With Impending IPO, Box Security Under Scrutiny

Posted by skyhighnetworks on June 10th, 2014

After the massive Target credit card breach and NSA revelations from Edward Snowden, corporate customers are taking a more careful eye toward the security of hosted data storage providers. “I think you’re seeing a greater emphasis on security than before which impacts all cloud providers, certainly, and companies like Box that are planning initial public offerings,” says Gavin Anderson.

With blue chip customers that include GE, Box’s customer base already shows that large companies have confidence in their solution. However, experts say companies evaluating a file sharing solution in the cloud are more likely to take a more detailed look at Box security given recent events. The Target credit card breach wiped 46% of the company’s quarterly profit and ended with the CIO and CEO resigning.

“No executive wants to be in a position where they have to resign over a security breach, which has elevated the topic to the boardroom,” says Anderson. Indeed, the cloud is now a board-level concern whether the company is looking to reduce expenses and transition to operating expense model over capital investments, or maintain a competitive advantage with the latest and most powerful software applications.

Experts have noted that Box security is already extremely robust compared with consumer offerings from Dropbox and Hightail. Dropbox has had several high profile breaches in recent years, including one in which individuals could login to any account without a password for several hours with only a username. Some of Box’s security features include encryption at rest, data loss prevention, and audit trails showing users behavior within the application.

As the company prepares to go public, Box security will be just one of the considerations investors consider when deciding to join the initial public offering. The company’s growth prospects and strategic position will also impact the success of the IPO. With many more cloud providers waiting to go public, all eyes will be on the Box IPO to see the appetite for these types of offerings.

Author:
Skyhigh Networks, the Cloud Security company, enables companies to embrace Cloud Services with appropriate levels of security, compliance, and governance while lowering overall risk and cost. With customers in financial services, healthcare, high technology, media, manufacturing, and legal verticals, the company was a finalist for the RSA Conference 2013 Most Innovative Company award and was recently named a "Cool Vendor" by Gartner, Inc. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Skyhigh Networks is led by an experienced team and is venture-backed by Greylock Partners and Sequoia Capital. For more information on Box Security, visit us at http://www.skyhighnetworks.com/product/box-security/ or follow us on Twitter @skyhighnetworks.