While the cloud storage wars have simmered between Box and Dropbox for sometime, someone just poured gas on the fire. And that someone is Microsoft. With today’s announcement, Microsoft has just put Box and Dropbox in their crosshairs.
The competition becomes particularly interesting as Box and Dropbox are both planning a public offering. At the same time, potential investors are questioning the sustainability of a standalone cloud storage business.
Today’s announcement increases Microsoft’s cloud storage offering (OneDrive) from 25GB per user to 1TB per user. This brings it on par with the business offerings of Box and Dropbox. At 25GB per user, the amount of storage available was interesting, but could lead to challenges for the largest consumers of storage in an average enterprise.
Comparison of Cloud Storage for Business
| Company | Storage | Price |
| Microsoft | 1TB | $5/user/month* |
| Box | 1TB | $15/user/month |
| Dropbox | Unlimited | $15/user/month |
* Microsoft OneDrive for Business is also included in Office 365 plans as low as $5-8/user/month
Data as of 4/29/2014
The Enterprise Effect
As more business customers move to cloud-based services, email becomes an early target. Exchange and Windows are still the standard for most companies today. This installed base has a huge effect on the potential outcome. Switching to alternative platforms can present a challenge on top of all other challenges an IT organization faces.
The Holistic Approach
While Microsoft’s solution is fairly closed and Microsoft-centric, this is not much different from what enterprises have faced for some time. In some ways, if an enterprise could ‘forklift’ their entire operation to a holistic solution for fundamental services (ie: Email, Storage, etc), that could present an attractive solution.
But that’s not the entire story. Companies today are looking to break the reigns of constrictive, closed ecosystems. That’s where Box and Dropbox excel beyond that of Microsoft. In any case, both Box and Dropbox will need to respond appropriately. The real opportunity for these companies is well beyond that of file storage.
For customers, the question of which solution to use comes down to your individual situation and which approach makes more sense both short-term and long-term.
Further Reading:
Microsoft Targets Box, Dropbox
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/04/28/microsoft-targets-box-dropbox/
Microsoft Blog: Thinking outside the box
http://blogs.office.com/2014/04/28/thinking-outside-the-box/
Box Blog: An Open Microsoft
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