Likelihood to Recommend I think Box is great for research teams or anyone that has a large number of files that need to be securely stored. Particularly in the case of social science research, where it is important to protect identifying data, Box is a great option. In cases where teams need a more reliable means for real-time collaboration, I would probably consider a different alternative
Read full review Since our company is structured around Google Workspace at the moment, it is well suited for our entire workflow. I do have concerns though, for when it comes time for our company to have our own intranet built and how well the data migration will be from Google Workspace to that intranet that gets built.
Read full review Pros The main feature that I like the most in Box is that it makes collaboration seamless, workers can easily check the documents any time and make changes according to the needs. Box manages and backs up all of your files on its cloud servers, and provides a very nice interface for creating, viewing, editing, and collaborating on the most commonly used file types (PDF, XLS, DOC, etc.). Over the past few years, Box has built on top of its basic cloud storage management with a host of other tools, such as workflows, AI, monitoring, and analytics. It is helping us to make good connections with clients and our workers themselves as to its syncing and viewing feature to all is very much helpful and easy to go. Read full review Google's service integration is seamless. Sharing files and documents with team members and clients couldn't be simpler. We can limit file sharing and access as needed. As expected, Google Workspace integrates perfectly with Android phones allowing for a seamless mobile experience. Integration with iOS is also good. Spam protection is second to none. I cannot remember ever finding a spam message in my inbox! Google has a good reputation for email deliverability making it less likely your outbound mail ends up in someone's spam folder. Google Workspace allows you to host multiple domains and alias domains on your account. There is a robust set of tools to allow routing of mail to different mailboxes. Collaboration is so easy with Workplace. Real time editing of documents is flawless. When chatting with collaborators, I can see their changes as they make them with no delay. Read full review Cons The graphic design of the dashboard should be simpler and more tangible that can be changed to the liking of the Admin. Sometimes there are some syncing issues in the background. The product has very limited functionality in some areas which could be a bit frustrating at times. Read full review I have several Workspace accounts, and it can be kind of annoying to switch between them. For example, if I click in my work email but my Chrome defaults to my personal Workspace, I have to open the file differently or log in and out of the other account. Meet is my least favorite feature. I find it very subpar to Zoom in both ease and picture resolution. It's harder to tell when you're sharing your screen and you can't see comments if you're presenting. Google My Business can be difficult to navigate. I frequently forget where features are and have to hunt around for them. Read full review Likelihood to Renew I like the security features and I like the website. It's easy to use and create and move things around as needed. The main reason for a lower rating is because the Box Sync app is just not a good program. It's a memory hog, it's slow, transfer speeds are slow, and it's not the most efficient route. If you have a large Box account and you need to get a computer up to speed on a large amount of data within Box, you are in for the long haul. Last time I had to do this, it took 3 days to sync all of the files and we are talking around 100 GB worth of data
Read full review There is no better solution for cloud storage and real time collaboration. The amount of features included in G Suite is unmatched and out of other things we’ve tried over the years, nothing comes close to being as great of a tool.
Read full review Usability Everything with Box is seamless. It can be integrated into virtually any other software or application. You can even get the app for your phone or tablet to work on the go. File syncing is so quick. The only reason I gave it a 9 is the issue I discussed earlier about the local file application rebooting and not continuing to sync files. Other than that, it's great!
Read full review On the user end, it's great, probably some of the most user friendly products out there. On the admin side, it can get a little more arcane, but it's still better than a lot of other services. At worst I wrangle some CSVs to perform mass changes, but it's a far cry from the days of Powershell scripts or purely manual entry.
Read full review Reliability and Availability Yeah, it's always worked, I've never had any kind of connection issues, the only issues I've had it I've been on our end when the Internet hasn't worked.
Read full review Performance The general operation and management of Box is very efficient, both when accessing the account, and when adding files, downloading or modifying any document directly. The web platform, mobile and desktop versions work really well and quickly, making all the work and process flow smoothly and without setbacks. So far I have not been able to observe any inconvenience
Read full review Support Rating I found their support community lacking in clarity when I experienced a login issue. The error messaging was poor on my Box Sync application. I did not reach out to support staff for help, instead, I reasoned that I should try downloading the Box Sync application again and reinstall it. That fixed my issue, thankfully. I think a less computer-savvy user would've been much more frustrated.
Read full review My experiences of getting support have been positive. Calling in is not overly difficult, but it does require getting a PIN. The knowledge of those responding to the calls has been impressive. I have managed to work with them to fix two Google bugs that I had identified. These bugs required a some technical expertise and the support staff were able to understand the issue and forward the concerns to the appropriate persons. The first bug was fixed with 24 hours. The second bug took a little longer, but it was also more complicated to reproduce.
Read full review In-Person Training The in person training was done in house and I helped with the training, people seem to respond well.
Read full review Online Training The documentation is good. Since Box is a popular service, there were also a number of YouTube videos and other sources that were helpful as we were considering the product and planning for deployment. Also, the ability to try the free version helped to prepare us.
Read full review Implementation Rating Be careful with settings. It is easy to get overwhelmed with updates. For example, you don’t want to be updated when doing historical data uploads. I recommend taking off notifications initially and then turn on post you have done your historical data upload.
Read full review nothing to say
Read full review Alternatives Considered They are kind of the same. And both of them do their job as promised. But for company and project wise I think that Box slightly wins for some points. Which [makes him] win over
Google Drive (don't forget that
Google Drive is very easy to use and has a lot [of] nice features too).
Read full review They are different. Over the years, one has had better support than the other. Google support is good, there have been times Microsoft support was awful, and times when it was significantly better. For me, Outlook is just a drain on resources. Word is that my primary word processor anyway, so I don't feel like I'm losing much. SharePoint seems capable of a lot, and exchange certainly is capable of a lot, but it requires so much configuration, even for a small business, that return on investment seems quicker and easier with Google Workspace. For those who absolutely need a completely Microsoft environment, Office 365 has that, Google Workspace does not. Still, I prefer Google Workspace over Office 365.
Read full review Scalability It's great, as we put more files on there it's done very well.
Read full review Return on Investment Box has been an only positive experience. It provides a seamless way for me and my team to collaborate on documents in such a way where we're not sending the document back/forth via email. It's a huge timesaver. Box reduces the risk of sharing a sensitive document to the wrong person via email. Box has provided a platform where my team can share notes in meetings - this has helped streamline and organize our meetings. Our meetings are more productive and actionable. Read full review Zero to no time managing tools allows us to focus on work saving us time and money Google Workspace allowed us to seamlessly transition to a fully remote workforce when the Coronavirus pandemic started - no lost time or productivity. Easily able to extend our workspace and add features, e.g. Voice, saving us time implementing other services. Read full review ScreenShots