The rise of the internet has given businesses a new way to think and function on both the individual level and as a whole. Today if you are in a business that doesn't have or use the internet, then you are giving up valuable advertising and productivity. Whether or not your company uses the internet we are all aware, to some degree, the effect the internet has on advertising and promoting businesses on a global scale. However, we may not fully understand what else the internet can do. We may not realize that using the internet to our advantage can also include increased productivity by building a virtual office; one without walls. Okay, so how do we build an office without walls then? In this article I will be discussing how to basically build this kind of office and how it can help you be more productive and organized.
What is an office without walls?
Now if you are sitting there picturing yourself sitting on the grass outside holding hands with your fellow employees that isn't what I meant by building an office without walls. Of course you still have physical walls but with use of the internet and collaboration software you can create an environment in which the information you share and collaborate on can be exchanged employee to employee so easily that it will seem as though there are no "walls" to prevent you from being as effective as you can be.
So what is collaboration software?
Collaboration software is software that is used to collect the ideas and documents from multiple people into one document without having the group formally meet together to discuss their ideas. It can be done individually without leaving the office. Collaboration software allows you to exchange your calendars, spreadsheets, presentations, and other documents with everyone in your, group, company, or whomever.
How does collaboration software work?
There are essentially two types of collaboration software. Most collaboration software is centralized, which requires an IT infrastructure to make it usable. Setting up an IT infrastructure can be very expensive and time consuming. Collaboration software that is centralized can be very beneficial for team collaboration but it sometimes requires that all who wish to share the collaboration documents have the same software set up on their computer. Some of the collaboration that requires the use of an IT infrastructure includes the following:
? Groove Network
? Microsoft Sharepoint
? Documentum
? Filenet
There is another type of collaboration software which does not require the use of an IT infrastructure and requires very little installation time. NextPage is one example of collaboration software that doesn't require an expensive IT infrastructure. Another advantage that NextPage has is that you can share documents with anyone; they don't have to have the NextPage software on their machine to view the documents that you send them. This can be useful if you are preparing a document for a client where you need the input and editions from your fellow co-workers but then want to send the finished product to your client who isn't using the same software. He/she can still open up the document when they receive it and you can easily track editions to the document using NextPage's collaboration software.
As you can see, using collaboration software can be very beneficial to keeping documents you share in your office and with clients organized and up-to-date. With the implementation of collaboration software, you can create an office without walls and without bounds with regards to productivity and organization. All that remains is for you to go get it, and get it implemented!
Mike Nielsen is a client account specialist with 10xmarketing - More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. For more information about collaboration software, visit NextPage.com
The first in a series of articles giving a slightly... Read More
If you own a franchise you would be wise to... Read More
12 Tips and Reminders for Team Members To Enjoy Their... Read More
Managing a small business continues to become more challenging. However,... Read More
Many believe a leaner government promotes better freedoms with respect... Read More
Have you seen the tee-shirt with the slogan, "Talk to... Read More
Recently my fourteen-year old son Matt dressed up as Santa... Read More
From the moment he putted with Bob Hope on the... Read More
Do you let your people express their thoughts about the... Read More
As a manager, your employees will come to you with... Read More
Team Building Question:I'm a manager of a team of 20... Read More
Presenteeism is alive and 'not well' in many businesses today.... Read More
More and more I hear people misunderstanding what someone else... Read More
1. Humor reduces stress levels and stress is the number... Read More
Feedback is such an important communication tool. Openness, honesty, candor,... Read More
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English, to speak... Read More
Sometimes the greatest challenges lay not within the actions of... Read More
Why do some teams perform well while others struggle? How... Read More
Recently while waiting for our lunch to be served in... Read More
Teams, teams, teams. They're all the rage these days. Whether... Read More
Team Building Question:Our office has recently learned that about 20... Read More
People who lead the best teams realise early on that... Read More
Multiculturalism is a reality in North America and for those... Read More
To be a success is not always to be a... Read More
It's frustrating when your co-workers, audience members, teenager or even... Read More
We all know someone who just drives us batty. Perhaps... Read More
We exist in such a rapidly-changing environment. Technology is moving... Read More
Eight Principles for Purposeful AlignmentEffective teamwork requires individual members of... Read More
You're at a meeting with key staff. You want some... Read More
You are new to Internet Marketing, you join one Affiliate... Read More
I declared a Communications Major two years into school, after... Read More
For a brief time, I tried to sell life insurance.... Read More
In a recent group coaching session, a client mentioned that... Read More
It's frustrating when your co-workers, audience members, teenager or even... Read More
I declared a Communications Major two years into school, after... Read More
Companies often have incentives for reps, but sometimes that isn't... Read More
Winning teams aren't created by accident. Rather, the team or... Read More
If asked to look at your work calendar for the... Read More
Many believe a leaner government promotes better freedoms with respect... Read More
Introduction:Working with teams, whether as leader of a single team... Read More
One of the greatest challenges a coaching manager has is... Read More
The grand purpose of coaching is to help your managers,... Read More
The second in a series of 2 articles giving a... Read More
1. Involve them. Many employees want to be involved in... Read More
Franchisees of a particular franchise must get along in order... Read More
There are few industries or service type businesses, which are... Read More
For companies to be competitive, decisions have to be made... Read More
The very effective tool of keeping a journal can be... Read More
Ever lost for ideas while working in a group? One... Read More
Team Building Question:A team is full of animosity, pretended interpersonal... Read More
Most managers simply herd some people in a room with... Read More
Why do some teams perform well while others struggle? How... Read More
You are new to Internet Marketing, you join one Affiliate... Read More
No figure in history is like General Patton. He was... Read More
Reed Employment made a survey of their clients and compiled... Read More
Ever watched a really brilliant idea meet with resistance and... Read More
Last month's edition of Footprints and Monuments illustrated a parallel... Read More
Feedback is such an important communication tool. Openness, honesty, candor,... Read More
Truth on mlmDid you know that the truth on mlm... Read More
Most believe that leadership is an innate quality that some... Read More
Team Building Question:I'm a manager of a team of 20... Read More
On the trail in Northern Canada "Marche" was the word... Read More
Remember playing in your childhood sandbox? If you enjoyed being... Read More
You're at a meeting with key staff. You want some... Read More
Do you let your people express their thoughts about the... Read More
At a time when many companies are scaling down their... Read More
Team Building |