Dropbox is a cloud based storage platform that launched eight years ago in 2008. Over the years, the service has evolved and seen much improvement. The application has been available on a number of platforms including various versions of Windows and Mac OS, the older legacy BlackBerry OS, the newer BlackBerry, plus Android, iOS and Web OS. Dropbox has been added as a third party cloud storage system by a number of big names, perhaps most notably by Microsoft for their Office suite. We have also seen a number of manufacturers bundling Dropbox storage space with devices for a limited number of years, such as HTC and Samsung. Dropbox have very recently blogged to tell the world about the success of their platform, as it has passed the five hundred million user point. Whilst this in itself is interesting, some of the underlying statistics provide insight into how Dropbox as a service has evolved along with how people use it.
Dropbox’s blog points out that since launch, users have created over three billion connections by sharing data and files with one another. This number itself is impressive as it shows how people are not simply using Dropbox to store their data but instead are using the service more and more to cooperate and collaborate across the world. Dropbox’s latest information shows that the number of connected files between different users is up over 50% since the same time last year. Dropbox also has some impressive clients and credentials – approximately two thirds of the filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival use Dropbox as “integral to their work.” News Corp, which has over twenty five thousand employees, is using Dropbox as part of their workflow process across the world. It took Dropbox four years to reach 100 million users, in November 2012, but a year later it had 200 million users on the books. Six months later it reached 300 million and now in March 2015, it has reached the 500 million point.
Dropbox also explained that whilst the service is American, the last hundred million users have been from around the world: the top five countries by signups includes the United States, Brazil, India, Great Britain and Germany. Many businesses are using Dropbox to share and collaborate data around the world with The Absolut Company, headquartered in Sweden, and Dentsu (a Japanese advertising and public relations business) as two headline new Dropbox customers. Over forty percent of new users have been referred by an existing user, which will support the collaboration tools over the coming months and years. To celebrate the 500 million point, Dropbox have produced an infographic, showing below: