Overcoming Online Collaboration Challenges In The Workplace

Online Collaboration

With the rise of the Internet and mobile technology over the decades, the business world has expanded rapidly. To keep ahead of the competition, IT decision makers have started to integrate online collaboration tool into their business operations. 
 
There’s a tremendous opportunity to boost productivity in the business with modern workplace tools that streamline collaboration. In fact, with small businesses increasingly relying on non-traditional employees and remote workers, it’s essential to embrace new teamwork tools to remain competitive. 
 
However, as businesses embarked on the journey of digital transformation, CTOs and other IT decision-makers are faced with the challenge of tech adoption, which goes beyond being solely an IT initiative. 
 
In this article, you will discover the common challenges faced by the decision makers as online collaboration tools are introduced into the workplace, and discover how unified communications platform can help you to safely navigate around these problems. 
 
Risk of Data Breaches
Many small and medium-size businesses that embrace remote work are aware that such move allows them to save on full-time remote employees while increasing productivity. However, employees of these business often share files with co-workers using unsanctioned SaaS applications, and criminals might exploit this trend to their own benefit. 
 
Lost Productivity & Increased Maintenance Cost 
Even though methods of exchange have been greatly advanced by technology, the challenges remain. For instance, many small businesses pay for or use multiple collaboration tools from different vendors. Few of these tools are designed to work together, so there’s inherent inefficiency, and most of them require costly IT support. 
 
Version Control Issues 
Today, employees spend 80% of their time engaging* with coworkers, but many still share documents via email and relatively few coauthor documents in real time. As revisions of documents are made, multiple versions of documents are created. Since some of the staff member are working remotely, some may not be aware of or have immediate access to the latest versions of the modified files. This can easily result in errors and argument among co-workers and clients. 
 
Conclusion 
The modern workplace is everywhere. In the office. Out of the office. On the road.  
 
Flexible work options pay big benefits for small- and medium-size businesses: those that embrace remote work cut full-time remote employee expenses, and increase productivity. 
 
To deliver on the promise of mobility and flexibility, your business needs a collaboration solution that works anywhere, without all the aforementioned challenges. 
 
Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork in Office 365 that allows you to easily extend secure collaboration tools to remote workers and outside suppliers. It allows small-and medium-sized business teams more productive, no matter where they work. Furthermore, companies will be able to keep their cost under control.  
 
Here are just a few benefits that you can derived from using Microsoft Teams:- 
a. Chat, meetings, notes, documents and apps are available to team members anywhere 
 
b. Easily add remote employees, contractors and vendors to teams 
 
c. Team members can access collaboration tools from any location and any device 
 
d. Customize your workspace to access to apps from Microsoft and third-party partner services anywhere 
 
e. An integrated hub for teamwork that eliminates the cost of third-party licenses 
 
f. Collaboration tools that work together seamlessly to reduce the need for IT support 
 
g. A single solution for meetings to help engaged employees save time 
 
h. Enterprise-level security, compliance and manageability, to help you reduce IT spending 
 
… And many more!

Don’t get left behind in the race to digital innovation! SAFEHOUSE have extensive experience in driving value realization from Microsoft’s teamwork solutions. We will help you build a culture of collaboration that empowers your employees while adhering to the growing security and compliance requirements. As your partner we provide guidance and insights you can use to help your employees drive adoption and make the best use of Microsoft Teams within your organization.

Contact us at 03-6411 6288, or email us at info@itns.com.my for more info!

Reference:
Collaborative Overload – https://hbr.org/2016/01/collaborative-overload

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