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Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

blog.dropbox.com

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Re: Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

#221

Post by haunter »

tapoxi wrote: post #118
meling wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree… I wish I could buy Dropbox’s minimal feature set: syncing files. And that they’d improve that feature rather than adding features I don’t use or want.

I'll happily recommend https://syncthing.net/ , it's open source, end to end encrypted, and peer to peer (your machines send files directly to each other).

Searched for the iOS client, first hit answer by the maintainer

>I remain unconvinced of the usefulness of the Syncthing sync model on iOS

https://forum.syncthing.net/t/syncthing-for-ios/16045/4

So basically it's not an alternative at all to Dropbox

Re: Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

#222

Post by ramraj07 »

Thrymr wrote: post #206
ramraj07 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d love to be able to just ask dropbox what my passport number is, or to find the file my auditor gave me last year with recommendations.

Do you think the ability to recall private information like that will more valuable to you, the user, or to data aggregators, advertisers, and service providers? Is there enough extra revenue in expanding services to Dropbox users, or will they inevitably become another data scraping company (perhaps with a veneer of "anonymization" to supposedly protect your privacy)?

As of now I trust Dropbox not to use my information or sell it to anyone else. In fact I pay them pretty penny not to. Is there any evidence that they’re violating that assumption?

Re: Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

#223

Post by qsort »

meling wrote: post #92
afavour wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compared to my mindset a decade ago I've become so cynical about the whole SV tech scene. There's value there, of course: Dropbox was a fantastic service when it first came out. But these companies are incentivized to keep expanding until they occupy the entire universe. Now Dropbox wants to be my word processor. Next it wants to use AI to touch up my photos or whatever the hell because AI is the New Hot Thing tech c…

Totally agree… I wish I could buy Dropbox’s minimal feature set: syncing files. And that they’d improve that feature rather than adding features I don’t use or want.

There's always rsync, you know...

Re: Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

#224

Post by birdyrooster »

spamizbad wrote: post #141
rco8786 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Imagine building a company that lets users store files online, seeing chatgpt released, and then laying off 16% of your company to.. use ai to store files better? I really don’t see how new ai capabilities lead to big layoffs and new opportunities for Dropbox snark incoming - Imagine thinking you understand the product strategy for a 14 year old, publicly traded company with thousands of employees without working t…

Having worked in this industry for two decades (and a Dropbox user since its public launch) the "product strategy" of most of these companies is close to just spitballing. If you want a recent example you can look at Facebook lighting almost $40 billion with their Metaverse product. To add to that, Product leadership at technology companies has evolved to be much less technical, so they aren't going to have any deep…

Seriously it’s embarrassing how leadership in many companies has ZERO vision for AI right now. Too focused on buying houses, drinking wine and riding horses. I think these people need to retire already.

Re: Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

#225

Post by passion__desire »

Aardwolf wrote: post #21
neom wrote: post #14

"As the world moved from physical film to digital photography, or from land lines to wireless communication, or from DVD rentals to streaming, opportunity and disruption went hand-in-hand. Companies that embraced a new reality and took decisive action did well. Companies that held onto the past or tried to have it all did not. These transitions are never easy, but I’m determined to ensure that Dropbox is at the foref…

Because AI is what you need to store your files... AI is super cool, but at least for storage of my files in the cloud I prefer something "dumb" to be honest

Why store if you aren't going to retrieve? If retrieval is important then making retrieval efficient and AI based is definitely useful.

Re: Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

#226

Post by spamizbad »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #199
spamizbad wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having worked in this industry for two decades (and a Dropbox user since its public launch) the "product strategy" of most of these companies is close to just spitballing. If you want a recent example you can look at Facebook lighting almost $40 billion with their Metaverse product. To add to that, Product leadership at technology companies has evolved to be much less technical, so they aren't going to have any deep…

I'll add my 2c because I'm getting a little annoyed that folks who only have familiarity with Dropbox's consumer offering seem to think they have any idea what they're talking about. In an enterprise, it can be extremely difficult to ensure your permissions are what you want them to be: that people can share things easily with the right groups, but also that sensitive data is not inadvertently exposed. Dropbox in par…

How does AI tooling help with that? "The AI tool said I could grant this user access this way" is not something that would pass compliance.

Re: Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

#227

Post by roncesvalles »

ramraj07 wrote: post #179
AJRF wrote: post #41

"These transitions are never easy, but I’m determined to ensure that Dropbox is at the forefront of the AI era, just as we were at the forefront of the shift to mobile and the cloud. We’ll need all hands on deck as machine intelligence gives us the tools to reimagine our existing businesses and invent new ones. And I'm committed to doing everything in my power to best position ourselves for the future and unlock our…

I’d love to be able to just ask dropbox what my passport number is, or to find the file my auditor gave me last year with recommendations.

I can get my passport number by pressing the Windows key, typing "passport" and pressing Enter. I don't know if I'd want AI to come into the mix, or even Dropbox for that matter.

There is no substitute for being organized.

Re: Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

#228

Post by visarga »

chinathrow wrote: post #88
xyst wrote: post #29

Why is a digital storage company moving into AI? Personally haven’t used them for at least 5-6 years so I am out of the loop there. Seems like a poor excuse to cut people.

Maybe they will have a peek at your images/files and train some AI?

I bet it's not to train an AI. That would be a disaster. Just use an AI for retrieval and chat based on your files.

Re: Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff

#229

Post by s1artibartfast »

soared wrote: post #220
s1artibartfast wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you are still trying to treat it as an engineering analysis. The question isn't "who is no longer necessary". The question is "do we think we can cut 500 roles (Y/N)" The 2nd question is a reasonable and useful business assessment. The first question is not relevant and has no real answer.

1st is optimizing your org, 2nd is a financial decision.

yeah, and even for the 1st, it isn't a matter of calculation. Every employee in the org will have a different answer to the question and opinion.
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