Earlier this year, Facebook announced its plans for a spin-off product that focuses on workplace communications and allows users to separate professional contacts from the personal information shared with friends and family.
The announcement came shortly after Microsoft announced a rebrand of Microsoft Lync to Skype for Business bringing the consumer and business platforms closer together. Its also not long since LinkedIn Messenger was announced; a new chat tool designed to replace its private messaging service.
As businesses like Facebook, LinkedIn and Microsoft are aware, the more digitally connected we become, the more need we have for software that bridges the gap between personal and professional communication.
Consumers are searching for a platform that caters to all their needs from one place/device/app and if it takes more than a few clicks, theyre not interested.
Collaboration without switching devices
Thats exactly what Facebook and Microsoft are doing: identifying our lax attitudes to technology and catering to them, allowing us to accomplish our collaboration goals without having to switch devices, click or tap too many times.
If I can easily send a file to someone via my smart phone, without having to get in front of a laptop and wait for it to turn on and load, then I am most probably going to do it. So to have a platform that enables that and keeps my employer happy is a big bonus.
Microsofts rebrand of Microsoft Lync to Skype for Business clearly shows that the brand is looking to cater to consumers and business technology users from the same platform. The idea of using something that is already familiar is instantly appealing because users do not have to learn a new process.
Both these platforms are aspiring to close the gap between large enterprises using the likes of Lync for corporate communications, and those consumers using Skype in private. The gap between work and personal life is closing quickly.
Read more ways to boost productivity in your business:
Chat apps help to cut emails
The diversity and flexibility of these tools are probably their most vital attributes and the thing that makes them most valuable in modern businesses.
By simplifying and streamlining communications and enabling collaboration through screen sharing, video calls and enterprise chat they are supporting the do it now” culture that todays working world has, by providing with instant communication capabilities.
One prime example that has emerged in recent months is the usage of chat apps. These have been all too familiar in our private lives for at least a decade, but many have begun to enter the working world and exist as a well-respected means of collaboration in many offices around the globe.
Text-based chat can be highly beneficial in the same way as telephony chat – reduces email usage dramatically, by up to 75 per cent (in the case of group chat alone) and increases productivity.
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Group chat is persistent, allowing companies to create a searchable, secure repository of knowledge and information. Employees can use them freely and employers can have peace of mind when it comes to security, compliance and integration although organisations should always ensure that the apps in question meet the required standards to keep confidential discussions private and secure.
Staff demand
The issue with chat like tools is that companies dont always recognise staff demand for convenience and the large benefits real-time idea sharing brings and instead of embracing them they ban them.
Social media is all around us with an average of 968 million daily active users on Facebook and most people with a smart phone using WhatsApp, our view on persistent and free communication tools is clear – we have them and we like them.
The Digital Revolution has changed the way we do business, bridging silos and communicating with colleagues located in multiple regions and time zones. This means the demand to exchange information in real time across the world is very much here and looks to be increasingly rapidly.
Regardless of whether it is a national, multinational or global organisation, these new chat solutions allow information to be shared in a structured and filtered manner, as group conversations are stored and cannot be altered or deleted. It also enables the retrieval of knowledge stored as an organisational asset for future purposes.
Clearly social communication tools, such as Facebook and Skype, are perfect for communicating with friends and family, but until now they have failed to meet the needs of enterprises when it comes to sharing critical, often sensitive, business data.
Unlike other traditional communications, digital platforms can be difficult to grasp for everyone. However, with the younger generation so keen to embrace this type of technology, businesses must adapt to make sure they keep up with their employees and the world around them. Organisations must keep investing in technology to bridge the gap of understanding and adoption.
The growing focus on dedicated enterprise apps, is evidence of the heightened demand for business critical collaboration.
To achieve business success, organisations must take digital technologies like enterprise chat in their stride, or face failing under the weight of legacy communications which simply cannot keep up with the pace of todays world.
Annekathrin Hase is director of marketing and strategy for MindLink Software.
