DropBox Innovating The Software With Smart Working

Dropbox has announced several news in a smart working perspective, betting on the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic will forever change the work habits of many people (most of the research shows that the will is there, both from employees and from part of employers, although there are downsides ). Dropbox is now calling itself a “Virtual First” company – the default option is working remotely, which will allow the company to develop tools and features that improve workflow in these circumstances. The first to arrive are the following:

• Dropbox Spaces: basically an alternative to the various Microsoft Teams and Slack that are increasingly popular. Spaces, the company says, will allow work teams to collaborate on content, communicate and coordinate projects from start to finish, all in one easy-to-use environment. The feature is currently in Private Beta for Business accounts and is in English only.

Features to improve mobile work:

• HelloSign now guides you through each step of the process of uploading, preparing, and submitting a document for approval/signature.
  • Branded sharing improves the management and insertion of company graphics and logos. Administrators can now allow users to customize certain aspects of their branding. The feature is now available from Dropbox Business Advanced and up.
  • Traffic analytics and interaction with shared files now available from Dropbox Business Advanced and up.
  • Full backup of your entire computer directly to Dropbox. Easily accessible even on the move, and restorable in case of theft or malfunction of the drive. Now available for all Dropbox Business accounts.
  • Password manager, similar to 1password or LastPass. Synchronized between all your devices and encrypted. Now in beta on select Dropbox Business Early Access accounts.
  • Additional creative tools designed for professionals from all sectors.
  • Over 30 new developer apps added to the Dropbox virtual store
  • Ability to “follow” the most important shared folders, in order to be notified whenever something happens. Now available for all users.

Maximum safety even at home

• Notifications and alerts that help uncover suspicious activity, unauthorized access and potential data leaks in real time (Beta, available in Dropbox Enterprise)
  • Ability to label data as sensitive or personal, in order to monitor it more closely and understand if there has been unauthorized sharing (Beta, available in Dropbox Enterprise)
  • Detailed reports on data sharing outside the company – who shared what and when (Beta, available in Dropbox Enterprise and Business Advanced)
  • Add-on to simplify compliance with laws and rules on sharing and collecting sensitive data
  • Dropbox has now received new security certifications, including ISO 27701, NIST 800-171, support for FDA 21 CFR Part 11, and the Cloud Security alliance GDPR code of conduct.

Dropbox finally reports that Showcase will be closed. The official reason is that the service had become substantially redundant and only part of it was used:

Dropbox determined that storefronts were primarily used to deliver final files and collect analytics. Dropbox offers dedicated features specifically for these needs. The feature will be closed on January 31, 2021. HERE for more details to understand what will happen to your data and what actions you need to take.