Online storage and file collaboration service Box, which functions in a similar manner to the popular Dropbox, Microsoft’s Skydrive or Google Drive, has decided to announce a new feature which will bring it into closer competition with both Google and Microsoft.

Called Box Notes, the new word processing service contains features seen in Evernote, Google Docs and even Microsoft Office though there is a definite slant towards collaborative work in the upcoming feature. Real-time collaborations will be a distinct function of Box’s new baby.

For the moment the interface seen in the company’s announcement is very simple, with only basic document formatting options available. This is reported to be intentional but there may be additional features added before Box Notes releases to the public in 2014. There are a few features which are noted to be a little unpleasant at the moment, like the current inability to export files from Box Notes to another platform. That said, there are extras planned for Box Notes in future, such as offline editing, multiple file format support and a mobile version of the desktop collaborative software.

If carefully executed, Box Notes could give Microsoft Office’s similar features a run for their money, while Google Docs will also find itself facing additional competition come next year’s launch.