With IBM Partnership, Dropbox Edges Closer to Legitimacy

Cloud file-sharing provider Dropbox on Wednesday announced that the group of huge companies that it counts as top-tier partners has grown by one big name. IBM will become Dropbox’s latest Premier Partner, joining Microsoft, Salesforce, Adobe, Dell and VMware.

The parameters of the partnership aren’t yet clear, but increased collaboration and greater integration of business application suites is sure to be in the works. Dropbox, long the bane of frustrated IT admins trying in vain to rein in shadow IT apps, has over the last year forged several key partnerships that will help solidify its place in the world of legitimate business IT solution providers. Driven largely by customer demand, partnerships between Dropbox and vendors like IBM will make it easier for channel companies to provide end users with the most robust, convenient and secure suite of offerings possible.

Dropbox’s website boasts 150,000 paying customers of its Dropbox for Business solution. With over 300,000 third-party apps like Microsoft Office, Cisco WebEx and DocuSign available to connect to the online storage platform, it’s fast becoming an essential part of any comprehensive IT offering. With the addition of security features that arise out of its partnerships with companies like IBM and Dell, Dropbox is no longer the renegade platform employees download on their mobile devices on the sly, but can be managed and monitored as part of a secure solution.

Dropbox’s biggest competitor, Box, has watched its valuation plummet since its IPO in January of last year, and Dropbox knows it’s under some intense scrutiny and pressure to realize its full potential. Former Microsoft exec Thomas Hansen, who joined Dropbox last summer to lead its global sales and partnership strategy, has been busy pursuing a seat at the big boys’ table, largely through strategic partnerships. Maybe one or more of those partners can help the company turn some of the more than 7 million businesses that it says uses its free service into paying customers. All of the snazzy partnerships in the world won’t help Dropbox maintain profitability in the face of its $10 billion valuation. The company announced in March that it’s adding about 25,000 new business customers each quarter, but helpfully left out whether those companies are paying Dropbox any money.