Maria Rose
There has previously been a clear distinction between enterprise vendors, and enterprise communication providers (meaning telephony and networking vendors). However, this distinction is becoming increasingly more blurred as unified collaboration tools that combine both communication and collaboration technologies become more common.
Business Collaboration
It may be hard to remember a time before emails, but the development of this instant written communication tool was possibly the most important enterprise product ever invented for business. Not only allowing people to instantly send messages, for the first time it also allowed electronic documents to easily be worked on from multiple locations and by different users. For many people, this is still the default form of collaboration. However, this does not make it the most effective.
Using email to send different document versions back and forth can quickly get confusing. It is also the most common reason for email systems to become overloaded, as vast quantities of data is repeatedly saved to the system.
This is where using a unified collaboration tool such as our company’s Engage, means that people are able to work together to edit and discuss documents from different locations at the same time. There is no need to save separate versions as people are able to see and work on the same one, whilst also discussing in real time via HD video calling what changes should be made.
Using the same system to screen share, work on documents, chat and exchange written messages means that it is easy to switch between these different methods of communication. For example, if it turns out that a quick question sent on IM actually requires a full conversation, using a unified collaboration tool makes that conversation only one click away. It is also possible to then easily include other call participants if needed – real time presence makes it easy to identify if they are available.
Having one combined tool also means that there are fewer systems to manage, keeping processes simple and costs down. This means increased productivity and efficiency, as people are able to easily communicate with whoever they like in the format that best suits the task at hand. This ease of sharing and inclusion often results in improved process integration and enhanced business continuity.
The additional benefit of this is that remote access working is more effective. This is both in terms of it being easier for the person working at home to be better connected, but also for them to be managed virtually and still receive the support required.
What are your experiences of using unified collaboration? Do you agree that this user friendly amalgamation of tools makes work processes easier? If so, this is surely where the future lies?
Shaz Manelli
