Box has announced the general availability of its Box Platform. The new offering allows developers to build an entire set of content management, experience, and security services into third party applications. Developers gain access to the platform through the developer console and can directly create apps with the Box Platform.

The platform gives developers a new level of customization previously unavailable in the Box ecosystem. Box offers powerful content services, but developers maintain control over look, brand, and feel of a each app created with the platform. Historically, developers have controlled users and content. Now, with the launch of the Box Platform, developers also own the user experience. Because app owners each receive a developer owned, independent instance; Box can offer a full set of enterprise features that live up to industry compliance standards (e.g. HIPPA, FINRA, etc.).

Box announced App Auth and App Users earlier this year, and both are available on the Box Platform. App Auth offers server to server authentication which enables apps to request access tokens on an enterprise's behalf. Once an application receives an access token, App Users can make calls to any endpoint of Box's Content APITrack this API. The current strategy Box has unveiled allows developers to license App Users along with storage, bandwidth, and other resources. For more information, visit the documentation and tutorials.

Box provides the platform in two flavors: Developer and Enterprise. Developer constitutes the free version that provides immediate access to the platform for developing and testing purposes. Enterprise is a paid plan (starting at $500/month for 100 App Users), and allows developers to bring Box's content services to the enterprise. The Enterprise version includes 250 GB of storage and 250 GB of bandwidth. Further, Box offers a number of add-on options for additional fees (e.g. Enterprise Key Management, Box Governance, and Premier Support). Where many low cost, cloud-providers have struggled to break into the enterprise, Box has had some success. A continued focus on enterprise needs, and a targeted product offering to suit such needs should continue to drive enterprise adoption forward.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Box's enterprise plan started at $100/month. The correct amount is $500/month.