Dropbox wants to become more than a repository for online files. On Tuesday, the company unveiled a major redesign intended to make the cloud storage service a one-stop source for all your files and tools, even those from third-party services such as Google and Slack.
Starting today, you’ll be able to create, save, and share your Google Docs and Microsoft Office files from within Dropbox. The service will also let you save websites as shortcuts that’ll sit inside your folder as a file.
The Dropbox interface on web, mobile, and desktop is also getting an overhaul; it promises to better organize all the content you have on Dropbox. “It’s the biggest change we’ve ever made to our product,” Dropbox CEO Drew Houston said at company event in San Francisco.
The changes are a bigger deal for the company’s paid customers, who tend to be businesses and rely on Dropbox to store and share files for employees. For instance, the redesigned desktop app is all about collaboration; you’ll be able to modify folders on a shared Dropbox account with to-do lists, a history on file activities, and “@mentions,” so you can tell co-workers which files need attention.
Dropbox is also appealing to businesses with a Slack integration. Starting today, you’ll also be able send files to Slack from Dropbox and vice-versa. In addition, Dropbox has partnered with video-conferencing provider Zoom so you can schedule and join Zoom meetings inside Dropbox.
The company is redesigning Dropbox to address people who are stuck using dozens of different apps to communicate and collaborate with their co-workers and clients. Dropbox wants to simplify the messy experience by essentially getting more business tools and work-related notifications to function on the cloud storage service.
“Let’s bring this experience into the 21st century,” Houston said. “From a folder full of files into a living team working space with all of your content.”
Acting as one-stop platform for all your files will also make it easier to search for something. But of course, you’ll have to buy into Dropbox’s approach. It’ll be up to users to decide whether they feel the redesign works, or if they prefer other online collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams.
For now, the new desktop app for Dropbox will be available to Early Access users, who can sign up on Dropbox’s website. The web and mobile app redesign is starting to roll out to users today.