Storing files just got more convenient for members of the Notre Dame community.
OIT (Office of Information Technologies) recently sent out an email about Box, the cloud storage system Notre Dame students, faculty and staff now can access.
The Box project began this summer, and since the introduction of Box to campus, approximately 2,500 accounts have been created, according to information technology engineer Matt Willimore.
Ron Kraemer, vice president for information technologies, said Box came into being after students and faculty asked for more file storage space.
"Notre Dame faculty and students consistently were asking for more storage and the ability to easily access and share information anytime, with anyone, from anywhere, on any device," Kraemer said. "Through Box, we were able to address that request quickly and securely, and in the process better serve teaching, learning, research and University operations."
Willimore said Box permits its users to share files and collaborate on documents with anyone in the world, with no additional software.
"You can easily share documents with your instructors, friends and classmates in a secure location, and access files that have been shared with you," he said.
Students can use Box for documents, images and projects related to their coursework and other activities so that they can easily be maintained and shared, Willimore said.
"The content on Box can be shared both, internally and externally, accessed through mobile devices and extended to partner applications such as Google Apps," he said. "You can also sync files from your computer and access them on most mobile phones."
Willimore said content located on Box is not monitored, however, OIT can see how many accounts are created in a time period. Box is also an easy way to backup, sync and store files with the 50 gigabytes of storage space, he said.
Notre Dame was one of the first schools to sign the Box through Internet2, Willimore said. Internet2 is a consortium of universities working in partnership with the government and industry to deploy new technology, according to the group's website.
Willimore said said Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and Cal-Berkeley are among the other early adopters of the service.
To set up a Box account go to http://box.nd.edu and enter your NetID and password in the Central Authentication Service (CAS).
Contact CharithaIsanaka at
cisanaka@nd.edu
