Box has joined a number of tech companies supporting employees to work remotely from home in response\u00a0 the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0applying the policy to all staff, regardless of location.<\/p>\n
Late yesterday Box co-founder Aaron Levie <\/a> tweeted a statement detailing the cloud computing company\u2019s response to COVID-19 \u2014 to, as he put it, \u201censure the availability of our service and safety of our employees\u201d.<\/p>\n We know how important secure\u00a0collaboration and remote work is becoming for our customers right now. Here are a few of the measures we’re taking to ensure the availability of our service and safety of our employees: https:\/\/t.co\/i65ONkIgNp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Aaron Levie (@levie) March 8, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n In recent days Twitter <\/a> has similarly encouraged all staff members to work from home. While companies including Amazon, Google, LinkedIn and Microsoft have also advised some staff to work remotely to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus.<\/p>\n In its response statement<\/a> Box writes that it\u2019s enacted its business continuity plans \u201cto ensure core business functions and technology are operational in the event of any potential disruption\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have long recognized the potential risks associated with service interruptions due to adverse events, such as an earthquake, power outage or a public health crisis like COVID-19, affecting our strategic, operational, stakeholder and customer obligations. This is why we have had a Business Continuity program in place to provide the policies and plans necessary for protecting Box\u2019s operations and\u00a0c<\/em>ritical business functions,\u201d the company writes.<\/p>\n In a section on \u201cworkforce resilience and business continuity\u201d it notes that work from home practices are a normal part of its business operations but says it\u2019s now extending the option to all its staff, regardless of the office or location they normally work out of \u2014 saying it\u2019s doing so \u201cout of an abundance of caution during COVID-19\u201d.<\/p>\n Other measures the company says it\u2019s taken to further reduce risk include suspending all international travel and limiting non-essential domestic travel; reducing large customer events and gatherings; and emphasizing health and hygiene across all office locations \u2014 \u201cby maintaining sanitation supplies and encouraging an \u2018if you are sick, stay home\u2019 mindset\u201d.<\/p>\n It also says it\u2019s conducting all new hire orientation and candidate interviews virtually.<\/p>\n Box names a number of tools it says it routinely uses to support mobility and remote working, including its own service for secure content collaboration; Zoom\u2019s <\/a> video communication tool; the Slack messaging app; Okta <\/a> for secure ID; plus additional unnamed \u201ccritical cloud tools\u201d for ensuring \u201cuninterrupted remote work for all employees\u201d.<\/p>\n Clearly spying the opportunity to onboard new users, as more companies switch on remote working as a result of COVID-19 concerns, Box\u2019s post also links to free training resources for its own cloud computing tools.<\/p>\n\n
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