Cotap plugs into Box to make enterprise file-sharing as easy as sending a text

Normally, I can’t stand to hear about yet another messaging app — how many times are we going to reinvent the wheel? — but Cotap is a little different, and it added a cool new feature today.

Unlike most other messaging services, Cotap is for employees, and today the company released support for the major cloud file-storage providers, as well as a desktop app and updates for iOS and Android apps.

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Now, the service supports files hosted via Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive, enabling users to send, receive, and view files from any of these storage providers. It also lets users send a file “to one or many people with just a few taps, similar to sharing a photo in most messaging apps,” the company says.

Cotap built this capability atop Box’s standalone Box View API, a repurposing of Crocodoc’s HTML5-based viewing technology for Microsoft Office and PDF files. The app can connect to multiple file-storage accounts and providers, making it convenient for companies that use a mix of those. The app also shows the most recently updated files on top, helping employees easily see the freshest information.

In addition to the file-storage integrations, Cotap has also released web and Mac apps to enable employees to use Cotap from a variety of devices. Funny enough, the desktop app reminds me of the Mac Messages app that connect’s the iOS’s text messaging app, possibly a subtle hint that Cotap wants to be the default text messaging for work.

And last, Cotap has added easier ways to manage your contacts: The app now auto-populates contacts with others that share the same corporate email, eliminating the need to manually add coworkers.

Co-founded by former Yammer head of product Jim Patterson, Cotap seems to want to bridge the gap between traditional corporate-style communications such as Yammer and consumer-focused services like Skype.

Cotap counts companies such as Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Philz Coffee among its customers.

The company was founded in 2013 by Zack Parker and Jim Patterson and is based in San Francisco. Cotap has raised $15.5 million in funding so far.