Collaboration Video Blog Series:
10 Burning Questions IT Admins Should Ask About Microsoft Teams as a Collaboration Platform
Even before the pandemic, collaboration technology was on the rise for its ability to allow for seamless communication no matter where your people were working in the world. Today, hybrid work environments are becoming the standard workplace model.
Now that workplaces are beginning to restabilize with employees adopting hybrid work both at home and back in the office, collaboration tools need to operate consistently in the cloud and on-premise. They need to offer the same user experience regardless of where the employee is located. Security policies must be applied consistently across the enterprise. No matter the audience size, collaboration tools should be able to scale to support an annual corporate meeting or a four-to-six-member team.
In his latest Collaboration Video Blog Series, Solutions Executive and collaboration guru, Jeremiah Plaskett, discusses the critical capabilities a collaboration tool should have for a successful implementation and answers 10 questions that companies should ask when comparing Microsoft Teams and Cisco’s WebEx.
- How important is complete real-time collaboration for your employees?
- Do your employees expect a frictionless experience when collaborating externally?
- When collaborating externally how important is ensuring your security policies are not compromised?
- Are you getting the most from your meeting space investment?
- Where do your users get things done?
- What is your assessment of the costs associated with purchasing, maintaining, and supporting your current or planned collaboration solution?
- Will hybrid working dominate the workplace?
- How much time do you and your IT team spend on platform management on a day-to-day basis?
- Wouldn’t you prefer a native experience compared to interoperability?
- Do you need to reach large audiences?
Answers to these questions can help you select the best collaboration tool for your needs.
Don’t have time to watch the full video? Here are the cliff notes to consider:
A 2022 Gallup poll found that 53% of employees expect a hybrid work environment to continue while 24% expect a future of full-time remote work. However, the success of a hybrid work environment depends on the collaboration tools you are using.
Communications Should Be Seamless
Communication capabilities were the most important collaboration feature for over 70% of employees. Your team’s ability to move seamlessly from video conferencing to instant message to document sharing is essential for productivity. Having to open and close different applications creates friction for most workers as the process interrupts their workflow.
360° Security is Critical
Security is a big concern. Many organizations do not invest significant resources to strengthen their cyber defenses when deploying a collaboration tool. IT executives should look out for tools that allow for control over external connectivity so that the same security policies are applied to both guests and employees. User activity should also be monitored and encryption applied to all mission-critical data.
The Cloud Can’t Do Everything
Meetings may be virtual, but the meetings require hardware somewhere along the line to operate. It’s vital for businesses to understand how space is allocated and accessed. If your solution requires your team to jump between applications depending on what communication tool is being used, storage costs can skyrocket. IT administrators should understand what resources are consumed when third-party applications are executed.
Know the Management Bells & Whistles
No one likes to hear “that’s an add-on” when it comes to collaboration functionality. A solution that appears cost-effective at the outset may become cost-prohibitive in use. For example, what management tools are standard? Must you pay extra for analytics to understand how the platform is working? Then there’s the cost of maintenance and management. Does the tool provide an easy-to-use dashboard that minimizes the time staff spends administering the tool?
Make Sure It’s a Fit
When it comes to finding the best collaboration tool for your business, don’t be afraid to ask tough questions.
For example, how quickly can the tool pivot to support a new configuration? Without resilient capabilities, a collaboration tool may not be the right tool for your company’s future.
Got more questions about which collaboration tool will work best for your company? As an IT infrastructure consulting firm that focuses on data centers, cybersecurity enterprise networking, and collaboration, Byteworks can help you select and configure the collaboration tools that are right for your team. Schedule a meeting with a Byteworks engineer today!