Boxel Framework: How Businesses Can Leverage Boxel to Streamline Their Operations — Part 3

Boxel Framework for Business Use Cases

In this third blog in our series on how Boxel Framework can be used for different use cases, we will focus on business applications of the framework. We will explore the possibilities of building with Boxel as a foundational component, not just for software development, but also for envisioning workflows that facilitate collaboration across organizational boundaries.

Before we dive in, let’s quickly recap what Boxel is. Boxel can be used in three different ways. Primarily, it serves as a composable development framework that allows you to build full-fledged applications using composable components.

Secondly, Boxel offers a curated catalog, eliminating the need to build everything from scratch. Within this catalog, you’ll find pre-built components representing invoices, forms, people’s addresses, and phone numbers, and even higher-level concepts like application packets and other document templates. The catalog is aimed at enabling businesses to add new features quickly without having to build everything from scratch.

In this blog, our focus is on discussing how businesses can use Boxel to streamline their operation and boost productivity, the third use case for Boxel. Assuming you have the framework and catalog at your disposal, how can you, as a business user, make the most of Boxel’s offerings?

Boxel for streamlining business operations

Regardless of industry or specific requirements, businesses typically go through stages to achieve their objectives. These stages involve spreading awareness, generating leads, converting potential customers, and receiving payments. To support these goals, companies rely on various software tools that enable them to interact with search engines, manage content, leverage social media, capture user data through forms, connect with marketplaces, and facilitate payments through various methods.

Although the specific tools and approaches may vary, there is a common need to raise awareness, engage potential customers, negotiate deals, and ensure prompt payments. Often, businesses rely on a myriad of tools for each aspect of this process. For example, they may integrate with search engines to improve visibility, utilize content management systems to manage and distribute content effectively, use forms to capture user data and inquiries, leverage marketplaces to reach a wider audience, and use payment gateways to facilitate seamless transactions with customers.

Let’s zoom in on a critical element of the business lifecycle — the negotiation and agreement process between parties. Different companies may have varying preferences and approaches to this stage. For instance, Company A might initiate the process by sending a contract for review and including a link to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) app that generates a quote. On the other hand, Company B may prefer to receive a PDF of the contract for review and approval. This back-and-forth exchange of information often involves attachments and messaging via email, and chat applications like Discord or Slack.

Unfortunately, this part of the process often lacks structure and can become fragmented across different tools and communication channels. It can be challenging to track and manage the attachments, messages, and discussions that occur during the negotiation phase. This lack of cohesion can lead to inefficiencies, miscommunication, and even delays in finalizing agreements.

This is where Boxel Framework enters the picture. By providing a unified environment for collaboration, Boxel brings structure and organization to the negotiation and agreement process. Within the Boxel ecosystem, companies can create dedicated spaces to manage and track the negotiation process. Contracts, quotes, and related documents can be stored as Boxels, ensuring that all the relevant information remains together, organized, and easily accessible.

Moreover, Boxel’s messaging-based workflows allow for seamless communication and collaboration. Instead of scattering conversations across multiple platforms or email threads, teams can utilize Boxel’s workflow feature to have centralized discussions, attach relevant documents, and make informed decisions. This streamlines the negotiation process, reduces the risk of miscommunication, and improves overall efficiency.

With Boxel Framework, businesses can bring cohesion and structure to the negotiation and agreement phase of the business lifecycle. By leveraging the capabilities of Boxel’s unified environment and messaging-based workflows, companies can streamline their operations, improve collaboration, and ensure a smooth transition from negotiation to finalizing deals.

[Note: It’s important to read our last blog in the Boxel series to understand many concepts from this blog.]

Boxel to improve intra-organizational communication

Boxel Framework offers a unique approach to organizing and managing workflows within organizations. By understanding the concept of “space” and leveraging the power of “flow,” businesses can maximize the benefits of Boxel’s offerings.

When we talk about “space” in Boxel, we refer to spatial containers that resemble traditional folders or a desktop. These spaces serve as organizational units where different types of Boxel can be stored, categorized, and manipulated. Imagine having a virtual workspace where you can arrange and access your applications as if they were files. This spatial containers go beyond being mere storage and enable efficient collaboration and sharing within the organization.

Within these spaces, Boxel allows you to organize, search, share, and move applications and their associated data seamlessly. Each application represents a fully functional entity with its own state, similar to a file on your computer. This means that you can easily share applications and their data with colleagues, surpassing the limitations of traditional folder-based workflows.

In fact, Boxel takes inspiration from email threads when it comes to workflows. Just like you can attach and send items in an email, Boxel enables you to attach and utilize pre-created elements such as templates and forms in conversations. This messaging-based approach to workflows promotes efficient collaboration and communication within teams. You can control who can access these forms and workflows, assign tasks, and have meaningful discussions about the work at hand.

Further, Boxel goes beyond the internal confines of an organization and can be used in the same way to collaborate with parties outside of your organization. This is where the concept of “flow” comes into play. Boxel provides a neutral environment outside the organization, allowing you to collaborate with external partners, clients, or stakeholders seamlessly.

By utilizing Boxel’s dual nature, businesses can maintain a secure and controlled environment within their organization while fostering collaboration and connectivity outside of it too. Unlike traditional PDFs, which are often static and cumbersome to share, Boxel offers dynamic linking. You can reference other records, such as a vendor or customer details, and when sharing, Boxel encapsulates the referenced content, keeping it together.

This approach provides a secure and reliable way for businesses to connect with their external partners through one centralized platform without having to switch between platforms for internal and external communication as well as enabling them to create a chain of communication.

By leveraging Boxel’s operating environment of space and flow, businesses can achieve enhanced collaboration, improved workflow management, and efficient sharing of applications and data.

Boxel for inter-organizational communication

One of the significant challenges in business communications arises when multiple organizations need to collaborate. While each organization may have streamlined communication practices within its own domains, communication between organizations often needs to be more cohesive and efficient. Determining which platform to use or how to exchange information can create friction and hinder effective collaboration.

The ideal solution lies in a neutral space that exists between the two companies. This space allows both organizations to maintain sovereignty and control over their own data without being reliant on external servers or platforms. Protocols play a vital role in facilitating communication between organizations. Unlike company-owned apps, protocols are shared infrastructures that can be utilized by multiple organizations, creating a common ground for collaboration.

What makes this concept intriguing is the need for protocols to coordinate conversations between companies throughout the entire business lifecycle, from initial contact to deal-making and payment. The real-time nature of messaging is a significant advantage, as it enables participants to stay up-to-date and make quick decisions. Whether using a mobile device to provide a simple emoji response or utilizing a web3 wallet to sign transactions, messaging allows for immediate action. The combination of the shared domain model, protocols, and real-time messaging creates a neutral space where Company A and Company B can collaborate, structuring their communications without compromises and inefficiencies.

By embracing the concept of neutral space and utilizing protocols, businesses can overcome the challenges of communication between organizations. Boxel Framework offers a powerful toolset to implement these protocols, enabling efficient and structured communication throughout the business lifecycle.

Boxel for inter-business Workflows

Coordinating workflows across multiple businesses requires establishing agreements on basic vocabularies and workflow patterns. Boxel Framework provides a powerful concept of building blocks organized into nouns and verbs, representing entities and actions, respectively. This structured approach allows for the creation of common ground and shared understanding across different organizations.

Nouns in Boxel represent entities like bookings, quotes, flights, or hotels, while verbs denote actions performed on those entities. For example, actions can include purchasing, approving, booking, paying, reserving, or refunding. Each action creates a record or receipt that can be modified through logic and scripts, providing the flexibility to adapt to specific business requirements.

The flexibility of Boxel and chat paradigms enables the creation of dynamic workflows. The system can adapt to different integration models, including blockchain, web3, AI, and backend systems. It provides users with an operating environment that connects their workflows seamlessly. By leveraging the power of context and history, chat-based workflows enable efficient and automated actions, reducing manual effort and improving the user experience.

To enable coordination between companies and individuals, Boxel provides an operating environment that includes a flow or processing thread. In a purchasing thread or group chat, participants can engage in discussions and execute actions. The chat history plays a vital role, allowing actions to access contextual information. For example, when an approval action is triggered, a bot can utilize the chat history to generate a PDF document and send it for approval. This bot-like behavior streamlines the process by eliminating the need for repetitive data entry.

In conclusion, Boxel Framework presents a paradigm-shifting solution for businesses looking to enhance their operations, streamline workflows, and foster collaboration both within and across organizational boundaries. With its emphasis on composability, curated catalog of pre-built components, and powerful features like Space and Flow, Boxel offers a comprehensive platform that empowers businesses to build and manage applications with ease.

Want to understand how Boxel can be used for business use cases in detail? watch Cardstack’s Founding Director, Chris Tse, discuss it here:

About Cardstack

Founded in 2014, Cardstack is an open software ecosystem that enables Web3 projects to build and scale their business. The Cardstack ecosystem includes two product suites: Boxel Open-Source Composable Development Framework and Champer Revenue Management Protocol along with various tools for the Web3 ecosystem. With Cardstack, Web3 businesses can create and launch their own dApps, monetize their tools, and manage their revenue distribution. Learn more about Cardstack at https://cardstack.com