Google Cloud & Box deepen strategic partnership on infrastructure, more G Suite integration

Productivity & Collaboration week is still underway at Cloud Next ’20: On Air. Google Cloud and Box today announced a deeper collaboration that spans both infrastructure and end-user productivity.

Box already uses Google infrastructure, but that’s being expanded today as Cloud becomes a “key provider for data storage across the globe.” This ‘significant expansion’ sees Box build out its single sign-on (SSO) offerings to make set-up easier, while adding support for Google Authenticator. There’s also progress on data processing:

The companies are also building on their advanced machine-learning integrations to deliver Google Cloud’s Document AI as part of the Box Skills Kit to improve intelligent data processing, and are exploring further integrations to enhance intelligent security and compliance use cases to help customers safeguard sensitive content.

On the G Suite front, a “save to Box” G Suite Add-on is coming. Files started in Drive, Docs, etc. can be easily stored inside Box. This follows existing file sharing and navigation, and is coming in the fourth quarter.

“We’re in the middle of a major transformation in how business gets done. The ability to work from anywhere, leverage global talent and virtual teams, and to collaborate securely with colleagues, partners, and customers is the ‘new normal’ for every business,” said Aaron Levie, cofounder and CEO of Box. “Google Cloud is an incredibly important partner as we innovate and scale to bring secure collaboration to our customers globally, and we’re excited to continue making the combination of Box and G Suite as intuitive and seamless as possible for our customers.”

“We are excited to extend our partnership with Box as a key global cloud infrastructure partner, and to enable more seamless integrations between Box and G Suite environments,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO at Google Cloud. “By building on Google Cloud and continuing to invest in the integration between Box and G Suite, we believe we can provide optimal experiences for our joint customers and for remote teams.”