Dive Brief:

• Dropbox is expanding security partnerships with Symantec, looking to ease security concerns for customers and help with both access management and data protection, the company announced Wednesday. 
• The file-sharing company is moving to allow customers to better monitor and protect data in Dropbox by increasing admin capabilities and controls. As part of its AdminX effort, companies can now block unsanctioned use of personal Dropbox accounts on corporate networks. Admins have to control limit the number of synced devices and create a user exception list. 
• Dropbox has also expanded its security partner program, so now customers can work with Barracuda Networks, Netskope, Skyhigh Networks and Symantec to make sure corporate data stays safe. The partnerships are designed to help companies have better visibility on how information is both accessed and shared. 

Dive Insight:

The file-sharing company has made inroads in the enterprise since its products were publicly launched in September 2008. Now Dropbox touts 500 million registered users, with more than 200,000 business customers. But the company has faced stiff competition from competitors such as Box, which was initially more enterprise focused than the consumer facing Dropbox. 

That's why moves such as partnerships with security companies can prove so lucrative. Ensuring strong security standards helps ease compliance concerns of heavily regulated companies and could help Dropbox push further into the enterprise. 

The idea of easy collaboration and file sharing is directly in contrast with security in the enterprise. To ensure data is not leaked, companies are more likely to try and lock down sharing features, but companies like Dropbox want to ensure that file-sharing remains fluid, yet secure in the enterprise.