Dropbox CartoDB integration: A step forward for a full Cloud Mapping environment

We have designed CartoDB from day one to be an entirely cloud based solution for your mapping and data visualization needs. This gives us tremendous flexibility in the ways we can bring you speed, new features, and a better service all around. We take a lot of inspiration from other cloud services like Dropbox, the tool that has changed the way many of us share, store and organize our files. With nearly 200 million users worldwide, Dropbox services 700,000 file uploads every minute!

Even in our small team, Dropbox has totally changed the way we collaborate and move data. We saw this as an important tool to integrate closer into the CartoDB workflow, and the first step along that path, was finding ways to bring data directly from Dropbox into CartoDB tables. Today, we are releasing integrated Dropbox data imports. The process is simply, from your browser you can now explore your Dropbox folders and files and select them for magic import into CartoDB. No downloads involved!

The new Dropbox option can improve the way you work with your collaborators on a map or the way you import big datasets to your CartoDB account. For users with limited bandwidth or stuck on airport wifi, this is a great solution since it is no longer necessary to download anything to your computer. Use big data in CartoDB without ever leaving your browser.

We have made use of the very slick [Dropbox Chooser], which makes the workflow totally secure. You can find the option under the New table menu or when you add a new layer to a visualization.

Create maps directly from your Tablet.

The new feature is a great tool for users who want to build maps or explore data on their tablets. Now, a tablet user can just sign-in to their CartoDB dashboard, select Dropbox after clicking New table, choose the files they want to import, and start exploring their data in seconds!

Let us know if this improves your day-to-day use of CartoDB or if there are other features you are dying to see in the interface.

The future of maps is in the cloud

Nothing new here right? But as more and more services are moving to the cloud, the GIS and mapping market is remain predominantly on the Desktop. CartoDB vision is to become the mapping and GIS solution for the cloud age. By integrating with cloud-based file systems like Dropbox, we will close the loop in your cloud-based data management.