Cloud storage provider Box has announced the launch of Box Drive, a desktop application which aims to match the power of the cloud with the more familiar feel of traditional network drives.

The goal of the product is to ‘make it easier to adopt the cloud without changing the way people work’. “The future of work is working in the cloud,” the company notes. “Box Drive makes moving to the cloud incredibly easy. Users are freed from the constraints of their local hard drives because they have instant access to all their files in the cloud and real-time collaboration is even more simple and intuitive.”

“Box Drive combines infinite access to the cloud with an intuitive, natively integrated desktop experiences that is familiar to hundreds of millions of people today in enterprises all over the world,” said Aaron Levie, CEO and co-founder of Box in a statement. “Not only will Box Drive make collaborating on content easier than ever before, it also signals the beginning of the end for expensive network file shares.

“With Box Drive, enterprises can accelerate their move to the cloud, enhance security, and significantly reduce IT costs.”

While not in the same ballpark with regards to technology, this move from Box is reminiscent of Amazon Web Services (AWS), who announced the general availability of Greengrass earlier this month. Greengrass enablers users to perform tasks on premise while leveraging the process, analytics and storage of the AWS cloud.

This differs from Box in that the storage provider is trying to help organisations phase out expensive legacy infrastructure such as traditional network file shares. The company added that estimated cost savings through retiring legacy tech – across industries such as real estate, healthcare, and finance – can be as high as $6 million over three years.

The product is free for all Box users and is available today in public beta. You can find out more here.