What Is Online Collaboration And Why Is It Important?
Online collaboration allows two or more people in different locations to cooperate on a task. Pretty straightforward isn't it? But wait, online collaboration is really much more than that. It also includes any form of real time communication. That would mean the phone, web conferencing (like Hot Conference), information sharing tools (like groupware software) and tools that help locate people, find out if they are available and get them to help with a problem.
Online collaboration sounds fairly easy in principle, however there can be some drawbacks - and most of them deal with the human side of computer use. Many people still look at online collaboration as a get together of a bunch of people at a pre-set time who sit and look at a presentation. What is missing out of that equation is the fact that there is no active collaboration by the people at the get together (meeting). They are looking at it like it is a typical meeting, when in actual fact it is a session where all the participants are welcomed (encouraged) to participate by contributing their ideas etc.
The online meetings are of course important, but the next step needs to be taken, and that is to take internal company collaboration (where it exists) online to become external collaboration with others - either inside the company at other locations, or outside the company at other locations. This is how collaborative projects come to fruition - the fruits of many.
There are a lot of software packages on the market that would seem to offer just what you need in terms of web conferencing. But is this what you need if you want online collaboration? Answer is no, it is not. Many of the conferencing companies offerings support the scheduled meeting presentation. Something like a Webinar if you will. This is one aspect of conferencing, but doesn't address the online collaboration aspect of a group getting together online to share ideas etc. These packages don't allow for unscheduled online meetings, which is totally counterproductive to the idea of online collaboration. So, if it's definitely online collaboration you want, then you will need to have integrated support for broad and instant contact access - meaning both email and instant messenger, and some kind of streamlined process for those invited to join the meeting. Something else you will want to consider is the cost of such packages. Online conferencing companies have been known to charge an arm and a leg for their software. And, since it actually limits or does not encourage online collaboration daily, it may not be the best bang for your communications buck. You can sort this out by searching online for what you need.
Knowledge Management
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