News Analysis
The humble calendar is a workhorse of the digital workplace, helping people meet objectives and business goals. But as we recently covered, having more than one calendar creates as many problems as it solves.
Dropbox's announced acquisition of Reclaim.ai may help workers manage these problems. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to Reclaim, its tool is being used by 43,000 companies and 320,000 people worldwide.
Reclaim Is Just the Latest in Dropbox's Acquisitions
According to the company, Reclaim will continue to enhance its product under Dropbox’s ownership and will continue offering ongoing support for its customers.Reclaim appears to fit into an ongoing workplace strategy that moves Dropbox away from its file sync and sharing platform roots into something with a wider reach and application across an organization. Its recent filings posted at the beginning of August would seem to underline that strategy.
“As we navigate the natural pressures of a maturing FSS business, we’re focused on solving our customers’ biggest new pain points in securing, organizing and sharing their content, and are investing in our future bets for AI-powered universal search with Dropbox Dash. As this work continues, we remain committed to operating efficiently and driving improved shareholder returns,” Dropbox co-founder and CEO Drew Houston said in a statement.
Currently in beta in the U.S., Dropbox Dash is a universal search tool that offers a way to manage all content and meetings across browsers and desktops. Reclaim complements this by offering an AI assistant that can automatically adjust schedules, keeping tasks accounted for and deadlines met.
Dropbox has acquired several companies and tools over the years to enhance its offerings, particularly in cloud storage, collaboration and productivity — all of which have also extended its reach in the workplace.
Among those acquisitions was its 2021 DocSend buy, which introduced a secure document sharing and tracking service, HelloSign in January 2019, which added an e-signature and document workflow platform into Dropbox, and its January 2015 CloudOn acquisition, to improve Dropbox's document editing and collaboration tools.
Related Article: Google Workplace Is Coming for Slack and Microsoft Teams
Where Reclaim.ai Fits in Dropbox's Move Into the Workplace
Founded in 2019 by Henry Shapiro and Patrick Lightbody, Reclaim.ai fits perfectly into Dropbox's history of acquisitions aimed at enhancing productivity and collaboration. The Reclaim buy adds a sophisticated, AI-driven scheduling tool to the Dropbox portfolio, Enghouse CMO Tim Peters told Reworked.
The acquisition allows Dropbox to offer a more comprehensive solution for managing workflows, integrating seamlessly with its existing cloud storage and collaboration products.
Reclaim’s technology addresses a common pain point in modern work environments, namely efficient time management, he said. By automating scheduling and prioritizing tasks based on user behavior, Reclaim reduces the cognitive load on users, allowing them to focus on more meaningful work. This aligns with Dropbox’s mission to help people work smarter, not harder.
“In a competitive market, offering advanced scheduling features gives Dropbox an edge over other productivity tools that lack integrated AI capabilities. It also positions Dropbox as a leader in the emerging field of AI-driven workplace automation,” Peters said.
He adds that with Reclaim set to introduce Outlook integration, Dropbox is positioning itself to further penetrate the enterprise market where Outlook retains a stronghold. As Reclaim continues to develop its product under Dropbox’s ownership, deeper integration with Dropbox’s existing services is expected, fostering synergies that boost overall productivity.
Reclaim integrations already include Slack, Todoist, Zoom, Asana, Jira, Google Tasks and more.
With the buy, Dropbox can also gain valuable insights into how users manage their time, helping the company to further refine and personalize its productivity tools. This data-driven strategy will be crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in the fast-paced tech industry.
“Dropbox’s acquisition of Reclaim.ai is a forward-thinking move that strengthens its position in the productivity space by offering users smarter, AI-driven tools to manage their time and tasks more effectively,” he said. “This acquisition not only enhances Dropbox’s existing product offerings but also opens new avenues for growth and user engagement.”
Dropbox's Business Process Automation Future?
While Dev Chandra, an automation consultant with Process Hacker, also believes that the acquisition will support productivity, he said it could also pave the way for Dropbox to move into the lucrative space of business process automation.
“With more companies seeking out efficient workflows due to remote work, the demand for comprehensive digital solutions that streamline work processes is higher than ever,” Chandra said. “Acquiring Reclaim.ai could provide Dropbox with lucrative opportunities to cater to these needs and expand their user base, specifically within the professional and corporate sectors.”
The true value of scheduling tools like Reclaim lies in their ability to free up professionals’ time, automate mundane scheduling tasks and help businesses optimize their productivity, he said. "With this acquisition, Dropbox seems to have recognized the potential that such technologies hold and are making strides to leverage it."
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This strategic move could significantly differentiate Dropbox from competitors like Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive , he said, by offering a more streamlined and efficient user experience.
Moreover, it plays into a broader industry trend of productivity companies increasingly integrating management tools into their platforms to enhance functionality. Here he cites the example of Tiger Global's acquisition of the calendar startup Hypercal, with the plan to incorporate Hypercal’s scheduling features into its broader suite of productivity tools.
“All of this further emphasizes the importance of AI in enhancing workflow automation and overall user satisfaction in the competitive productivity software market,” Sheplyakov concluded.