Collaboration in business used to be about face-to-face communication, involving brainstorming, notepads, extensive meetings and a single-office environment. Today, it’s all about creating similar engagement and teamwork, but without the limitation of a single location or physical closeness. This step forward is possible and popular thanks to cloud collaboration tools.
Cloud Collaboration Defined
Cloud collaboration is already extremely popular in both the consumer and business worlds. Its power lies in allowing people to work together on documents, or other data types, simultaneously. Current cloud collaboration tools include cloud word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software, as well as file sharing. The magic of cloud collaboration is that it allows people to share and edit projects at the same time. Many cloud collaboration applications also include communication tools, like chat, accessibility tools to limit who can view and edit the document, and the ability to see who else is working on the project.
It works like this:
- One user, from any device and any location, creates a project.
- This user can then extend access to others, sharing the ability to make live changes to this project.
- These changes are saved and synced, offering every user the same live view. And even if you make the changes offline, they will sync up as soon as you go online again!
Business Benefits of Cloud Collaboration
Email was previously the most popular way for businesses to share documents among employees. The downsides of this method included restrictions on file sizes and the fact that multiple people couldn’t work on something at the same time. Additionally, it’s easy to lose the latest version of a file when edits are constantly being sent back and forth. Ultimately, this method is unproductive.
Cloud collaboration tools, on the other hand, increase employee efficiency and productivity. They empower employees to more effectively and freely interact with each other, enhancing team communication. These applications also improve teamwork and innovation, as ideas are exchanged more easily.
Cloud collaboration tools also maintain one of the most popular benefits of cloud computing: anywhere, anytime access. These tools promote on-the-go productivity and remove the geographical barrier that used to accompany collaboration in business. This means that an employee from one side of the globe can successfully work on a project with an employee on the other side of the globe.
When it comes to the IT team, there are sometimes worries about implementing new technology. However, cloud collaboration software actually requires less maintenance than in-house options, allowing an IT team to focus their attention on more lucrative business endeavors. And since the applications are hosted externally in a provider’s data center, businesses will most likely experience higher availability and better support. A business can also quit worrying about file loss, as these documents and projects will be securely backed up and protected in the cloud environment.
We’re living in a mobile world, so it’s important to have mobile business solutions. Cloud collaboration tools provide this mobility, maximizing employees’ time, no matter where they are. It’s easy and productive to collaborate with coworkers at any time, in any location. A business will enjoy the increased productivity and efficiency, while employees will appreciate the freedom and ease.
