Employees have become increasingly dependent on smartphones for unified communication and collaboration services instead of traditional laptops, PCs, or even touch-screens. A smartphone’s key advantage over other communication devices is that it provides a fast, easy, and efficient method for staying connected to colleagues across company lines. Working from smartphones can be extremely beneficial for businesses in various different ways. It provides immediate access to employees across the globe, makes collaboration easier, and makes it easier to stay up to date with the company’s activities.
For companies that use smartphones for unified communication and collaboration services, it is important to have access to a scalable and robust cloud platform. Cloud computing allows users to easily share documents and collaborate on shared projects. Cloud collaboration tools should allow for easy application deployment, auto integration with other software applications, easy connectivity between devices and multiple locations, as well as easy data security and access control. There are several different cloud collaboration tools currently available, including:
Onsite Solutions
The most popular form of unified communication and collaboration services are hosted on-site by third-party service providers such as IBM and Microsoft. These service providers manage the infrastructure of the service, while users access and upload documents using a browser. Documents are edited, shared, and filed through the browser, saving both time and effort in terms of having to learn new software. Hosted solutions also reduce costs because employees do not need to purchase additional equipment or software to access the service.
On-demand Attributing Solutions
In contrast to the on-site scenario, off-demand collaboration services include attribute and feature segmentation. attribute segmentation refers to the ability to assign a specific value to different aspects of a document, such as title, body, and keywords. This capability enables companies to determine exactly which employee has modified a certain document. Feature segments allow users to categorize documents based on categories like location, tags, and keywords.
Unified Glossary
A unified glossary is a comprehensive list of keywords used in documents. The benefit of a unified glossary is that employees will know exactly what to look for when searching for a specific word or phrase in a document, rather than needing to refer to an electronic dictionary. A good example of a unified glossary is one used at the omnichannel customer service. The platform facilitates the creation and use of a unified glossary and helps users create and share documents that comply with the standards of the unified glossary.
Interactive Workspaces
With the development of web and software technologies, screen sharing allows people to work together not only in visual terms but more importantly in terms of content. Online collaboration tools allow collaboration tools to be shared within various groups at the same time, saving precious time for each group.