Today, collaboration is a hallmark of any successful business or organization. And, while the need for communication and collaboration hasn’t changed, how we do it has. It wasn’t that long ago when phone calls and email once dominated your day in the office. Today those traditional communication channels are being supplemented – if not overtaken – by other methods such as text messaging, video conferencing and chat. On the collaboration side, just a decade ago, traditional office productivity tools and project management software were stored locally on office computers. Individuals had to download files, save them on their computer and email them, often slowing down work and creating information silos. Now, however, modern cloud-based collaboration applications are forever changing how people communicate and solve problems with applications like screen sharing, file sharing, seminar recordings and more.
Changing the game
This shift is happening thanks to Unified Communication as a Service (UCaaS) and collaboration tools that integrate all major communication channels within a unified system. Delivered over an internet connection instead of locally, UCaaS and collaboration tools are easier to set up and manage and they’re opening up new opportunities for frequent and productive conversations. This evolution has even moved further to include ‘contextual communication. At its core, contextual communication is when both parties have a firm grasp of what the conversation is about. UCaaS and collaboration apps do this by providing features such as conferencing, screen sharing and video that allow teams to make comments, review presentations, share files directly from within a document or app. These tools and others deliver an on-going record of communication, providing a continuous sequence of notes to hopefully minimize the need to repeat or recap information before each interaction.
Anytime, anywhere access to the people and information needed for the job. Sounds great, right? So what’s the problem? Information overload. A recent study looked at this and found that 50% of workers say they’re overwhelmed by the use of multiple platforms and two-thirds said they waste between 30 to 60 minutes per day looking for important information. (Source: Dynamic Signal). Even 30 minutes of wasted time per day adds up – on the low end that’s more than two weeks a year. In addition to contributing to time lost, having multiple communication and collaboration apps also hurts accountability and makes it difficult to keep individuals informed and engaged. Keeping data and departments in silos places a bigger burden on leaders, putting them in the position of information gatekeeper, and this is precisely where collaboration and UCaaS help tremendously.
Customer spotlight – Learn4Life
Learn4Life was facing many of these challenges when they reached out to Crexendo for help. The non-profit network provides personalized learning for high school students and offers programs for Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through 8th grade by supporting parents who homeschool. Learn4Life purchased 150-plus licenses of Crexendo’s CrexConnexe Collaboration platform to build a more efficient process for providing online lessons and collaborating with students.
Simpler collaboration and problem solving
Crexendo’s UCaaS and collaboration platform bring together voice, video, email, text, chat, IM, fax, file sharing, file storage, and document collaboration into a single platform. Using the CrexConnexe system, Learn4Life instructors and students now have the flexibility to collaborate and work through assignments using their preferred channel – usually a video or voice call, or IM – all within the Crexendo app. They can also save and store notes from the collaboration meeting for quick access either from their desktop, laptop, or mobile device. No more time is wasted sifting through emails or files to locate relevant information. Similar to DropBox, students can easily access notes and binders related to lessons. The notes and document sharing features also provide a continuum of the conversation between the student and the teacher for greater context and an improved learning experience. Users can also leverage features like annotation and call recording, to get the most out of each interaction.
Making your move
Want to learn more about how Crexendo is helping Learn4Life and other customers succeed? Contact us at sales@crexendo.com! Because we build our solutions in house, we can customize them to meet the specific needs of nearly every business or organization. It’s time to upgrade your communication and collaboration processes so you can work smarter and achieve more. Don’t wait!
