What is Collaboration Software?
If owning a business that employs remote workers from all over the world, it is essential to get everyone on the same page using collaboration software. How else would these remote workers collaborate? Every worker in a team should have the latest updates of projects. This is a challenge for both business owners and workers—without collaboration software; it is difficult for workers to keep pace with upcoming assignments. Managing in-house or remote businesses is made more efficient and productive thanks to online collaboration software.
There are many collaboration utilities in today’s market—they are not specific to remote location workers. These are valuable collaborative platforms for all businesses that wish to better time management and efficiency. Online collaboration software allow teams in businesses to take full advantage of the resources provided to them when implementing projects, and promotes clear communication with the utmost collaboration.
How Can Online Collaboration Help Business?
Remote work has become increasingly popular—employees situated in different places globally work together and collaborate on a single project. This increasingly scattered workforce is becoming a vogue, making online collaboration all the more necessary. Online collaboration eliminates the gap between employees due to remoteness by serving as a communication outlet to run virtual meetings and ensure that everyone can work together at a preferred time, and, on the same page.
An online collaboration tool for business is helpful in collaborating because of the features it offers to employees. These features include uploading and posting of documents, communication between employees, e-mail and pop-up notifications, and calendar. Collaboration software are usually secure and business owners can choose the right software to fit the businesses’ needs and purposes.
This communication platform can be a useful component of technologies such as meeting software, collaborative education technology, and video conferencing. There no longer a need for physical media—with online collaboration software, viewers can display screens to several others and provide interactive displays from a remote location.
Collaboration solutions provide managers the capability to monitor employee work ethic by access to employee time tracking and GPS tracking features. Employers can observe who is doing what, how long it takes he or she to do it, and where this assignment is being produced. This, especially, ensures accountability within a workplace. Integrity is essential– when there is one central system in which everyone can communicate fluently and freely with one another regarding messages and updates, everyone is on the same page. This, ultimately, ensures consistency and reliability. Knowing who of your employees actually cares about work and values the company by being able to monitor the employees through a system.
Choosing a Collaboration Solution in the Digital Workplace?
The best collaboration applications do not come with one specific standout feature, but are flexible and act as a number of different tools for employers. When an employer signs up for an account, he or she can customize the account with specifications that would be appropriate for his or her business, specifically. These can be decided from a menu of options and filtrations. Discussion boards, private messaging, time tracking, and even scheduling are examples of features that collaboration software may include.
Collaborative platforms are vital for proper communication. However, choosing the right collaboration tool specific to the team’s needs is even more important. Companies must choose a software which is appropriate for the business’ needs and which can serve the team properly. Here are some considerations business owners’ so take into when choosing a collaboration software:
- User- Friendliness
Who likes complications? No one wants to finagle a complex structure, especially at work. The software utility implemented should deliver services that do not take much time to adapt and get used to. Look for a software which is intuitive, acts as a digital worker, and is easy to navigate through.
- The Features Offered
Different online collaboration softwares offer outstanding services with many features. Choosing a software that is simple to navigate and maneuver and still has many features will improve efficiency. Digital work is usually more accurate and productive than work assembled by a human employee.
- Cloud-Based Technology
Collaboration software, which operates by saving information and data to a central cloud, will save business owners the headache of version controls. Information is less likely to get lost. Everything is stored online and easily accessible by employees situated anywhere.
- Check for Integration
Tools that seamlessly integrate and are compatible with various devices are key to convenient work. These important collaborative platforms emphasize a central form of communication. So, it is essential to pick the software that is best for your team.
List of Online Collaboration Tools Free
- Project Management Tools
For project management, ProofHub is an advanced online task collaboration. It allows business owners to run their business, forecast future projects and become increasingly productive at work. Collaborate with teams and clients and use this tool to deliver projects in a timely manner. Assigning different roles and tasks to employees is made easy. Plan project activities easily by setting dependencies on assignments and proofreading of documents.
- Communication Tools
Skype is a virtual instant messaging and calling application that can be integrated on any digital device that can connect to the internet. Audio and video calls between multiple users and devices makes Skype a popular communication tool. One employee can be chatting on his or her computer with another employee using a mobile device. Unify your team through group video calls and share your screens with each other to give a detailed presentation. This tool also acts as a phone number and allows users to make free calls locally and internationally.
- Design Tools
Adobe is a UX/UI solution for designing websites, mobile apps and much more– on both Mac and Windows devices. All information is saved as a part of a creative cloud. Designers using Adobe can connect it with their favorite collaborative platforms including Dropbox and Avocode. Designers can switch from interactive to static prototypes at the tip of their fingers.
- Documentation Tools and File Sharing Tools
Google docs is one of the most popular collaborative platforms. It encourages organization within a team allowing members to share, edit and publish documents, spreadsheets or presentations. Document creation and collaboration here is free and easy to use. Internet connection is not necessary. Enable the offline edit more to use or edit documents that are being shared.
Digital Whiteboard
Digital whiteboards are collaborative platforms that are presented in a two-dimensional display. The purpose of a digital whiteboard is to serve as a central visual that all employees have access to and serves as a collaborative system. Using a digital design, these are not the traditional whiteboards. Digital whiteboards involve the use of a stylus or other tool to create drawings, designs and even writing. These act as electronic whiteboards.
Digital displays connected to a computer are replacing the traditional office whiteboard. This allows people to make notes and display their screen. Rather than having a projector or a dry-erase board, anyone can “walk up” to the board and make notes using a computer or tablet and adding visuals. Latest innovations in the field require a single stylus and you can change the color and tip size of the “pen” to serve as different writing or editing utilities. These boards can be mounted on the wall or put on a mobile stand, just as a traditional whiteboard.
Microsoft Surface Hub
- Surface Hub acts as a super-sized computer in an office. The touchscreen comes with Windows 10 and Office Suite, as well as the whiteboard application.
- Equipped with Microsoft applications for business collaboration such as Skype for Business and Office 365.
- Its whiteboard allows users to draw, add and manipulate visuals freely in an infinitely expandable canvas.
- If the price of Surface Hub is not within the budget, the whiteboard application is now available for all Windows 10 devices. This allows users to turn their laptops or tablets into a miniature whiteboard.
Google Jamboard
- Integrate easily with all of Google’s G-Suite features and applications, such as Docs, Drive and Hangouts.
- Built-in with all the capabilities made available by G-Suite, which includes instantaneous sharing of documents, images and videos.
- This cloud-based platform saves drawings and notes to Google Drive, immediately.
- Tools provided allow users to maneuver drawings with your stylus, laser pointer, or even, a finger.
- These are the “jams,” which Google allows you to save and share with anyone.
- The app is available for both iOS and Android.
To find the perfect collaboration software for a business, first, it is key to identify the team’s distinctive collaboration needs. This can be according to the industry or type of business. Understanding the technological needs of an organization and streamlining communication can better facilitate teamwork. The perfect collaboration software offers features amplify your project management capabilities.
Collaboration is not a process, but the action carried out with the use of technology. With increased digitization, in today’s world, to communicate fluently with optimal collaboration is almost impossible without the appropriate collaboration solution.
