What was the Box.net vs. SharePoint challenge?
Here at Box.net, we believe sharing should be simple and we’ve built our product with this in mind. We talk to people daily about how they share content, and we hear "I only use SharePoint because my company makes me" on a regular basis. In order to show how confident we are that Box.net makes sharing simple, we issued a challenge.
Everyone who took the challenge signed up for a free, 14-day trial of the Box.net. During their trial, they needed to perform a few basic tasks, such as setting up a collaboration folder and sharing a file. After the trial period, if the challenger didn’t think Box.net made sharing files inside and outside of an organization easier than SharePoint, we offered to provide three months of SharePoint for free.
The result? No one picked SharePoint.
How many people took the challenge?
Hundreds of people visited our Sharing Should Be Simple Web site and signed up for a Box.net account.
Why did you issue this challenge?
We are 100% focused on making sharing simple, and, thanks to SaaS and the power of Web 2.0, we’re at a point where there’s no longer an excuse to be ‘stuck’ with a particular product or service.
The conversations we have with people on a daily basis uncovered that individuals have the most trouble using SharePoint. We thought this would be a fun way to spread the word that alternatives to SharePoint do exist, and Box.net is one of them.
Can you tell me more about why Box is easier to use than SharePoint?
We’ve heard enough SharePoint user experiences and have checked out the product ourselves to know that Box provides a faster and easier way to share files. In fact, a recent survey of our users found that they think Box.net saves their company time and money and is easier to implement and use than SharePoint. You don’t have to contact IT every time you want to set up a space to collaborate and share content, you don't need to spend time learning a complicated product, you're not locked into buying a whole suite of products to maximize your investment, and, if you take a look at our product comparison, you can see for yourself that it doesn't take an excessive amount of clicks to accomplish simple, everyday tasks. Box provides an intuitive, user-friendly experience that SharePoint truly can’t compete with.
How do I sign up to give Box.net a try?
You can view the various plans we offer at www.box.net/pricing to evaluate which one is right for you and start your free, 14-day trial from there.
Are you a SharePoint reseller, consultant, integrator or fan?
Welcome! We’re starting a conversation about how to make it easier for people to share content within the workplace and we’re hoping you’ll join in. As champions of your clients – and the people within these companies – we know you’re constantly looking to offer the best solutions. And we know there are many times when SharePoint is the right answer because of the wide array of tools it offers above and beyond the simple sharing and management of content. However, we also believe there are times when companies would benefit tremendously from a simpler solution that makes it easy for employees to share content both inside and outside their business.
We’re interested in talking to partners and integrators that might want to include Box.net as one of the options they offer to their clients when the situation merits. We have an open platform that can integrate into all types of web and desktop platforms and a rich, emerging reseller and consultant community delivering Box.net to businesses of all sizes.
If nothing else, we value your opinion and hope you’ll join this conversation. We’re all looking to make it easier to people in businesses for share content and increase their productivity.
Check out our program and let us know what you think.