Collaboration in a business setting is primarily enabled by these 3 technologies, Cloud, BYOD, and VOIP. We’ll help you cut through all the technical jargon and get up to speed.
Cloud
Defined
Cloud computing, or something being in the cloud, is an expression used to describe a variety of different types of computing concepts that involve a large number of computers connected through a real-time communication network such as the Internet.1
What You Need to Know
When a business adopts the cloud or is doing cloud computing, it’s entrusting it’s data, software, and hardware to a third party. The information is accessed through the Internet. Essentially, the business is “renting” a service.
Business Benefits
Companies can avoid the trouble of dedicating an internal team, department, and resources (servers) and still be able to use the technology.
Business Cautions
Data is in third party’s hands now, which means there is a new security and privacy risk that must be acknowledged. Just like any other service, cloud computing is also vulnerable to interruptions and outages. Necessary precautions should be made.
Key players
BYOD
Defined
Bring your own device (BYOD) (also called bring your own technology (BYOT), bring your own phone (BYOP), and bring your own PC (BYOPC)) refers to the policy of permitting employees to bring personally owned mobile devices (laptops, tablets, and smart phones) to their workplace, and use those devices to access privileged company information and applications.2
What You Need to Know
BYOD is not a fad. Younger generations have been trained to bring their own devices (such as college). BYOD is going to be the norm.
Being able to check company email with your own iPhone or Android phone is a simplified version of BYOD. More advanced implementations of BYOD include full blown access to applications and documents on any device.
Business Benefits
Being able to work 24/7 from anywhere as long as there’s Internet access.
Business Cautions
BYOD introduces a whole new set of security issues. It’s also prone to data breaches.
VOIP
Defined
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a methodology and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions overInternet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet.4
What You Need to Know
Not many people talk about VOIP these days, because companies like Cisco are leading the way with VOIP’s evolution: unified communications.
It’s really just marketing speak for what most businesses expect these days from a modern phone system – voice, email, chat, voicemail, text, and even video conferencing all being able to talk to each other.
Business Benefits
Cost savings, especially for companies that operate in multiple locations. And convenience, such as having the ability to reply to a voicemail through email.
Business Cautions
Unlike regular phones, VOIP and related technologies depend on a data network. What this means is if there’s an Internet outage, the business could be without phone service.
Key players
Become more responsive to your customers
Tools for collaboration come in many forms and as overwhelming as it might seem to have all these solutions integrated, you don’t have to jump in head first. The Collaboration consultants at Intelinet Systems can assist you in starting at any point within the collaboration portfolio to match your organization’s business needs.
Learn more about our some of our specific collaboration offerings:
- VoIP Phone Systems
- Messanging Solutions
- Build a BYOD environment
- Enhanced mobile experience
Call 972.331.3300 and find ways to increase your workforce productivity thorough our reliable business solutions in Dallas!
