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If you are a small business owner in Houston, chances are you’re struggling to keep up with the competition from large business owners. You can increase your chances of success in the ever-competitive business environment by using web collaboration. If you don’t know where to start, talking to one of IT companies in Houston should be your first step.
What is Web Collaboration?
This is the use of web-based tools to enable a firm to collaborate internally with employees or externally with partners. The beauty of using these tools is that they allow for real-time exchange and sharing of information. You can talk to one of the leading IT companies in Houston to help guide you in choosing a web collaboration tool that fits your business needs.
Types of Collaboration Tools
As stated above, there are many web collaboration tools in the market. However, all these tools can be classified into two main categories:
Synchronous tools: These can best be defined as being presence based. These tools can be used when all members of the team are working at the same time in the various locations that they may be at any particular time. Say for example your design team is working on the latest costumes for Halloween, they can connect and brainstorm the various designs in real time as if they were in a face-to-face meeting. Examples of synchronous tools include web conferences, audio conferences, whiteboards, instant messages, application sharing, and video conferences.
Asynchronous tools are ideal for projects where the team members need not connect at the same time. Members of a project team working on Halloween designs can post their suggestions on a board and allow the others to comment and come to a decision on how to proceed. The beauty of this type of web collaboration tool is that it allows your teams which are geographically dispersed to collaborate on projects at their own convenience. Examples of these tools include messaging (e-mail), weblogs, discussion boards and shared calendars.
Point to note: You can as well combine the use of both synchronous and asynchronous tools as and when the need arises.
Possible Benefits of Web Collaboration
As with many IT solutions, your mileage may vary when it comes to web collaboration. However, two common benefits reported by Houston-area firms are:
Increase in productivity and reduction in costs
Using web collaboration tools can greatly help in boosting productivity while at the same time cutting costs. When you use these tools, you will discover that your teams will be able to meet their targets much faster, share information in real time and cut down on the need to travel to a physical meetup.
Improved communication and enhanced collaboration
Success in any project hinges heavily on how best team members collaborate with each other. You can use these tools to enhance coordination and promote real-time communication.
If you are a small business owner looking for ways to enhance the productivity of your business, then perhaps you should talk to ICS. We are one of the leading IT companies in Houston specialized in helping businesses choose the best web collaboration tools for their businesses. Contact us for a free quote.
Further reading
ICS is a Texas-based 40-year-old technology company specializing in Managed IT, VoIP, Video Conferencing and Video Surveillance solutions for US and International businesses. ICS has over 4000 regional installations and specializes in multi-site businesses between 25 and 2500 employees. ICS’s customers enjoy the experience of ICS’s Total Care program which provides clients flat fee services with obsolescence and growth protection. Whether a customer elects to deploy their IT, Video Conferencing or VoIP in the cloud or on the customer’s premise, ICS can provide a full turn-key solution for our clients under one flat monthly fee.