What can Collaboration Solutions Do For Me and My Business?
Collaboration is an overused term in the business environment, but this should not come as a surprise. As the scope of Internet is expanding, businesses need easy access to online collaboration solutions, that allow teams from remote locations to work together, different branches to communicate with one another, and top management to be able to overseer everything without having to be present everywhere all the time. SharePoint has a powerful online component that allows online collaboration for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and many important companies such as Cisco, Google and IBM follow suit.
Expanding the channels of communication
There is a very strong reason why business owners are so interested in the evolution of online collaboration solutions. As the channels of communication expand via Internet, e-mail, social media, blogs, a solution that can act as all of them at the same time is much needed. SharePoint has a great reputation as an Intranet solution, but it is also viable as a tool for promoting online collaboration. Businesses do not need to communicate only with their employees; they also need to communicate with their partners and with their clients. All of which can easily be done over the Internet. Business to business solutions often emphasize the need for collaborative tools that can make interactions, updates, and overall communication easier.
Sharepoint as A Collaboration Tool
Promoting contact with mobile workforce
Gone are the days when companies were operating based on the workforce employed on site, working in factories or cubicles. The concept of mobile workforce is relatively new, but no less challenging for companies always on the hunt for cutting costs and hiring the best professionals in their field. SharePoint presents businesses with great online collaboration tools that allow contact with mobile workforce on a regular basis, without the glitches presented by traditional communication venues.
While some may argue that e-mail is the better option, no matter which way you look, in fact solutions such as SharePoint are much better. E-mail is part of the solution, indeed, but a lot of information does not have to be sent and received in order to be accessed. Actually, through the solution presented by SharePoint, documents can be accessed and projects can be managed without using e-mail at all.
From traditional e-mail to mobile devices
Mobile gadgets are taking the world by storm, and with so many people connecting to the Internet from their mobile devices, coming up with a solution that includes this particular communication environment is nothing but natural evolution. SharePoint is also equipped with mobile capabilities, which means that information is no longer hindered or restricted by working hours or days of the week. Information can be fed directly on mobile devices, no matter where the recipient lives or exists at a certain moment.
For businesses, the mobile evolution has a huge impact for many reasons. Contact with employees and partners is easily performed through these communication venues. Also, advertising, market research and customer feedback enter a whole new era.
Are online collaboration solutions a good idea for your business?
Of course, the most important question you may ask right now is whether these solutions are a good idea for your business or not. Security issues are always the talk of the day when bringing up online communication systems. SharePoint puts a high price on security, with various functionalities that do not allow just any information to be accessed by anyone from the cloud.
When security, availability, and functionality work hand in hand, businesses can only profit. Using a collaborative solution like SharePoint can increase tremendously your business productivity as well as financial success.