Box.net announced today a new version of the online document management and collaboration tool, one that aims for simplicity over complexity.

Box considers itself the anti-SharePoint; and if SharePoint represents complexity on the usage scale, Box is hoping its new version offers similar functionality for a lower cost and greater ease of use.

"With the new Box, we've overhauled the design to make sure that the user experience is more intuitive and elegant than ever before. This will continue to be our primary competitive advantage as organizations look to move off of feature-bloated and under-used legacy systems like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) SharePoint," says Box CEO Aaron Levie.

Box held a press event today at their headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. to announce the new version. We couldn't be there, but were briefed earlier in the week about it.

The new interface aims to combine document sharing and collaboration in a simple, yet not simplistic, interface. Among the changes are buttons that make it easier to share and an expanded preview pane that makes it easier to view content within the Box.net environment. The aesthetic is similar to Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) simple design in the App Store and when asked about it Levie said, "The Box.net iPad app lead the way for the design team."

They also announced some interesting partnerships including one with Samsung to make Box.net available on the Galaxy Tab tablet (and Samsung even reportedly gave a device to all attendees) and another intriguing agreement with VMware, which according to Laurence Hart on Twitter, will allow Active Directory integration into Box.net.

Forrester analyst Ted Schadler thinks Box's model is well suited to today's computing models. "Solutions like Box.net, which have a native cloud-enabled mobile architecture, are well suited to the current era of multiple devices, distributed organizations and empowered employees. [He wrote a book about the latter.] The challenge for enterprise IT is to adopt business-ready solutions in advance of their mainstream employees. And that's Box.net's opportunity: Pitch to individuals, sell to enterprises."

Alan Pelz-Sharpe from Real Story Group isn't as impressed. "Box.net have certainly been gaining some attention this past 18 months, and for lightweight departmental document management needs they have a fair amount of traction. Frankly I doubt the new release will have much impact, other than to improve the experience of existing users," Pelz-Sharpe said.  

However, said Pelz-Sharpe, Box has staked out a place in the market where it can thrive. "As a cloud-based low-cost document management solution there are many other options out there, but Box.net have seemingly focused on strengthening their offering around core document and file management functionality, rather than fighting it out in the broad and confusing office collaboration market, probably a smart move. A tiny vendor for sure, but for the time being at least one that seems to be punching above its weight."

To be fair, while Pelz-Sharpe has a point, some of the gaps in functionality (much like its rival SharePoint) are filled in via partnerships in its Box Apps marketplace.

In addition, Box made some impressive strides in 2010 including gaining key integrations with NetSuite, Google Apps, SurgarCRM and others, while launching mobile applications for the iPad and for Android devices; and earning SAS70 Type II security certification.

The challenge for Box moving forward will be adding functionality to make it more competitive with more traditional document management solutions while maintaining that simplicity they strive for in the latest release. 

Box.net will begin rolling out the new interface this month, and users will have the option of switching between the old and new versions between now and the end of February.

The YouTube video below shows some of the features in the new interface:

For more information:
- see the Box.net press release

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