Cloud content company Box Inc. said today it’s updating its Box for Slack integration, making it possible to use Box as the single file storage system within the Slack application.

The update means Box’s enterprise-grade security, compliance and governance features will be applied to content shared within Slack. Other benefits, according to Box, include less content sprawl and more productivity.

Box said companies will appreciate the update. It says that because the average enterprise uses 187 applications to perform their work, there’s a need for a “single source of truth” to manage content across all of those apps.

With today’s update, the company said, Slack users will be able to access Box as their main file content layer, meaning any files they upload into Slack will be saved directly within Box’s content management system. The advantage is that organizations will be able to unify all of their files within a secure platform, as opposed to content being saved locally, the company said.

The update builds on existing features. With the Box for Slack integration, users can grant access to Box files from directly within Slack. It’s also possible to use Box slash commands from within Slack to quickly view and find recent files. In addition, users can access Box’s file activity stream from within Slack to understand how files are being shared across the app.

Box Chief Product Officer Diego Dugatkin said companies today desperately need more flexible, collaborative products.

“We continuously strive to improve our integrations with third-party apps so that our users can work smarter, with less clicking and context switching between various platforms, saving them time and effort,” he added.

Box said the enhanced Box for Slack integration is generally available starting today for all Slack Enterprise customers.

Image: Box