Cloud computing ushers in a new age of collaboration, one that allows an organization to excel at sharing data and strategies seamlessly and securely. Cloud-based collaboration has grown businesses at various levels, from employees collaborating within a single business to various businesses working together as a whole. The future of cloud computing is bright, with likely increases in popularity that will reinforce the cloud’s prominent role in facilitating collaboration.
The various ways in which cloud computing has improved communication provides excellent insight into the future of cloud-based collaboration:
Cloud computing facilitates an on-the-go ideology, no longer rendering it necessary to await the physical presence of a collaborator. With cloud computing and internet access, collaborators can work from anywhere, positively impacting positivity and work/life balance.
Cloud computing shatters geographical limits because participants can instantly speak with and share data among collaborators, no matter their location.
The mobility and globe-encompassing popularity of cloud computing propel its accelerating rate of adoption. Around 25 percent of companies today use cloud-based applications, with many continuing to expand cloud’s prominence and involvement.
The beauty of cloud computing is that much of the work undergoes automated organization.
In cloud-based document management systems, like Google Sheets, you can easily view edits and details like who made them, what time and what the edits entail. The automation of real-time updates within the cloud gives insight into a project’s current status without forcing you to spend time questioning collaborators on the extent of their work.
The ability to easily share documents and data in the cloud also opens up access, providing a higher level of employee participation because team members can access records or data simultaneously as opposed to waiting to pass the info down the table or send it in the mail.
Most email providers impose a file limit size for sending and receiving files. Gmail, for example, limits the attachment size to 25MB.
However, Google and many others offer linked cloud-based storage as an alternative for a reason. Collaborative platforms like Google Drive can provide ample storage for larger file sizes, with fast download speeds that can provide collaborators with quick access to files of any types, from 50MB data sheets to video conference copies worth several gigabytes.
(Infographic Source: nojitter.com)
Without the cloud, collaborators may lose time and productivity by navigating various aspects of communication.
One team member may communicate best through text message, while another prefers email. With the cloud, you can avoid conversation-based confusion by providing a centralized platform for communication, specifically the cloud application.
Cloud computing communication management removes the uncertainty and lack of centralization from the typical collaborative communication process in business.
It can be a severe time-waster to send documents back and forth by email every time the documents undergo an edit. With email being so unproductive, the cloud is a facilitator for content storage and collaborative editing. It puts everything in one place, all without having collaborators fret about sending the content out to everyone.
Most businesses are no stranger to new employees or freelancers. Without cloud computing, it would take ample time to integrate these new collaborators into a project, with ample back-and-forth emails and long introductions to all other team members.
The cloud enables improved integration of new collaborators with a few clicks. By granting them access to specific files, a single team member can guide them through the process, instead of forcing the entire collaborative team to work on the new addition.
The flexibility and lack of restrictions within cloud-based collaboration make seamless solutions for business situations.
Cloud-based computing continues to excel due to its mobility, organizational capacities, storage and platform for centralized communication, and it won’t halt in momentum anytime soon.
By Kayla Matthews
