Cloud expand their partnership to leverage generative AI for enhanced enterprise productivity.
- Box integrates with Vertex AI, Google Cloud’s AI platform, to accelerate data processing and analysis.
- The new metadata extraction feature saves time by automatically tagging key context within documents.
- Box is now available on Google Cloud Marketplace, simplifying procurement and billing processes.
- Box enhances its reliance on Google Cloud with expanded adoption of networking, data analytics, and machine learning services.
- Seamless integrations with Google Workspace offer streamlined content creation and collaboration.
- Box AI metadata extraction API functionality will be available to Box Enterprise Plus plan users in beta next year.
Main AI News:
Box, Inc. and Google Cloud are forging ahead in their collaboration, introducing cutting-edge AI capabilities to enhance enterprise productivity. In a strategic move, Box has integrated with Vertex AI, a powerhouse in the world of artificial intelligence, to create innovative AI features. These features are designed to optimize data processing and analysis within the Box Content Cloud, which is now conveniently accessible via the Google Cloud Marketplace.
“Enterprises today demand technology partners that empower them to work smarter and more efficiently,” noted Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box. “Google Cloud is a vital collaborator, aiding us in serving our global clientele. This strengthened partnership underscores our joint commitment to delivering solutions that harness cutting-edge technology, revolutionizing how businesses operate in the AI-first era.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, emphasized the role of generative AI in streamlining time-consuming enterprise processes, such as manual data entry and analysis. He stated, “Our expanded partnership with Box will provide customers with new tools that help them quickly process and create insights from documents stored within Box Content Cloud, saving time that users can reallocate towards more impactful work.“
Empowering Box with Vertex AI
Box’s strategic decision to integrate with Vertex AI, Google Cloud’s unified AI platform, paves the way for accelerated data processing, enhanced user experiences, intelligent search capabilities, and more. Building on their previous collaboration, which incorporated Google Cloud’s advanced large-language models (LLMs) into Box AI, this integration will power a novel metadata extraction feature. Initially introduced as an API, this feature will alleviate the burden of manual data input and maintenance by automatically identifying and tagging crucial context within documents, including matching metadata fields to file attributes. Customers can soon expect to:
- Automatically classify and label documents at scale, revealing vital insights such as contract expiration dates and pending invoice payments.
- Define metadata templates tailored to extract information for custom use cases, such as product recognition in images or categorizing Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
- Populate designated metadata templates and seamlessly integrate them with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems for automated workflows, including invoicing, contract execution, client and employee onboarding, and more.
- Identify and preserve critical information, such as timestamps, authorship, and document version history, to uphold compliance protocols.
- Recognize and extract metadata in various languages, ensuring consistent term recognition across diverse regions.
Box’s Availability on Google Cloud Marketplace
As part of their extended collaboration, Box is now accessible on the Google Cloud Marketplace, simplifying procurement for customers utilizing Google Cloud infrastructure. This integration offers benefits such as:
- Streamlined procurement cycles, expediting the purchasing process.
- Consolidated billing through Google Cloud.
- Cost savings compared to existing Google Cloud commitments when procured via the Google Cloud Marketplace.
Box’s Widened Adoption of Google Cloud
Box has further deepened its reliance on Google Cloud as a foundational infrastructure provider for global data storage and computation. This expansion includes the adoption of new Google Cloud services spanning networking, data analytics, and machine learning, resulting in enhanced performance and reliability for customers. Notable applications include:
- Leveraging Google Cloud as a storage option for Box KeySafe, enabling customers to use their encryption keys within Box, granting them more control over key management.
- Utilizing Google Cloud’s global networking infrastructure to enhance network communication, facilitating faster content transfers worldwide.
- Implementing Cloud Bigtable to bolster the core data systems underpinning Box, ensuring a more dependable service for content management.
- Harnessing Google Cloud BigQuery to power data applications, analytics, and insights, enabling Box to deliver comprehensive data-driven insights to customers at an accelerated pace.
Seamless Google Workspace Integrations
Building upon existing integrations with Google Workspace, Box customers can seamlessly create, collaborate on, and save content in Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides directly from the secure Box Content Cloud platform. The Box for Google Workspace add-on further enhances productivity and collaboration across Google Workspace applications, including Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar. With these integrations, customers can:
- Effortlessly create, edit, and collaborate on content using Google Workspace’s robust collaboration tools within the Box environment.
- Easily incorporate Box files into emails and save email attachments to Box, all without leaving Gmail.
- Seamlessly link Box files and Box Notes to Google Calendar events.
- Store files from Google Drive directly into Box.
- Apply Box’s enterprise-grade security, compliance, and governance features to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
Pricing and Availability
Box is readily available on the Google Cloud Marketplace. The eagerly anticipated Box AI metadata extraction API functionality is slated for beta release to Box Enterprise Plus plan users next year. Additionally, the Box for Google Workspace integration and add-on are accessible to all Box and Workspace users, offering a comprehensive suite of collaboration tools and content management capabilities.
Conclusion:
The deepened collaboration between Box and Google Cloud, fueled by advanced AI integration, signifies a significant leap in optimizing enterprise efficiency. With enhanced data processing, seamless content management, and streamlined workflows, this partnership is set to reshape the market landscape by offering businesses innovative solutions to navigate the AI-driven era effectively.
