????早在2005年,，亞倫?萊維和狄倫?史密斯懷揣11000美元積蓄以及并不太吸引人的創(chuàng)業(yè)點子從大學(xué)退學(xué)，創(chuàng)立了一家名為Box.net的在線存儲與協(xié)作服務(wù)公司,。上周四,，這家新創(chuàng)公司宣布，在第4輪融資中籌集到4800萬美元巨款,。

????此次數(shù)額不菲的投資意味著基于互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的企業(yè)級軟件新創(chuàng)公司開始興起,。Box是一家文件存儲與協(xié)作公司，該公司表示其用戶數(shù)量已超過500萬,，其中包括思科系統(tǒng)（Cisco Systems）,、戴爾（Dell）和夢工廠動畫（DreamWorks Animation SKG）等企業(yè)。Box所提供的初級版服務(wù)是免費的,，能讓用戶在線存儲和分享文件,。該公司向付費用戶提供更大的存儲空間以及更佳的安全性能等額外功能，費用為每月15美元,。

????Box位于加州帕洛阿爾托市,，目前為止，該公司已募集到7750萬美元投資,。其最新一輪投資的牽頭者為風(fēng)投公司Meritech Capital Partners,，參與投資的還有Andreessen Horowitz和Emergence Capital Partners等公司。

????那么Box將如何支配這筆新收到的巨款,？（Box聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官,，現(xiàn)年26歲的萊維在一次采訪中開玩笑說，他最后會去買一部游艇）,。根據(jù)Box上周四上午發(fā)布的一份新聞稿,，該公司將利用此次投資，在未來18個月里把140人的員工隊伍擴充一倍,。Box還計劃將更多的資源投入移動平臺,、提高國際影響力并成立自己的企業(yè)營銷團隊。

????在那些希望在線存儲照片和文檔的普通用戶中,，Box獲得了病毒式增長。不過Box如果想做強做大,，同微軟（Microsoft）,、IBM、EMC等老牌企業(yè)級軟件公司競爭,，那么它需要更大,、更傳統(tǒng),，且具備全球化水準(zhǔn)的企業(yè)營銷團隊。Box同時還必須證明自身財務(wù)狀況穩(wěn)定,，著眼長遠(yuǎn)發(fā)展,。即便超級樂觀的萊維也承認(rèn)，某些服務(wù)——例如微軟SharePoint軟件基于互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的版本會對Box造成“有意義的競爭”,，同時他還需應(yīng)付一些規(guī)模更小的競爭者,，其中包括位于舊金山的Dropbox，該公司也向用戶提供在線存儲及分享,。

????萊維喜歡討論企業(yè)級軟件領(lǐng)域正在發(fā)生的“革命”,，他還喜歡討論Facebook、Twitter和YouTube等社交工具如何改變了我們對工作和生活中的技術(shù)的看法,。

????上周四,，萊維在一篇博客里表示，“企業(yè)軟件領(lǐng)域正在發(fā)生一場革命——云計算使得企業(yè)軟件服務(wù)領(lǐng)域的競爭者都站到了同一起跑線上,。各企業(yè)第一次自下而上地采用新技術(shù),。”

????企業(yè)級IT領(lǐng)域確實正在發(fā)生改變,。不過整個IT世界的變革速度卻不那么快,。盡管Box吹噓73%的《財富》美國500強企業(yè)正在使用其服務(wù)進行商業(yè)內(nèi)容的在線分享、訪問和協(xié)作,，但目前絕大部分用戶都不是付費用戶,。不過，如果Box的下一步不走錯,，那么這一輪的4800萬美元投資絕對能幫助它吸引到更多的付費企業(yè)用戶,。

????Box早期曾在萊維的叔叔的車庫里運營過一段時間，相比之下,，現(xiàn)在該公司已經(jīng)取得了令人側(cè)目的重大進步,。

????萊維在其最近的博客中表示，“Box起先表現(xiàn)得很謙虛……為了延續(xù)過去的成功,，我們現(xiàn)在必須積極投資,。我們不再是小型新創(chuàng)企業(yè)了，而是一家擁有140名員工的強大組織,，我們必須竭盡全力地為企業(yè)界帶來更好的技術(shù),。”

????作者：項航

????Back in 2005, Aaron Levie and Dylan Smith were college dropouts with a collective $11,000 and a not-so-sexy startup idea for an online storage and collaboration service. Today, the entrepreneurial duo announced that their company, Box.net, has closed a whopping $48 million series D funding round.

????The large investment is the latest sign that web-based enterprise software startups are gaining clout. Box, a file storage and collaboration company, says it has over five million users, including enterprise customers like Cisco Systems (CSCO), Dell (DELL) and DreamWorks Animation SKG (DWA). The basic version of Box's service, which lets people store and share files online, is available for free. The company charges customers $15 a month for extra features like more storage or security enhancements.

????Palo Alto, Calif.-based Box has raised a total $77.5 million to date. Its latest round was led by venture capital firm Meritech Capital Partners with Andreessen Horowitz and Emergence Capital Partners joining in.

????So what will the startup do with all that new cash? (In an interview with Levie, the 26-year-old co-founder and CEO of Box joked that he's finally going to buy a yacht). According to a press release the company issued Thursday morning, the funds will go towards doubling its team of 140 employees within the next 18 months. It will also enable Box to pour more resources into its mobile platform, increase international presence and built out its enterprise sales force.

????Box has enjoyed viral growth among everyday consumers looking to store photos and documents online. But to go up against the likes of so-called "legacy" enterprise software companies like Microsoft (MSFT), IBM (IBM) and EMC (EMC), it needs a larger, more traditional and global enterprise sales team. It also needs to prove that's it's financially stable and here to stay. Even the uber-optimistic Levie admits that services like a web-based version of Microsoft's SharePoint software could provide some "meaningful competition" for Box. And he's got smaller competitors to tackle as well, including San Francisco-based Dropbox, which also lets users store and share files online.

????Levie likes to talk about the "revolution" that's taking place in enterprise software and how social tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have changed the way we think about technology in and out of the workplace.

????"This is a revolution that is democratizing enterprise software – the cloud has dramatically leveled the playing field for the delivery of services, and for the first time, technology adoption in the enterprise is being driven by the bottom-up," Levie wrote in a blog post published Thursday morning.

????It's true that the enterprise IT space is undergoing a transformation. But changes happen slowly in the IT world. And while Box boasts that 73% of the Fortune 500 use Box to share, access and collaborate on business content online, the vast majority of its current users are not paying customers. If Box executes correctly though, its new $48 million round of funding could definitely help it snag more paying, corporate customers.

????Already, Box has made some impressive leaps and bounds since its early days in Levie's uncle's garage.

????"Box's beginnings were modest," Levie wrote in his recent blog post. "...We must invest aggressively to continue this success. We are no longer a small startup, but a 140-person strong organization that must do everything in its power to bring better technology to the enterprise."