CTC and ITOCHU Strengthen Collaboration in Domestic Development and Commercialization of Overseas Cloud Services

Offers File Collaboration Services of US Company Box to its Customers as a First Step

July 22, 2013

ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Satoshi Kikuchi, President & CEO; hereinafter “CTC”) and ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that the companies will step up collaboration to, within Japan, develop high-quality cloud services originating in the United States and other countries.

As a first step, a distribution agency contract with Box Inc. (headquartered in California, USA; Aaron Levie, CEO; hereinafter "Box"), CTC and ITOCHU start to sell on the market . Since 2005, Box has helped more than 15 million people at more than 150,000 businesses, including 92% of the Fortune 500 securely access and share information from anywhere and on any device. On August 1,2013, CTC will begin offering the Box Business and Box Enterprise plans to its customers coupled with support services for introduction and post-introduction.

The concept of IT consumerization, referring to application of devices and technologies developed in the general consumer market to business uses, has recently been garnering attention. Typical examples include smartphones and tablets. This tendency is prompting a concern known as “shadow IT” in an environment where companies allow employees to use bring your own device (BYOD) to perform their tasks under predetermined rules, presenting IT administrators with new risks of information leakage. An additional tendency posing issues for IT administrators is online storage. This is in high demand among sales, marketing and other user division since it allows users to view files outside their office and provides them with designated storage capacity free-of-charge. IT administrators therefore need to find ways to accommodate these user demands while maintaining the security level.

Box Business and Box Enterprise allows IT divisions to achieve safe and secure file collaborations between and within user companies while maintaining the level of convenience user divisions require. These services can also make available to thousands of users functions that IT divisions regard as important; including access permission setting and file version control in file units and file access history management, a condition for obtaining ISMS certification. Since Box Business and Box Enterprise are also compatible with Microsoft’s Active Directory,the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and all kinds of Single Sign On (SSO), they can be used not only in combination with, but also as a substitute for division-wide or companywide file servers.

Major advantages for administrators

• Can introduce a file collaboration environment available for multiple devices in a short period of time
• Unnecessary to own and manage a system specially for cloud services
Enhanced security through control functions such as prohibited file download to terminals and designated password strength
• High security and high availability achieved by backing up encrypted files and storing them at multiple sites
• Acquired major American and European certifications such as SSAE16 Type II, HIPPA and SAFEHARBOR
• Extensive platform capabilities to easily connect with other business applications like Salesforce, NetSuite, and Google Apps
• Robust application gallery, Box OneCloud, to meet additional needs with more than 500 app integrations including DocuSign, FedEx, and Quickoffice
• Ability to create custom mobile, Web and desktop applications for your business powered by Box

Details of Box Business and Box Enterprise plans

Main functionsBox BusinessBox Enterprise
■ Basic functions and enhanced collaboration    
Storage capacity per company 1 TB Unlimited
Maximum size per file 2 GB 5 GB
Edit documents in the cloud
Secure transfer
Secure storage
Full-text search
Version control of files
Box sync
Password given to files (disclosure of files to clients, etc.)
File sharing links
Mobile app
Password protected sharing
Google Apps integration
■ Control functions    
Admin console (setting screen for administrators)
Displaying file download history and statistics
Access management
Access control in group units  
Custom branding  
Bulk registration and editing of users  
Enhanced settings and reporting  
Salesforce.com integration  
Salesforce.com integration  
Active Directory groups  

CTC promotes efficient file collaboration for enterprises through distribution of the services provided by Box. The company offers proposals, including replacement of the existing file server infrastructure, and provides telephone and e-mail support services in Japanese to customers that introduce the services. In terms of distribution, CTC also conducts collaboration business with its distribution partners. Since CTC's own division has started using part of Box’s services, the company supports its customers' business through expansion of cloud services such as the SecurePremium cloud mail service, deviceSAFE, which integrates mobile device management (MDM), Secure Container and device certificates.

 

ITOCHU has established diversified networks with cloud service providers, including venture companies inside and outside Japan, through a wide range of business activities, including investment. ITOCHU carefully selects outstanding services originating overseas using these networks and makes proposals that increase the added value of cloud services by studying utilization of the range of business resources the ITOCHU Group possesses.

 

In addition, Box company gives the following comment to us on announcing this time.

 

In today's global economy, the ability to securely share and access information in the cloud can be the ultimate source of competitive advantage. More businesses are looking for solutions to move to the cloud and transition away from costly, inflexible legacy technologies. That's why we’re thrilled to work closely with the CTC and ITOCHU team to provide businesses with a solution that dramatically increases their productivity without sacrificing enterprise-grade security.

Dan Levin

Chief Operating Officer

Box.Inc

 

For details on Box Business and Enterprise plans, please visit the following website:   http://www.ctc-g.co.jp/ex/box/index.html[Open in a new window]

Upon finalizing this partnership in Japan, Dan Levin, COO of Box, and other guests from Box have been invited to give the following seminars.

Box seminar: What is Box? – A globally chosen cloud file collaboration service

Tokyo
Date: 2:30-5:30 p.m., Monday, July 29, 2013
Venue: Seminar Room in Kasumigaseki Office, ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation
Osaka
Date: 2:30-5:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Venue: Seminar Room in Osaka Head Office, ITOCHU Corporation
Apply at: http://spider.ctc-g.co.jp/web/fm/telmk/2013049g[Open in a new window]

About Box Inc.

Founded in 2005, Box provides a secure content sharing platform that both users and IT love and adopt. Content on Box can be shared internally and externally, accessed through applications for smart devices, as well as extended to partner applications such as Google Apps, NetSuite and Salesforce. Headquartered in Los Altos, CA, Box is a privately held company and is backed by venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and strategic investors. To learn more about Box, visit www.box.com.[Open in a new window]

  • *1 Evaluated as "Strong Positive," the highest rating in the Gartner Report concerning file collaboration services for corporate users
  • Source: Gartner “MarketScope, enterprise file synchronization and sharing”
  • *All proper nouns such as product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.