Dropbox Intros New Products for Teamwork

Dropbox today introduced several products and business packages designed for collaboration and teamwork. "We're redesigning Dropbox to be fundamentally designed for teams," announced Drew Houston, co-founder and CEO of Dropbox, in a press release. "We're reinventing sync, bringing a modern collaboration experience to all your files, and launching Paper, a new way to work together that goes beyond the document.

The new launches include:

  • Smart Sync, a cross-platform, on-demand cloud storage solution (formerly known as Project Infinite);
  • Dropbox Paper, an online workspace for team collaboration;
  • A redesigned Dropbox web interface with added collaboration features; and
  • Three new pricing packages for business customers.

Smart Sync allows users to access content in Dropbox from their desktop file system, with minimal local disk space used until the content is needed. When used in conjunction with Dropbox team folders, Smart Sync allows team members to view and work together on all their files, no matter how large — essentially acting as a file server in the cloud. The system works across Windows and Mac platforms, and is backwards compatible to Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.9.

Dropbox Paper combines collaborative document editing with project management and communication tools to create a "flexible workspace that brings people and ideas together," according to the company. The product went through beta testing in more than 200 countries and territories around the world, and is now generally available in 21 different languages. Recently released features include the ability to add due dates and assign owners to tasks; presentation mode; smart meeting notes with Google Calendar integration; improved search; mobile folder functionality on iOS and Android devices; improved accessibility features and more. Paper is available for free to all Dropbox users.

Dropbox's redesigned website includes:

  • A new interface that "helps users stay focused on the task at hand while easily accessing related content, and makes the separation between personal and work accounts clearer";
  • A new home page experience that "provides a unified feed of updates for a team's Dropbox files and Paper docs"; and
  • New collaborator presence avatars that "help teams stay up-to-date on who has viewed shared documents and when," a feature rolling out first to Dropbox Business teams.

Finally, the new Dropbox Business plans offer an array of pricing, features and storage:

  • Standard ($12.50/user/month, starting at five users) provides storage, sharing and collaboration tools;
  • Advanced ($20/user/month, starting at five users) adds more sophisticated admin, audit and integration features; and
  • Enterprise (custom pricing) for scalable custom solutions with individualized support.

For more information, visit the Dropbox Business site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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