UNITiD, an interactive design company based in the Netherlands, strives for flawless designs and best-in-class user experiences. But while creativity and innovation are at the core of UNITiD’s products, collaboration is at the heart of its business. With teams of interactive and visual designers, copywriters, and technical developers spread across multiple locations, the company must take a very disciplined approach to project management.
"Each team works closely with its client to understand the end-user’s perspective, develop wireframes, create graphical mockups, produce and test working prototypes, and build the final product,” Matthijs Collard, UNITiD’s founder, explained. “Throughout the entire process, we continuously gather feedback and refine our design to increase the quality and usefulness of our solution.”
It didn’t take long for the growing team to discover just how hard it is to manage multiple feedback loops , especially with a geographically distributed team. UNITiD quickly realized they needed a new solution. They started looking into cloud-based file sharing options, which would give team members instant access to the most up-to-date files, no matter where in the world they were located.
Ultimately, after evaluating several solutions, the team chose to implement Dropbox because of its ease of use, reliability, and simplicity. As UNITiD’s business grew, so did its file storage requirements. So as soon as UNITiD heard that Dropbox had released a solution designed for businesses, they immediately migrated. “It's a matter of trust,” said Collard. “When a new solution like Dropbox for Business comes along from a company we know we can rely on, we go for it.”
Since the team was already familiar with Dropbox’s features and functionality, the transition to Dropbox for Business was quick and seamless. “Onboarding our existing staff to Dropbox for Business took no time at all,” Collard recalled. “And new hires learn all they need in a 30-minute session that reviews our company’s folder structures and tips for syncing.” Dropbox for Business has not only addressed UNITiD’s growing need for file storage, but it also provides greater flexibility for the team’s varied workflows. With the ability to connect to Dropbox’s vast developer platform of more than 300,000 apps, team members can access and share just about every file type through their Dropbox for Business accounts.
For example, UNITiD’s design team relies on InVision — a Dropbox-connected design app — to create working prototypes of new designs. Now, any time a file is modified in InVision, it's automatically updated in Dropbox as well — no additional uploading necessary. As Collard explained, “If our designers change a prototype using InVision, Dropbox for Business keeps all related design assets, screens, and source files in sync. It’s a real time saver, and it never fails.”
Equally important to UNITiD's expanding team is file security. To prevent non-authorized users from accessing sensitive files, UNITiD employees use Dropbox’s two-step verification functionality, and are diligent about monitoring shared links through the admin console. “About 90 percent of our projects involve collaboration with clients and other parties,” said Collard. “Dropbox for Business makes it easy to work with external partners, while still keeping data safe.”
Dropbox for Business enables the UNITiD team to focus less on managing files and more on achieving breakthrough design work. “The best thing about Dropbox for Business is that you don’t have to pay attention to where something is,” Collard asserted. “It’s always there. It just works.”
To see how Dropbox for Business can help your team collaborate more efficiently and securely, try it free.
