Box’s new AI will turn your files into automated workflows

Box’s latest AI-powered enterprise solutions aim to transform how businesses manage and automate their content-based workflows, leveraging artificial intelligence to extract value from unstructured data.

Core innovations: Box has unveiled two major enterprise AI products – Box Apps and Box AI Studio – designed to help businesses better organize and utilize their content.

• Box Apps, currently in beta, enables organizations to create no-code applications for streamlining processes like onboarding and invoicing
• The platform includes new features called Forms and Doc Gen for data collection and document generation
• Box AI Studio, launching in January, will allow users to create custom AI agents using multiple language models

Technical capabilities: Box Apps focuses on converting unstructured content into actionable business processes through AI-powered automation.

• The system can process various file types including PDFs, contracts, and images
• According to CEO Aaron Levie, 90% of enterprise data is unstructured, presenting a significant opportunity for optimization
• The platform extracts valuable metadata from content to create intelligent automated workflows

Competitive advantage: Box’s approach differentiates itself through flexibility and model selection options.

• Unlike competitors, Box AI Studio allows users to choose different AI models for specific use cases
• Users can select from various providers including Microsoft Azure, AWS, Claude, and Google’s Vertex AI
• The platform enables mixing and matching of models – for example, using Claude for HR tasks and GPT-4 for technical applications

Enhanced security measures: Box has strengthened its platform with new security features launching in beta this January.

• Box Archive improves compliance through better archival content management
• Content Recovery enables quick file restoration after ransomware attacks
• The system provides a dashboard showing attack impact and compromised files
• Recovery time is reduced from days to hours with streamlined restoration processes

Business implementation: Box has structured its offering to accommodate various organizational needs and scales.

• A new Enterprise Advanced plan tier combines all features into a comprehensive package
• The platform aims to be cost-effective for smaller businesses, though specific pricing wasn’t disclosed
• Various departments can utilize the platform, from HR for policy management to legal for contract review
• Marketing teams can implement custom asset management systems for multimedia content

Market implications: Box’s strategic positioning in the enterprise AI space could reshape how businesses approach content management and workflow automation while raising questions about the future of traditional document management systems.