Online collaboration software can help you streamline communications and improve project task delegation. It is particularly helpful for teams based in different locations or perhaps working from home. The software will stop endless emailing and voicemails and eradicate the need for face-to-face communication when a project element is completed. In this article from Relativity, the business technology specialists based in East Sussex, we discuss what a collaboration app is, the benefits collaboration software will bring to your business, what to consider before choosing your software and how we can help you.

What is a Collaboration App?

In general terms, it refers to any piece of software that facilitates people getting work done together. Teams can work effectively and efficiently, enabling teamwork even though they may be miles apart. This will make your employees more organised and improve productivity.

Benefits of Collaboration Software

• Better communication – sharing documents, videos, messages, etc.
• Enhanced project management
• Improved workflow of Agile teams
• Facilitates remote working
• Better scheduling
• Time efficient – your team can concentrate on important tasks
• Increases employee engagement and satisfaction]

What to Consider When Choosing the App Best for Your Business

With literally dozens of collaboration tools available and new ones being added all the time, you will need to know what the main purpose will be and what business needs your software needs to meet including what types of projects will need to be collaborated on. It’s key to have software that is easy to use, as your team will have differing abilities. Decide on your budget, as some software companies offer a ‘free’ version, which may suit your current requirements although further down the line, you may want software with more functions.

• What is the main purpose?
• How usable is it?
• Will it fit your budget?
• How many people and departments will be using the software?

Other questions to think about are the types of projects, how your team handles communication and workflow and where you store your project files. Also consider how many people and departments are involved, what other apps your team uses, will all conservations be archived and whether it is just used for work specific projects or will there be social use as well. If this all sounds somewhat overwhelming, why not ask the experts?

Zoho Projects

In a recent article by PC Magazine, Zoho Projects was picked as the Editors’ Choice for collaboration software. It was described as having rich communication features, being responsive and great value. The magazine considered it a leader in both project management and time tracking. The software will allow collaboration on projects with colleagues as well as clients, in fact anyone with access to file sharing, calendars, message boards, wiki pages, chat rooms and a lot more.

How Can Relativity Help You with Your Cloud Based Collaboration Software?

Don’t get left behind. Businesses, more and more are moving towards digital solutions to improve collaboration because of the significant benefits that the software brings. You may find it particularly helpful if you still have people working from home. Zoho Projects could be the game changer that you are looking for in your business. Why not get in touch with the experts at Relativity based in Uckfield, East Sussex? We’ll be able to advise you if Zoho Projects or other Zoho software including Zoho Connect, Zoho Meeting and Zoho Vault could be the right applications for your team collaborations. Call us on 01825 280123 or email info@relativity.co.uk for more information.

Benefits from The Cloud

• Cost-effective
• Flexible
• Secure

Cost-Effective

Savings on Manpower

Hardware and Energy Savings

Flexibility

Security

More Benefits...

• Increased collaboration
• Work from any location
• More competitive
• Software updated automatically
• Environmentally friendly

What is The Cloud?

1. You want to be more effective: Integration is the name of the game and it’s easier with Cloud based systems.  Why not have some (or all) of your accounting or social media information available in your CRM system, or have people who follow you on Twitter automatically loaded into your CRM system which can then tweet out a thank yous.

2. You have seasonal work loads: If you supply a service or product that has a seasonal swing meaning you recruit temporary labour then the cloud services subscription model gives a better cash flow than traditional systems investments. You purchase user licences when you need them and for how long you need them, there is no need to invest in software licences for seats that are not used for a number of months a year.

3. Your current IT is outdated or you have little investment in existing IT:  Some of the resistance from businesses we talk to about cloud services  is their current investment in existing technology and sometimes we agree.  But if you are about to buy new IT or invest in IT for the first time give Cloud serious consideration. A move to the cloud is not an all or nothing it can be in stages.

4. You’re no IT guru: You got into business because you liked what you do, not because you wanted to look after IT.  Cloud services allow you and your business to make the most of enterprise level software but all the headache of looking after enterprise level hardware etc is left to an expert and its all part of the monthly price.

5. You spend your time installing updates: With Cloud services the software is always up to date and by choosing the right supplier you can expect it to be constantly being improved. No longer will you nee to run around machines installing updates and patches.

6. You want increased Productivity: People can work wherever they are, sometimes even without an internet connection. This means downtime associated with travelling and weather etc. can be overcome making staff more productive.

7. You have/want geographic independency yet have employees working close together:  Collaboration features delivered by Cloud services allow teams of people to work together as if they were in the same room, even if they work on different continents.

8. You’re worried about Security & Backup of your data: Cloud services are built with security in mind, teams of experts will know of and prevent security breaches without you even knowing about them, what’s even better is that they will be monitoring systems 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year.

9. You want your staff to be happier: Cloud services are delivered through a browser, the benefit of this being it does not matter if your staff want to use Desktop, Laptops, Tablets or Phones.  Nor does it matter if the operating system of choice is Windows, OSx (Mac) or even Linux/Unix as long as the system can run an Internet Browser your staff can work.  This means they can choose whatever hardware they like, perhaps even bringing their own device (BYOD) to work.  Policies can also be put in place to help prevent data leaving your systems.

10. You can’t be not working due to a hardware failure: If a desktop PC stops working you can be up and running within five minutes just by starting up another PC or a laptop, and with services such as Google Docs you can carry on working from where your desktop stop working as it is constantly saving as you type.

1. 24/7: Starting a business is an obsession, one that you will live, drink and breath, certainly in the beginning and probably forever.  Your systems for planning, financial control, delivery, communication and collaboration should be available to you 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
2.  Location and Hardware unaware!: You will be busy, you will need to be everywhere all of the time so it makes sense that you and your staff can access everything you/they need from where ever you/they are, on what ever device is to hand.  Cloud services at most just need a browser. If you need to be truly mobile most cloud services come with Smartphone/Tablet apps that allow you to work wherever you are on what ever device you want.  From a desktop to a smartphone, from a fully fledged Laptop to a barebones Chromebook, cloud services deliver.
3. Communication and Collaboration: You may be small to start with but you will still need to discuss and work on your plan with your staff and trusted advisors.  Cloud services makes communication (Skype, Google Hangouts and VOIP) easy and with collaboration built in from the ground up working in a team on a single document is a breeze with systems such as Google Drive.
4. Enterprise Level: Small businesses need to compete at a big business level.  Small businesses have the personal touch advantage so being able to use the same sort of systems as a large business should put them in front.  From CRM through to back end accounting, Cloud services allow the Small business to use enterprise level systems.
5. Concentrate on Your Business:  As a new business owner you want to spend time building your business, you don't want to spend time making sure your data is backed up or implementing updates and patches to systems. Cloud services are centrally managed by experts far better than you at sorting out technical issues.  Let them keep the lights on whilst you build your business.
6. Cost: Cost under pins reasons 1-5 , from being able to use hardware that is to hand and already purchased through to cheap communication  and collaboration systems which a few years back would have been out of financial reach.  But cloud systems are themselves cheaper than their desktop equivalent. Cloud  suppliers embrace the rental model, purchase what you need when you need it.  Need 10 users for an initial sales push then purchase 10 users just for the first 2 months and then roll back to your 3 permanent staff.  If your needs are initially small you may even find that the systems are free!! Simple maths implies that over the years Cloud becomes more expensive but this its not simple maths when you factor in regular and irregular support, machine and software updates and downtime it is clear cloud wins hands down.

Today I had that day we all dread, my Laptop failed on me. A few years ago this would have filled me with panic.  When was the last time I backed up, did it work and where is it!!! Where are my application CD’s and on top of that where are the Licence Keys!!!.  Hours later with beads of sweat running down my forehead I may have had my system back up and running and if I was lucky I may have lost only a days worth of work.

• just in time stock ordering
• customer support
• process changes
• large distributed teams
• distributed manufacturing.

File Storage and Sharing

• Synchronised folder(s) with the web.
• Synchronisation across multiple computers, update one machine all machines updated.
• Accessible from anywhere with a web connection (inc Smartphones and Tablets)
• Folders can be shared with co-workers.
• Dropbox and Box.net have team editions where sharing can be managed centrallly.
• Automatic file versions to allow you to go back to previous versions.
• Undelete allowing you to undelete accidentally deleted files.

Things to Consider:  

• Cost, don’t be sucked in to ‘offers’ check what the price is outside the offer period.
• If this is a strategic move and you are not too concerned by cashflow look to buy a year+, this normally equates to a good saving.
• Are you just going to use it internally or use it with external colleagues, if the latter, then consider what they may already be using and what process they may have to go through to use a different system.
• Are there security issues you need to deal with.

CRM/ERP

• Full Sales Force Automation (SFA).
• Workflows, eg Send confirmation and details to accounts of new sales.
• Accessible from anywhere with a web connection.
• Accessible from Smartphones and Tablets apps including offline access.
• Add/Remove users as and when.
• Phone system integration.

Things to Consider:

• Cost.
• Integration, can it integrate or does it already integrate with existing systems you use?
• How customisable is it, whilst the initial configuration of the application may not meet your requirements most systems come with great customisation allowing you to closely, if not completely, mimic your work process.
• Does it fit with your Company’s strategic plan, if not can you move the data successfully later.

Accounting

• Cost.
• Integration, can it integrate or does it already integrate with existing systems you use?
• Security

Process

Development / Custom Applications

• Cost both the monthly and any support you may require to develop the application itself.
• Can it integrate with external systems, how easy is the integration?
• Security
• Resilience of the platform on which your app is running. Netsuite, Zoho and Salesforce are basically using the underlying infrastructure from their other services to run the development apps. Rollbase and Longjump are using an infrastructure developed specifically for the system they sell, whilst any Cloud supplier’s main weak point is keeping things up and running you would say Netsuite, Zoho and Salesforce have more to lose if things go wrong.

Projects

Communication

Things to Consider:

• Cost.
• Integration, does it need to integrate into an application you are using, this is more likely to be an issue at the application end but worth considering.
• Is it purely for internal calls or will you need to call ‘normal’ phone numbers?
• Do you need an incoming phone number, geographically where should it appear to be?
• Do you need full PBX functionality i.e. Extensions?
• How good is your Broadband Connection?

Document Editing

• Who your audience is, what format will they require?
• Ongoing support for things such as patches, on line editors are centrally managed by the supplier. Using Office to access your documents in Office 365 will mean you having to keep local apps up to date.
• Would a hybrid system work, here we use Google to work on the content of documents with all the benefits of collaboration etc. but when we need to send the final document/sheet out to someone who will use MS to work on it further then we download and format it locally.

 Online Backup

Things to Consider:

• Cost, you can end up with vastly different costs depending on your requirements now and in the future.
• Future requirements, can the service you opt for now grow to what it needs to be as the transfer to another supplier in the future could be difficult.
• Broadband Bandwidth/Restrictions, whilst most online backup systems constantly monitor your system for changes the systems are very clever and the actual data that is transferred during the day is relatively small unless you are creating lots of data (i.e lots of new images).  However all the machines will have to do their first backup, this will lead to lots of traffic initially which could cause problems with internet access during the first few days.

• Flexibility in Scalability: As you pay per user the system grows as you do, users can be added and removed at the click of a button.
• Cash flow: As users can be added and removed at will and therefore paid for at will, cashflow is not hampered by swings in staff or large expansions.
• No large upfront capital outlay or ‘end of life refresh’ outlay for hardware and software.
• Flexibility of Work: Whilst work life balance has to be considered the ability for staff to work from home or whilst travelling can be very advantageous to both the business and the staff.
• Reduced Down Time: No system is resilient to downtime and outages but Cloud systems have experts monitoring for issues 24/7 with quick fix times.
• Collaboration: Cloud systems are built around collaboration allowing users to streamline their team working process. As an example, it’s not unusual for team members to send reports around each adding, reviewing and amending as they go, at the end of the project there are multiple copies on multiple machines leading to confusion. With a Cloud solution you could create a team workspace where everyone works on the same document, perhaps at the same time!.
• Reduced exposure to lost time/money through hardware loss/theft.
• Patching is handled by the Cloud supplier, your systems are therefore always up to date with little or no downtime and at no additional cost.
• No Cost Upgrades: As you are renting the Software as a Service all upgrades are supplied within your rental fee, no capital outlay to update in the future and you always have the most recent version.