Box.net Finishes 2010 With 5 Million Users

Box.net announced that its user base grew to 5 million in 2010 and enterprise revenue increased 3.4X over 2009, fueled by adoption of its cloud content management platform across large enterprises.

60,000 businesses, including 73% of the Fortune 500, currently use Box to share, access and collaborate on business content online. The company also hit several technical and business milestones in 2010, including SAS70 II certification, partnerships with Google Apps and NetSuite, and the introduction of mobile applications for the iPad and Android devices.

"2010 was a breakout year for Box, as larger enterprises recognized the cost, maintenance and productivity benefits of moving their content and collaboration to the cloud," said Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box. "We’re experiencing incredible momentum heading into 2011 because we provide the enterprise-grade security and reliability that IT departments require, while staying true to end users’ needs for a content management solution that is intuitive, connects to other business applications and allows them to work from any mobile device. We’ll be sharing big news in the coming weeks that will make the Box experience even simpler, more open and mobile."

Revenue and Customers
Box saw 3.4X enterprise revenue growth in 2010 over 2009, driven by deployments in large organizations such as Hawaiian Airlines, T-Mobile and SunPower Corporation. The number of enterprise-level deals increased by 5X over this period, as larger businesses adopted Box to power secure internal and external collaboration in the cloud. Today, Box is used by 5 million individuals and 73% of the Fortune 500, thanks to bottom-up adoption by end users, project teams and departments, as well as large-scale deployments by IT departments. Organizations who deployed Box’s cloud content management solution in 2010 include ABC News, DIRECTV, Skype, the Oprah Winfrey Network, Columbia University, Yammer, Cleveland Golf, Discovery Networks, Arby’s Restaurants, Whiting-Turner Contracting and The San Francisco Giants.

Mobile Momentum
Box made enhancements to its mobile portfolio in 2010, adding customized applications for the iPad and Android devices to its existing support for the iPhone. Both the iOS and Android Box applications have seen tremendous traction as workers increasingly demand mobile access to content, with more than 200,000 iOS downloads and 70,000 for the Box app for Android since its launch in the Fall. Demand for mobile access to content has been a major catalyst for enterprise adoption of Box, with mobile-driven sales doubling each quarter. The Box app for iPad has been a powerful tool for businesses, including TaylorMade‘s remote sales teams who use Box and the iPad to access and present the latest product information when visiting clients, as well as companies like Clear Channel TTN and Dole. The tablet category will continue to drive demand for extensible content management and collaboration; according to an October 2010 report by Forrester Research Inc. entitled How iPads Enter the Workforce, 30% of IT departments are piloting or planning tablet apps, with an additional 43% of firms in North America and Europe expressing interest in tablets.

Partners
Box launched integrations with several cloud business solutions in 2010, including Google Apps, NetSuite, SugarCRM, Intuit and DocuSign. By seamlessly connecting to other cloud applications, Box acts as a central hub for all crucial content, which can then be easily and securely extended to the organizations other key business applications. Additionally, integrations with Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark printers and scanners helped bridge the gap between paper and digital content, building an on-ramp to the cloud with scan-to-Box functionality. Today, there are more than 150 integrated applications using Box’s open APIs, helping Box customers to manage all their business content in the cloud and connect it to the services that matter most.

Product Innovation
Box made several product enhancements over the past year, beginning with integrated content viewing for most file types directly within Box. Box Sync for businesses was launched, enabling customers to connect users’ desktops with Box’s cloud content management solution, further bridging the gap between the desktop and the cloud and making it easy for users to work offline. The company also utilized HTML5 technology to improve file uploading, and redesigned its updates feed to help users discover relevant content and collaboration activities in real-time. Additionally, Box increased storage allocations across all plans, increasing free web storage to 5GB for individual users, starting the business plan off at a collective 500GB, and providing unlimited storage for enterprise customers.

Key Hires and Funding
Box closed an additional $18M in Series C funding in April, led by Scale Venture partners, bringing total venture capital funding to $31M. The company invested in expanding its team, growing the number of employees from 65 to 125 over the course of the year. Notable hires include former Intuit executive and seasoned startup veteran Dan Levin, who joined Box full-time as the company’s chief operating office, as well as individuals from Google, Oracle, IBM, EMC and Yahoo.

Industry Recognition
The company was ranked No. 152 on Inc Magazine‘s annual Inc. 500, and subsequently selected as one of Inc’s 11 Breakout Companies of 2010. Box ranked #4 on the San Francisco Business Times list of Fastest Growing Private Companies, and was selected as one of KMWorld‘s Trend-Setting Products of 2010 and PC Magazine‘s Top 100 Websites of 2010, as well as the winner of ECM Connection‘s 2010 Ace Awards for ECM Trends.