Having recently met with a number of biotech startups using Dropbox, I thought it is important to make life science companies aware of the pros and cons of Dropbox as well as the other big player: Box. Online storage and sharing of files greatly increases productivity while also providing an additional backup of important files. So the question is: of the two biggest providers available, which solution is right for your company?
Dropbox vs. Box
With either of these popular cloud based storage and backup solutions, you can access them via a browser on the web, using software for Windows, Mac or Linux, and via mobile apps for iOS, Android or Blackberry.
The Big Differences
Dropbox initially started as a consumer-focused company while Box focused on businesses, and those initial differences still show. You can get a lot more free storage on Dropbox by simply recommending it to friends or colleagues (500MB each for you and your referral) up to 16GB. Box gives away less initially, but provides more enterprise level security and access control. Plus, it integrates with Salesforce, Google business apps and other business oriented applications.
For even more details, you can visit: http://www.diffen.com/difference/Box_vs_Dropbox
Our Recommendation
Dropbox is a great application for getting started. With free storage up to 16GB and up to 100GB for only $99 per year, it is very cost effective for startups. For larger companies, Box is a better fit. Security and access are important issues for life sciences companies, and the security and access control of Box is superior to Dropbox.
Reminder: While both solutions encrypt files for enterprise level accounts (Box does not for personal accounts), employees at either company can decrypt your files. So, if you are storing sensitive data using either service, be sure you encrypt your files before uploading, so only you can decrypt them.
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