Hello, and welcome to my blog. This blog is going to be focused on how communication and collaboration systems can help with teamwork, professional development, and personal growth. My name is Ru, and I’ve been working in the field of Communication and Collaboration Systems for over 10 years, so I know a thing or two about how they work, what they do, and what they can do for you.
The purpose of this blog is to share knowledge about Communication and Collaboration Systems with the world. Whether you’re looking for new ways to connect with your friends, hoping to improve your skills as a professional, or are just curious about the field in general—I hope you enjoy what I have to say! I’ll be posting regularly about everything from the benefits of these systems to specific uses that might apply to your situation.
Table of Contents
Communication And Collaboration Systems
Never has it been more important to be able to collaborate and communicate remotely. The coronavirus outbreak has completely disrupted how we work, and those organisations without the proper tools will suffer. Luckily, there are more tools than ever before to choose from.
01 Slack
What began as a messaging tool for video game developers has evolved into the full-service collaboration platform we now call Slack. It is an easy-to-use messaging service and integrates with popular services such as Twitter and Dropbox. Conversations or channels are organised by topic of which you can have as many as you like. The design is slick and simple, and you can share any file type (including photos and videos) with colleagues in a fraction of the time it would take to email them. (Interestingly, teams who use Slack claim to see an average 48.6 per cent reduction in internal email). It also has video call functionality for up to 15 participants, for those days when you need to see your fellow workers’ faces.
02 Cisco WebEx
This video conferencing giant was formed in 2007 and one of the biggest players in the space (it is one of the most widely-used online meeting tools in the world.) WebEx’s major selling points include its high quality, designed to make users feel as though they are in the room with their colleagues. Users can host and join meetings, share screens and documents and easily pass control between team members when giving presentations or writing on virtual white boards. Typically used for team collaboration, webinars, training and customer support, it is now a crucial tool for organisations working from home.
03 Zoom
Labelled the “business story of 2020”, remote conferencing company Zoom has been one of the few real success stories amid the global pandemic. The cloud-based service combines video conferencing, online meetings, chat and mobile collaboration. Currently the second-most downloaded app in the world, its stock has soared while the markets plummeted, fainting more than 100 per cent since the beginning of the year. Its main pros are clean, high-quality audio and video, calls can be recorded for future review, screens can be shared with ease, and events can be scheduled, exported to calendars and guests invited, so no one in your team need ever miss a call.
04 Microsoft Teams/Office 365
Technology heavyweight, Microsoft, is another oft-cited purveyor of collaboration and communication tools worthy of respect. For collaboration, there is Office 365 with its unsurpassed range of features. The cloud-based solution offers all the traditional word processing, spreadsheet and slide-show capabilities, and lets multiple people edit the same documents in real time. Microsoft’s video conferencing offering, Teams, now comes bundled in with lots of Office 365 packages, and helps streamline remote communication through high-quality virtual meeting rooms.
05 G-Suite
Google’s full gamut of cloud computing and collaboration tools. The true value of G-Suite is simply the comprehensive range of interconnected tools – from email and calendar, to docs and sheets, to video conferencing with Google Hangouts. Perfect for startups and SMEs, these collaboration tools are free to use, with supplementary business features for when your company needs an extra level of customisation. Truly collaborative, team members can view each other’s calendars, communicate via chat, and work on documents at the same time.
06 Asana
Founded in 2008 by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, Asana is designed to help teams organise, track, and manage their workloads, making it easier to work on projects together. Slickly designed, this software-as-a-service allows teams to create projects, assign work to teammates, set deadlines, and chat about specific tasks, all in one place. It also comes with a suite of reporting tools to help members monitor project progress.
07 Trello
This web-based project management application was designed to make project collaboration as simple as possible. Overarching projects are set up as boards and members can add cards for individual steps or tasks, assigning them to those involved, prioritising, and adding timelines. Flexible, easy to use and visually attractive, it can be used across a range of sectors, from software project management and web design to law office case management and lesson planning.
08 Harvest/Forecast
Harvest is a web-based tracking tool, which allows you to monitor the time and budget your team members spend on individual projects or tasks. It also has invoicing and reporting capabilities so that clients will receive automated payment reminders rather than managers being required to chase via email. Harvest’s complementary application, Forecast, is a visualisation tool which helps teams map out plans so that you can check how available coworkers are at a glance. The perfect collaborative replacement for lengthy spreadsheets.
09 Powwownow
Telecommunications company Powwownow may have invented the future of conference calling. Available 24/7, they offer instant, hassle-free communication with your colleagues, wherever they are in the world. The major benefit is a cost saving, as you can conference call globally, without being hit with the bridging fees common to other providers. The in-built web meeting tool allows you to share screens and notes, take feedback, and record important meetings, so no vital decisions slip through the cracks.
10 Ryver
Another top-rated messaging platform, Ryver aims to help organisations communicate better. You can create as many teams as you want and categorise them easily, and conversations can be set up with individuals, small groups or whole teams. A set of filters allow you to control who sees what you say and post in the app, and specific posts can be marked if you want to come back to them later on. Finally, all company posts can be found in a Facebook-style newsfeed, so you never miss an important message – or deadline – again.
collaboration information systems examples
Workers need more than email to collaborate in the workplace.
Attaching documents is clumsy and sometimes forgotten. You always forget to copy someone, or they get mad if you include them. Finding old conversations is hard, and seeing common conversation threads to the end can be impossible. On top of all of that, a lot of employees don’t check their inboxes because they’re overflowing in a never-ending battle.
We’ve pushed email so far that it’s now nearly impossible to have a meaningful conversation between multiple people. That’s why companies are starting to use more sophisticated collaboration systems. With the right collaboration system, businesses can equip their workers with a communication tool that meets their needs.
What is a collaboration system?
A collaboration system uses software and technology to enable humans to communicate and share documents in a digital space. Companies use collaboration systems to solve work-related problems such as chaotic communication, paper-heavy processes, or inability to offer workers telecommuting opportunities.
What’s the goal of a collaboration system?
The goal of collaboration systems is to make collaboration easier for humans in the workplace.
Employees need to work together to accomplish common goals. That means they need to cooperate, communicate, coordinate, share, debate, brainstorm, and solve problems. In short, they need to collaborate.
Collaboration systems help workers collaborate. Their goal is to make collaboration faster, easier, more enjoyable, smoother, minimize miscommunication, and provide more opportunities for workers to collaborate.
It’s up to humans to collaborate, but collaboration systems are a strategic way to facilitate collaboration in the workplace.
Why do companies need a collaboration system?
There are many reasons why businesses need and use collaboration systems, but here are a few notable ones:
1. Collaboration is easier and faster
No more phone calls, in-person meetings, or emails. If you need a question answered, write a comment in the appropriate channel and quickly receive your answer. If a coworker needs a document from you, give them access in a few clicks. Need to address the entire company? Create and post an announcement in seconds. And just in case other coworkers ask the same question, need the same document, or missed that particular announcement, everyone will see the same information because it’s permanently stored.
2. Remote and flexible work are possible
Remote work is becoming normal and expected. The ability to offer telecommuting opportunities and the option to hire remote workers is powerful. If a workforce successfully adopts a collaboration system, it makes it possible to log in from anywhere. Collaboration software is accessible through multiple devices, anywhere with an internet connection, and available 24/7.
3. Travel time and costs are reduced
Traveling is time-consuming and expensive. With a collaboration system, companies can have important conversations more frequently on private channels. Instead of delivering a speech at each branch, make an announcement to the collective company on a universal newsfeed the entire workforce will see.
Workers can converse indefinitely and the entire conversation plus documents will be saved. Use power search to quickly find previous comments and notes. If another employee needs access to meeting notes, grant them access to the appropriate channels and they will see the channel’s history of comments.
4. More opportunities to collaborate
In addition to easier and faster collaboration, workers can collaborate more frequently with these software tools. Employees have constant, immediate access to every other worker. Collaboration systems offer their service 24/7, accessible from multiple devices, and available almost anywhere. Workers will see announcements, questions, comments, and documents with more frequency due to the availability of collaborating.
What are the types of collaboration systems?
Collaboration systems can be broken up into two broad categories:
Asynchronous
Asynchronous collaboration systems do not provide real-time communication. The most common example is email or message boards. With asynchronous communication, you don’t expect everyone to consume and engage with the content at the same time. Team members can view the information when it is convenient for them and jump in and out of the conversation as required. It also gives team members a chance to reflect on responses rather than just give reactions.
Synchronous
Synchronous collaboration systems provide real-time communication. Examples are instant messaging and video calls. Here, everyone is supposed to participate at the same time. Synchronous conversations are helpful when you are trying to get the mood of others or when something is a true emergency that requires immediate communication.☛ Learn more about Enterprise Collaboration System
What collaboration tools do businesses use?
There are a lot of useful tools out there. Here are some popular options:
1. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft released its own collaboration software called Microsoft Teams. Naturally, it integrates very well with other Microsoft products.
2. Slack
Slack is a collaboration tool that offers video calls, instant messaging, channels, and private messaging. Slack leans towards synchronous communication, expecting most of your team to be instantly available when pinged. Slack also has some deep integrations with other cloud products, allowing you to do much more than just chat.
3. Kissflow Digital Workplace
Kissflow has an asynchronous framework, encouraging teams to post updates, have discussions, and share documents. Kissflow treats collaboration as “unstructured work” and on the same platform has options for more structured work such as projects and processes.
4. Workplace by Facebook
The popular social media Facebook created a collaboration software called Workplace. It looks and feels like Facebook, but its function is to facilitate teamwork. Users can create business profiles on a separate and private network, post in an activity feed, and join groups.
Why might Kissflow be the best option for your organization?
1. Features
Kissflow Collaboration comes with the must-have features every collaboration tool needs. Make company-wide announcements in an activity feed. Respond to posts with nest comments for easy reading. Or have department-specific conversations in private channels. Digitize and share important documents.
2. Intuitive interface
Using Kissflow comes as naturally as using social media. Workers quickly understand Kissflow with minimal or no training.
3. Adding workflows
Kissflow doesn’t stop with collaboration. It also offers workflows for projects and processes. Businesses can easily add workflow options so they have all their digital needs in one place.
4. Scales with growing companies
No matter what size your business is, Kissflow has a price plan that can meet your needs.
Time to upgrade
If your organization still relies on email for its main collaboration system, it’s time to make a switch. But don’t just use the first flashy thing you come across. Make sure you know what you are looking for and which type of tool will serve you the best.
Collaboration is a great thing for any workplace and finding the best system will help you get the benefits even faster!
Conclusion
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