How to get the most out of collaboration software

<![CDATA[<p><img src="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/4346996/Images/Blog/PIQ%20collab%20software.png" alt="PIQ collab software" width="752" style="width: 752px;"></p>n<p>Online office conversations can be old-fashioned sometimes.&nbsp;</p>n<p>There are endless discussions going on&nbsp;about various projects and finding the right information could feel like&nbsp;looking for a needle in a haystack.</p>n<p>How can the right collaboration software help?</p>n<p>These are the few keys areas&nbsp;where the perfect collaboration software has to deliver.</p>n<p><!–more–></p>n<h3>1.&nbsp;Documents and files</h3>n<p>The majority of collaboration platforms conveniently ignore document management because it requires a completely different skill set.</p>n<p>Collaborating is often about creating, sharing and managing information, right?&nbsp;</p>n<p>Just attaching documents to messages will result in&nbsp;another silo where information can get lost or be shared with the wrong people.</p>n<p>Sharing a couple of files is fine, but what happens when there are so many files you can’t even keep track of?</p>n<p>Most document management software available in the market are too difficult to use and expensive but you cannot ignore them.</p>n<p>But it’s&nbsp;necessary that these software provide a viable means of sharing documents and files.</p>n<h3>2. Communication</h3>n<p>Communication and messaging apps are&nbsp;proving more popular than email.</p>n<p>We also have&nbsp;cloud file sharing apps like DropBox, Google Drive, OneDrive, which offer some relief, but they lack structure and cannot be considered as a good&nbsp;team-based collaboration platform.</p>n<p>All those documents and files buried in multiple folders and message threads will be lost someday, or extremely difficult to find.</p>n<p>The right collaboration tool should&nbsp;have control, security and manage information and&nbsp;communications in a structured way, ticking the compliance box but at the same time letting your teams do what they were hired to do.</p>n<h3>3. Security</h3>n<p>Files can easily get into the wrong hands if there’s a lack of security.</p>n<p>The right platform must have a well-structured and visible security presence. To increase data security, all the documents, files, messages should be&nbsp;encrypted in transit and when stored.</p>n<p>Another aspect to consider here is sharing. Does your app allow you to control who shares what information? If not, how can you&nbsp;ensure users only have access to information required for their role.</p>n<p>It’s also important that collaboration events&nbsp;are searchable with every aspect of the collaboration recorded for compliance.</p>n<h3>4. Distraction free</h3>n<p>What’s the first thing you do when you get to work? You most probably start by looking at your emails.</p>n<p>But when you start using emails as&nbsp;your daily task and priority manager, you’re asking for mismanagement and chaos.</p>n<p>Today, we&nbsp;are resorting to free apps like folder-based cloud storage, cloud file sharing, communication apps, digital walls, task management etc. All these single purpose apps demand your attention.</p>n<p>But all these help you with&nbsp;just one thing and more often than not, create digital chaos.</p>n<p>To reduce distraction, the right platform should be easy to use, have a satisfying user experience and the ability to be rapidly deployed.</p>n<p>Ideally, collaboration software should deliver in the aforementioned areas.</p>n<p>But that’s not just it.</p>n<p>There’s more that is required to make sure that we can communicate and share information without losing connectivity.</p>n<p>Find out more in our free eBook:&nbsp; The Do’s and Don’ts of Collaboration Software.</p>n<p><!–more–></p>n<p>{{cta(‘b2b0f5ef-7e79-48c4-81f9-72ee68697170′,’justifycenter’)}}</p>n<p>&nbsp;</p>n<h3>What’s your experience of using collaboration software? Let us know in the comments below!&nbsp;</h3>]]>