{"id":41864,"date":"2021-03-09T11:25:40","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T11:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/?guid=20fa2073fed659a85755be0ae7f99f33"},"modified":"2021-03-09T11:25:40","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T11:25:40","slug":"a-new-age-of-collaboration-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/a-new-age-of-collaboration-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Age of Collaboration Tools"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n David Howell<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
9 Mar, 2021<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

One of the starkest consequences of the pandemic is the fragmentation of workforces. Mass working from home was at first expected to be short-term<\/a>, but now looks set to become permanent<\/a> as companies look to radically alter how they organise and manage their employees.<\/p>\n

Businesses have used collaboration tools for decades, allowing individuals and teams to work efficiently together. COVID-19 made these tools vital and a hub around which workers could congregate. However, the speed at which some businesses rolled out these tools to remote workers was often hurried anot strategically planned. Now that enterprises have had time to assess what extended home working means to them and what tools they really need to make it work, we may see the emergence of a new age of collaboration tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s no surprise that the fastest-growing apps during the pandemic have been workspace management and collaboration tools. According to Okta’s <\/span>Business at Work<\/span><\/a> report, Miro, an app offering whiteboard functionality for teams, experienced 301% growth; measured by unique users, it grew 449% in just a year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Deployment of project management app Smartsheet has grown 170% over the past three years. Slack has cemented itself as the leading messaging tool with 190% growth. And deployments of Zoom grew over 45% between March and October 2020, while Webex grew 15% and RingCentral grew 18% during this same period.<\/span><\/p>\n

Martin Langan, chairman and innovation director at <\/span>legalmatters<\/span>, tells <\/span>Cloud Pro<\/em> that his company has been using the cloud-based NetDocuments service to help its 20-strong workforce manage their document loads. \u201cThe implementation of NetDocuments has played a big part in enabling the firm to continue \u2018business as usual\u2019 operations despite employees being unable to work from its office,\u201d he says. \u201cAt present, legalmatters is only scratching the surface of what its employees can do with NetDocuments, and the firm expects further benefits to be realised once COVID-19 \u2018lockdown\u2019 measures are eased.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tools, then, need to be chosen and deployed carefully to ensure they are fit for purpose, but also, that their end users are comfortable with their features. Legacy systems also need to be taken into consideration \u2013 often, several tools will be used together, which can provide integration and security challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

With this in mind, unifying collaboration tools will become the Holy Grail of many businesses post-COVID-19 to avoid efficiency declines and ongoing security issues. Zoom\u2019s new ability to integrate with Google Calendar and Microsoft\u2019s Together Mode are examples of how this might look, as providers take the opportunity to make their products more attractive in an increasingly remote-focused business world.<\/span><\/p>\n

New Tools<\/span><\/h2>\n

Carl Harris, group director at <\/span>BCS<\/span> (The Chartered Institute for IT) says there has been a shift over the past 12 months in how collaboration tools are used: \u201c<\/span>Certainly, at the start of the pandemic, the single biggest change in our use of collaboration tools was not <\/span>which<\/span> tools we are using, but <\/span>how<\/span> we would use the ones at our disposal differently.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He adds<\/span>: \u201cTake Microsoft Teams as an example. Prior to lockdown Teams was a value-add collaboration tool, enabling us to reach employees via a simple video call more easily on those irregular occasions when somebody may be working from home. Now it is an integral part of our everyday working. All daily employee interaction is conducted through the tool, and the use of the tool\u2019s features have expanded from just simple video calling to an extensive use of all it has to offer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

J\u00f6rn Rabach, director at architecture practice <\/span>Hutchinson & Partners<\/span><\/a>, tells <\/span>Cloud Pro<\/em> his organisation has found significant benefits in melding a specialist remote working and collaboration tool into its existing systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have recently adopted Inevidesk, a virtual desktop solution which has been developed specifically for the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) sector,\u201d he says. \u201cMost importantly, this solution integrated seamlessly into our existing set-up, allowing the teams to directly work off our London based servers while avoiding the cost and complexity of a hybrid infrastructure solution.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fran Nolan, MD of content agency Tribera, explains that her company, too, found itself needing more than the basic level of collaboration platform that everyone flocked to in March 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We immediately had to get Microsoft Teams as we needed an intuitive way to meet on video as much as possible. We regularly use the chat function too to stay connected and try to keep those collaborative conversations going,\u201d she says. \u201cWe then got GetBusy as we were finding we had too many work channels open with email, Slack andWhatsApp so we now use GetBusy which still integrates with email, but the task assignment and completion are a lot slicker.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Transforming connections<\/span><\/h2>\n

What does all this mean for the future, both of business and of collaboration technology? One type of technology that holds some promise for meetings in particular is alternate reality, virtual reality, and extended reality \u2013 with Cloud Pro<\/em>‘s sister title,\u00a0<\/span>IT Pro,<\/em> having already trialled an example of this <\/span>in the form of Vive Sync<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jocelyn Lomer, chief executive at <\/span>nuVa Enterprises<\/span>, which develops a virtual meeting room application, explains to Cloud<\/em><\/span>\u00a0Pro<\/em> that while the tools we\u2019ve been using so far have plugged a hole, we need to build on them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe desktop video apps are insufficiently rich and do not deliver innovative solutions or allow the mind to range freely,\u201d she says. \u201cTraditional desktop collaboration tools like MS Teams and Zoom have proven to be partly sufficient, but frequently employees are left frustrated, stressed and exhausted from the limitations of the asynchronous tools.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaun Lynn, CEO of channel services provider Agilitas, says that <\/span>as COVID restrictions subside, businesses will begin to reconsider how they create a more collaborative and flexible workplace outside a time of crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCollaboration tools need to support this migration, with connectivity and compatibility being key focus areas,\u201d Lynn says. \u201cLike all software-based tools, this will be an evolution rather than a revolution. Market demand will define functionality, and the vendors of collaborative tools who respond the quickest will be the ones to succeed. Like all great tech, some will become the VHS of collaboration tools and others will be Betamax.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

All businesses, no matter their siz,e have been transforming at speed as the pandemic has re-shaped their workforces. Choosing the right collaboration tools that deliver efficient services to remote teams and individuals are now the cornerstone all companies can build upon. But business leaders should also appreciate that these tools are not just for process management. Collaboration tools can connect remote workers on a personal level. Collaboration is about work, but also reinforcing social relationships that are critical for every employee’s wellbeing.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Howell<\/p>\n

9 Mar, 2021 <\/p>\n

One of the starkest consequences of the pandemic is the fragmentation of workforces. Mass working from home was at first expected to be short-term, but now looks set to become permanent as compan…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":621,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/621"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41864"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41880,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41864\/revisions\/41880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}