Five Ways Collaboration Tools Are Changing Business Culture

Young man working from home on his laptop. He is using collaboration tools to teleconnect with the home office, a current trend in business culture.

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”left” margin_bottom=”0″]In the ever-changing, fast-paced world of business culture and technology, nothing is sacred. For instance, even the tried-and-true business meeting is seeing a dramatic shift thanks to recent advances. The Internet certainly plays a large role in all of this. However, it’s not the only reason for those changes. Cultural shifts in workforce expectations make the 9-5 job seem old fashioned. A recent NPR article, “Goodbye Jobs, Hello ‘Gigs’: How One Word Sums Up a New Economic Reality” helps put this new, transformative workplace into perspective. Collaboration tools are just one response to the changing face of the world’s workforce. Specifically, there are five interesting ways these tools are revamping businesses from top to bottom.

1. Collaboration Tools Allow More People to Work from Home

In 2013, Yahoo tried to force all of their workers back into the office. Many thought this spelled the end of teleworking and also a shift in what seemed like an unstoppable tide. But they were wrong. The teleworking community won out. And Yahoo, to its credit, lightened up on its strong stance. Those who choose to work from home are therefore left with only one option: collaboration tools. Unless a teleworker chooses to drive into the office for every meeting, he or she is going to use some form of collaboration tool to connect to workers or employers. In many cases, teleworkers never meet the people they’re working with in person.

2. More Companies Are Adopting BYOD Policies

On the surface this may seem to be more of a cost-saving measure than directly related to collaboration tools. But it isn’t. Joe Worker is not bringing his desktop to work with him every day. Instead, he’s bringing his laptop, smartphone, and tablet. All of these devices are ones he’s using to connect to work, both inside and outside of the office. And chances are he already has collaboration tools installed on his devices. He is most likely using them regularly from home, on the road, and while conducting business travel.

3. International Business Connections Have Never Been Stronger or More Possible

There was a time when only large enterprises could afford to conduct business overseas, hire international workers, or form partnerships beyond their own borders. But those times are gone. Now, any business that can connect online can form partnerships that are both mutually beneficial and easy to maintain. Collaboration tools allow a company based in New York to hire workers in India, Bangladesh, China, Australia, or Dubai. Hence, the only hitch, time zones, can be overcome with a little flexibility. All without the need to hop on a red-eye flight across the ocean.

4. Automation Is Causing an Increase in Service Jobs

Indeed.com identified an important trend in hiring practices. They found that more and more companies are hiring or moving their businesses into the service sector. Particularly true in industrialized nations, the production of goods is becoming less of an economic driver. Instead, service-based work is becoming more standard, leading to a strong need for more service workers. These types of jobs, which can span the gamut from financial managers to freelance writers, also need a type of collaboration not needed by workers physically producing goods. The result? A strong need for collaboration tools.

5. The Concept of the “Business Day” Is Going Away

Related to the changing face of when, where, and how people are getting to work, the concept of the “business hours” is also coming to a close. While the 9-5 business day certainly still exists, it’s a hindrance to a new tech-based, collaborative world. For example, an American-based worker may need to collaborate regularly with a colleague in South Korea. In this case, the 9-5 schedule probably won’t hold up for long. Workers are using collaboration tools not only to connect over distances, but also to work together asynchronously when time zones simply don’t match up.

Modern Businesses Are Using Cisco Collaboration Tools to Meet the Changes

Cisco’s unique and powerful set of collaboration tools are an industry standard. Businesses around the world are therefore moving to Cisco’s Unified Communications and Collaboration tools. The full suite of collaboration tools includes IP phones, instant messaging applications, custom-built apps, video and voice conferencing tools, and a scalable level of support.

Fidelus is at the forefront of helping businesses implement Cisco UC systems. But our team not only specializes in Cisco Unified Communication and Collaboration deployment and support. We’re also a Certified Gold Partner. Modern businesses need modern collaboration tools. Nobody builds those better than Cisco. And nobody knows Cisco better than Fidelus.[/vc_column_text][vc_column width=”1/1″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][mk_custom_box bg_color=”#f6f6f6″ bg_position=”left top” bg_repeat=”repeat” bg_stretch=”false” padding_vertical=”30″ padding_horizental=”20″ margin_bottom=”10″ min_height=”100″][vc_column_text disable_pattern=”true” align=”center” margin_bottom=”0″]

Cisco collaboration

UC Infrastructure, IP Phones, Telepresence, Jabber

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Work with a partner that’s easy to collaborate with. Fidelus Technologies can handle all of the installation and integration processes for your company.

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