Cloud collaboration

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Cloud collaboration is a method of sharing and co-authoring computer files via cloud computing, whereby documents are uploaded to a central "cloud" for storage, [1] where they can then be accessed by other users. Cloud collaboration technologies allow users to upload, comment and collaborate on documents and even amend the document itself, evolving the document. [2] Businesses in the last few years have increasingly been switching to use of cloud collaboration.

Contents

Overview

Cloud computing is a marketing term for technologies that provide software, data access, and storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services. A parallel to this concept can be drawn with the electricity grid, where end-users consume power without needing to understand the component devices or infrastructure required to utilize the technology.

Collaboration refers to the ability of workers to work together simultaneously on a particular task. Document collaboration can be completed face to face. However, collaboration has become more complex, with the need to work with people all over the world in real time on a variety of different types of documents, using different devices. A 2003 report mapped out five reasons why workers are reluctant to collaborate more. [3] These are:

As a result, many providers created cloud collaboration tools. These include the integration of email alerts into collaboration software and the ability to see who is viewing the document at any time. All the tools a team could need are put into one piece of software so workers no longer have to rely on email.[ citation needed ]

Origins

Before cloud file sharing and collaboration software, most collaboration was limited to more primitive and less effective methods such as email and FTP among others where every change to a file was saved to a local hard drive or local area network, and had to be manually shared with other users. When two or multiple people changed a file simultaneously they could not view each other's additions until saving then sharing the file.

Very early moves into cloud computing were made by Amazon Web Services who, in 2006, began offering IT infrastructure services to businesses in the form of web services. Cloud computing only began to come to prominence in 2007 when Google decided to move parts of its email service to a public cloud. [4] It was not long before IBM and Microsoft followed suit with LotusLive and Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS) respectively. With an increase in cloud computing services, cloud collaboration was able to evolve. Since 2007, many firms entered the industry offering many features.

Many analysts[ who? ] explain the rise of cloud collaboration by pointing to the increasing use by workers of non-authorised websites and online tools to do their jobs. This includes the use of instant messaging and social networks. In a survey taken in early 2011, 22% of workers admitted to having used one or more of these external non-authorised websites. [5] Cloud collaboration packages provide the ability to collaborate on documents together in real time, making the use of non-authorised instant messaging redundant. IT managers can now properly regulate internet based collaboration with a system tailor-made for the office.

Cloud collaboration is essential for IT departments with increasingly mobile workers and virtual workplaces needing access to data wherever they are, whether through an internet browser, or on newer technologies such as smartphones and tablet devices.

The tech industry experienced several large paradigm changes due to collaborative software:

Each of these revolutions brought with it new economies of scale. The cost-per-transaction, the cost of automating office and desktop processes, and finally the cost of network bandwidth fell quickly and enabled business users to apply ICT solutions more broadly to create business value.[ citation needed ] Most analysts (Forrester, Gartner, etc.) believe that cloud computing unleashed the next wave of tech-enabled business innovation.

During the mainframe era, client/server was initially viewed as a "toy" technology, not viable as a mainframe replacement. Yet, over time the client/server technology found its way into the enterprise. Similarly, when virtualization technology was first proposed, application compatibility concerns and potential vendor lock-in were cited as barriers to adoption. Yet underlying economics of 20 to 30 percent savings compelled CIOs to overcome these concerns, and adoption quickly accelerated. [6]

Recent developments

Early cloud collaboration tools were quite basic with limited features. Newer packages are much more document-centric in their approach to collaboration. More sophisticated tools allow users to "tag" specific areas of a document for comments which are delivered real time to those viewing the document. [7] In some cases, the collaboration software can even be integrated into Microsoft Office, [8] or allow users to set up video conferences.

Furthermore, the trend now is for firms to employ a single software tool to solve all their collaboration needs, rather than having to rely on multiple different techniques. Single cloud collaboration providers are now replacing a complicated tangle of instant messengers, email and FTP. [9]

Cloud collaboration today is promoted as a tool for collaboration internally between different departments within a firm, but also externally as a means for sharing documents with end-clients as receiving feedback. This makes cloud computing a very versatile tool for firms with many different applications in a business environment.[ citation needed ]

The best cloud collaboration tools: [10]

A 2011 report by Gartner outlines a five-stage model on the maturity of firms when it comes to the uptake of cloud collaboration tools. [11] A firm in the first stage is said to be "reactive", with only email as a collaboration platform and a culture which resists information sharing. A firm in the fifth stage is called "pervasive", and has universal access to a rich collaboration toolset and a strong collaborative culture. The article argues that most firms are in the second stage, but as cloud collaboration becomes more important, most analysts expect to see the majority of firms moving up in the model.

See also

Related Research Articles

Collaborative software or groupware is application software designed to help people working on a common task to attain their goals. One of the earliest definitions of groupware is "intentional group processes plus software to support them."

Social software, also known as social apps or social platform includes communications and interactive tools that are often based on the Internet. Communication tools typically handle capturing, storing and presenting communication, usually written but increasingly including audio and video as well. Interactive tools handle mediated interactions between a pair or group of users. They focus on establishing and maintaining a connection among users, facilitating the mechanics of conversation and talk. Social software generally refers to software that makes collaborative behaviour, the organisation and moulding of communities, self-expression, social interaction and feedback possible for individuals. Another element of the existing definition of social software is that it allows for the structured mediation of opinion between people, in a centralized or self-regulating manner. The most improved area for social software is that Web 2.0 applications can all promote co-operation between people and the creation of online communities more than ever before. The opportunities offered by social software are instant connections and opportunities to learn. An additional defining feature of social software is that apart from interaction and collaboration, it aggregates the collective behaviour of its users, allowing not only crowds to learn from an individual but individuals to learn from the crowds as well. Hence, the interactions enabled by social software can be one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collaboration tool</span> Tool that helps people to collaborate

A collaboration tool helps people to collaborate. The purpose of a collaboration tool is to support a group of two or more individuals to accomplish a common goal or objective. Collaboration tools can be either of a non-technological nature such as paper, flipcharts, post-it notes or whiteboards. They can also include software tools and applications such as collaborative software.

Enterprise content management (ECM) extends the concept of content management by adding a timeline for each content item and, possibly, enforcing processes for its creation, approval, and distribution. Systems using ECM generally provide a secure repository for managed items, analog or digital. They also include one methods for importing content to manage new items, and several presentation methods to make items available for use. Although ECM content may be protected by digital rights management (DRM), it is not required. ECM is distinguished from general content management by its cognizance of the processes and procedures of the enterprise for which it is created.

Document and file collaboration are the tools or systems set up to help multiple people work together on a single document or file to achieve a single final version. Normally, it is the software that allows teams to work on a single document, such as a word processor document, at the same time from different computer terminals or mobile devices. Hence, document or file collaboration today is a system allowing people to collaborate across different locations using an Internet, or "cloud", enabled approach such as for Wikis such as Wikipedia.

HotDocs is a document automation software company currently owned by AbacusNext. Version 1.0 of HotDocs was introduced in 1993.

Google Workspace is a collection of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools, software and products developed and marketed by Google. It consists of Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, Meet and Chat for communication; Currents for employee engagement; Drive for storage; and the Google Docs Editors suite for content creation. An Admin Panel is provided for managing users and services. Depending on edition Google Workspace may also include the digital interactive whiteboard Jamboard and an option to purchase add-ons such as the telephony service Voice. The education edition adds a learning platform Google Classroom and today has the name Workspace for Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box, Inc.</span> Cloud content management program

Box, Inc. is a public company based in Redwood City, California. It develops and markets cloud-based content management, collaboration, and file sharing tools for businesses. Box was founded in 2005 by Aaron Levie and Dylan Smith. Initially, it focused on consumers, but around 2009 and 2010 Box pivoted to focus on business users. The company raised about $500 million over numerous funding rounds, before going public in 2015. Its software allows users to store and manage files in an online folder system accessible from any device. Users can then comment on the files, share them, apply workflows, and implement security and governance policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloud computing</span> Form of shared internet-based computing

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multiple locations, each of which is a data center. Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and typically uses a pay-as-you-go model, which can help in reducing capital expenses but may also lead to unexpected operating expenses for users.

Cloud communications are Internet-based voice and data communications where telecommunications applications, switching and storage are hosted by a third-party outside of the organization using them, and they are accessed over the public Internet. Cloud services is a broad term, referring primarily to data-center-hosted services that are run and accessed over an Internet infrastructure. Until recently, these services have been data-centric, but with the evolution of VoIP, voice has become part of the cloud phenomenon. Cloud telephony refers specifically to voice services and more specifically the replacement of conventional business telephone equipment, such as a private branch exchange (PBX), with third-party VoIP service.

Construction collaboration technology refers to software applications used to enable effective sharing of project-related information between geographically dispersed members of a construction project team, often through use of a web-based software as a service platform.

Collaborative decision-making (CDM) software is a software application or module that helps to coordinate and disseminate data and reach consensus among work groups.

Collaborative workflow is the convergence of social software with service management (workflow) software. As the definition implies, collaborative workflow is derived from both workflow software and social software such as chat, instant messaging, and document collaboration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet area network</span> Type of large-scale computer network

An Internet area network (IAN) is a concept for a communications network that connects voice and data endpoints within a cloud environment over IP, replacing an existing local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) or the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

Tresorit is a cloud storage platform that offers functions for administration, storage, synchronization, and transfer of data using end-to-end encryption. More than 13,000 companies use Tresorit to protect confidential data and share information securely. It is also used widely by Government organizations and NGOs as well as privacy-conscious individuals to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access and data-breaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HighQ</span> British-Canadian software company

HighQ Solutions Ltd. is a privately owned software as a service (SaaS) company providing cloud-based secure file sharing, team collaboration and social networking software. HighQ was founded in London in 2001 by university friends Ajay Patel and Veenay Shah. The company has offices in the UK (London), Australia (Sydney), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Germany (Frankfurt), USA and an R&D operation in India (Ahmedabad). It has customers in the legal, banking and corporate sectors as well as government and life sciences.

A mobile workspace is a user's portable working environment that gives them access to the applications, files and services they need to do their job no matter where they are.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lingotek</span> Cloud-based translations service provider

Lingotek is a cloud-based translation services provider, offering translation management software and professional linguistic services for web content, software platforms, product documentation and electronic documents.

Enterprise file synchronization and sharing refers to software services that enable organizations to securely synchronize and share documents, photos, videos and files from multiple devices with employees, and external customers and partners. Organizations often adopt these technologies to prevent employees from using consumer-based file sharing apps to store, access and manage corporate data that is outside of the IT department’s control and visibility.

Distributed Collaboration is a way of collaboration wherein participants, regardless of their location, work together to reach a certain goal. This usually entails use of increasingly popular cyberinfrastructure, such as emails, instant messaging and document sharing platforms to reduce the limitations of the users trying to work together from remote locations by overcoming physical barriers of geolocation and also to some extent, depending on the application used, the effects of working together in person. For example, a caller software that can be used to bring all collaborators into a single call-in for easier dissemination of ideas.

References

  1. ↑ Bradley, Tony (Nov 21, 2011). "The Cloud, Day 10: Storing Data in the Cloud". PCWorld. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  2. ↑ Carr, David F. (November 3, 2011). "How To Mark Up Documents In The Cloud". Informationweek. Archived from the original on 4 Nov 2011. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  3. ↑ Rugullies, Erica (2003). Overcome People Related Challenges For Success With Team Collaboration Software (Report). Giga Information Group.
  4. ↑ Keitt 2011 , p. 2
  5. ↑ Keitt 2011 , p. 3
  6. ↑ Harms, Rolf; Yamartino, Michael. "THE ECONOMICS OF THE CLOUD" (PDF). microsoft.com. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  7. ↑ Phillips, Chris (30 November 2011). "Play tag with your team". SkyDox. Archived from the original on 2012-01-02. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  8. ↑ "SkyDox Extends SharePoint Collaboration Capabilities". PRWeb (Press release). Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  9. ↑ Rubinstein, David (2011-08-18). "SkyDox aims to reduce email". SPTechWeb. Archived from the original on 23 Nov 2011. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  10. ↑ Banks, Martin (2011-10-07). "Cloud collaboration need not be 'unusable'". Business Cloud 9. Archived from the original on 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  11. ↑ Mann, Jeffrey (14 June 2011). "Maturity Model for Enterprise Collaboration and Social Software". www.gartner.com. Gartner. Retrieved 2018-05-31.

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