Due to globalization, companies use advanced technologies to keep their IT employees connected to improve productivity. As the employees are spread out across in different geographical regions, it is not feasible nor viable to have physical meetings. Hundreds of productive man-hours and money get wasted just for commutation to the workplace. The best way to save on these traveling costs as well as improve productivity is through utilization of online collaboration tools.
A recent survey as recorded on Mashable indicates that telecommuting is on the rise and 66 percent of the respondents felt that their office might go fully virtual within next five years. Video collaboration has become a crucial part of every organization. Increasingly, companies have realized the importance of cooperation along with the competition.
This increasing need for collaborative tools has led to the proliferation of cutting edge apps. Recent statistics reveal that collaboration tools would become important to a lot of organizations. According to Mckinsey, employees spend around 28 hours per week writing emails, trying to find information, etc. If you want to survive in this disruptive environment, you need to be collaborative and bring synergy to ideas. Using video collaboration tools can improve productivity of these employees by 20 percent.
Collaborative Tools Increase Productivity
There are video apps that you can use to collaborate effectively from anywhere without losing productivity. With various applications available in the market, choosing the right collaboration app is not easy. Here are few simple tips to help you choose the best collaboration app.
Adoption Rate
The conference software you choose and implement in the organization becomes successful only when people start using it well. If they are not able to use the video conference tool efficiently, it is not going to serve the purpose. It is same even for the implementation of collaboration software. But how do you ensure that people use the software implemented? The best way to ensure that people use a collaboration tool is to choose an easy-to-use tool.
Mobile Support
People would like to use the software from anywhere without getting tied to their desks. If the video collaboration tool doesn’t support this feature, it is going to have less adoption rate. With increased mobility provided with mobile access, people are going to use the tool more readily.
Intuitive Interface
Choose software that is straightforward and intuitive. The ease of operation with simple navigation will make it more appealing. Check out tips on How To Use Video Conference Using Your Phone.
Support Multiple Platforms and Conference Rooms
Ensure that you choose software which supports multiple platforms. The collaboration software should work seamlessly across different platforms and conference rooms. Only such software can be scalable and help people using different operating systems use the software without any hassle.
Content Sharing Solution
Online collaboration is not useful if it doesn’t support file sharing. Modern video collaboration tools invariably supports content sharing. You should check whether it provides dynamic file sharing. Since a team on a project will be working on multiple files, active content sharing can keep the project on track.
As people will be using various file types during their jobs like PDF, Excel, Word, PowerPoint files, Google Docs, spreadsheets, and image files, software should be able to support the majority of formats. Before you choose the software, take an extensive list of file formats that is used in the company and check whether the software supports all file formats.
Security Features
Another major feature you should be aware with video collaboration is the security aspect. The software should confirm to the security essentials. Check whether it provides an option to assign permission to control access to the online conference.
Real-time Collaboration
Software is efficient if it provides real-time collaboration. It gives team members the opportunity to provide feedback, solve project issues, leave comments, chat with team members in real-time. It helps in keeping the project run smoothly without any communication gaps.
Tracking Changes
You need to understand how the software handles changes in the meeting schedule. Ideally, the software should track all the changes and provide history, which will help to make collaboration intelligent.
User Permission to Allow Changes
Check whether software allows setting permissions as to who can make changes to the video session. If the project owner wants to have some control over changes, he should be able to direct the flow of the project.
Before you choose the right video collaboration app, you should first understand your company’s needs. If the software doesn’t satisfy requirements, it is not going to be utilized properly. Keeping the above tips in mind can ensure that you choose the best online collaborative tools, which can increase the productivity of the organization. It is worth spending time researching for the best online collaboration apps for IT sector such as Blue Jeans so that you reap the benefits of seamless collaboration.
