IBM and Box have entered a global partnership to combine the two companies’ best-in-class technologies and resources to transform work in the cloud.
The two will offer customers IBM analytics and social solutions, IBM security technologies, the IBM cloud, and Box’s cloud content collaboration platform.
They will develop joint content management solutions and incorporate Box technology into select IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps, which is the result of IBM’s teaming up with Apple.
Further, IBM will enable enterprise devs to integrate Box APIs in the IBM Bluemix developer cloud.
“IBM provides Box with a global go-to-market footprint,” said Chris Chute, a research director at IDC.
Box “provides IBM with a way to tap into its brand equity and growing customer base, many of which are SMB-sized customers, which provides a key growth opportunity for IBM beyond its core enterprise customers,” he told the E-Commerce Times.
hat IBM and Box Will Focus On
The two companies will focus on three key areas: content-rich apps and solutions; the transformation of enterprise work; and international reach and security.
The box will integrate IBM enterprise content management into its offering, and the two companies will bring in-depth enterprise insights, using IBM’s Watson analytics, to content stored in Box.
The two also will integrate Box capabilities into IBM Verse and IBM Connections.
Further, they will provide specialized enterprise consulting.
Box will let joint customers store their content on the IBM cloud, and will leverage IBM’s security technologies to expand its enterprise security offerings
“Both companies are getting really strong value here,” remarked Rob Enderle, principal at the Enderle Group.
“IBM needs to appear as more of a cloud player, and Box needs to move upmarket,” he told the E-Commerce Times. “Just the announcement will do more for IBM than it will for Box, so IBM’s value will come more quickly, while Box will have to figure out how to work within the IBM envelope.”
