{"id":2409,"date":"2020-11-18T12:33:34","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T09:33:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/?p=2409"},"modified":"2020-11-18T12:33:36","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T09:33:36","slug":"effective-online-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Must-Have Features for Effective Online Collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Online collaboration tools are some of the most underutilized yet most powerful tools a business can have to improve workplace productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To solve today\u2019s complex business problems, you need input from people with different skill sets and perspectives. This is why <a href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/benefits-of-digital-collaboration\/#collaboration-meaning-anchor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">collaboration <\/span><\/strong><\/a>across teams (and even with clients) has become more important than ever. Advanced digital technologies have facilitated group work, making it easier for employees to connect, communicate, and create from anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we explore several aspects of online collaboration, including key components and features you should look for in collaboration tools to improve productivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, let us understand the components of online collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_49 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"ez-toc-toggle-icon-1\"><label for=\"item-69d7a48e2e7ab\" aria-label=\"Table of Content\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><input  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-69d7a48e2e7ab\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#1_Components_of_Online_Collaboration\" title=\"1. Components of Online Collaboration\">1. Components of Online Collaboration<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#2_Online_Collaboration_Solutions_Must-Have_Features\" title=\"2. Online Collaboration Solutions: Must-Have Features \">2. Online Collaboration Solutions: Must-Have Features <\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3'><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#i_New_filedocument_creation\" title=\"i. New file\/document creation\">i. New file\/document creation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#ii_Compatibility_with_popular_file_formats\" title=\"ii. Compatibility with popular file formats\">ii. Compatibility with popular file formats<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#iii_Document_co-authoring_capabilities\" title=\"iii. Document co-authoring capabilities\">iii. Document co-authoring capabilities<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#iv_Cloud_Storage\" title=\"iv. Cloud Storage\">iv. Cloud Storage<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#v_Instant_Messaging_or_Office_Chat\" title=\"v. Instant Messaging or Office Chat\">v. Instant Messaging or Office Chat<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#vi_Video_or_audio_callsVideo_conferencing_facilities\" title=\"vi. Video or audio calls\/Video conferencing facilities\">vi. Video or audio calls\/Video conferencing facilities<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#vii_Ability_to_set_access_privileges\" title=\"vii. Ability to set access privileges\">vii. Ability to set access privileges<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#viii_Audit_trails\" title=\"viii. Audit trails\">viii. Audit trails<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#ix_Data_security\" title=\"ix. Data security\">ix. Data security<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/effective-online-collaboration\/#BONUS_%E2%80%93_Version_Control\" title=\"BONUS &#8211; Version Control\">BONUS &#8211; Version Control<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Components_of_Online_Collaboration\"><\/span>1. Components of Online Collaboration<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><strong>People<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/span>are at the core of collaboration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>Establishing and entrenching any culture or behavior in an organization must start from the top. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If management does not appreciate the<a href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/benefits-of-digital-collaboration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <\/a><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/benefits-of-digital-collaboration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">benefits of digital collaboration<\/span><\/a><\/strong>, it is highly unlikely that lower-level employees will adopt it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Management must develop workflows and establish practices that ensure all employees can stay in sync even remotely. You must ensure everyone is communicating appropriately so they\u2019re not producing unnecessary work or duplicating their efforts. Business managers need to facilitate remote working with online collaboration tools to minimize disruption to normal working practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Collaboration tools<\/span><\/strong>&nbsp;are understandably critical to the digital collaboration equation. Although there are many tools and systems available to foster collaboration, it is not a one-size-fits-all. Different organizations may have varying needs when it comes to collaboration tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"><strong>Devices<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/span>are also key players because they are the instruments we use to connect to collaboration software. Devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops are often an afterthought. However, they are important components of digital collaboration as they too are useful for employees who are always on-the-go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other components of digital collaboration are <strong>communication, support<\/strong>, and <strong>motivation<\/strong>. Without these, it becomes difficult to experience successful interactions among our teams and employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Online_Collaboration_Solutions_Must-Have_Features\"><\/span>2. Online Collaboration Solutions: Must-Have Features <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"i_New_filedocument_creation\"><\/span>i. New file\/document creation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Regardless of your line of business, you or someone in your organization will likely have to deal with documents frequently. Choose a digital collaboration tool that makes it possible to create new files. This should be at the very least, text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Bonus points if it can convert your files to PDF format too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ii_Compatibility_with_popular_file_formats\"><\/span>ii. Compatibility with popular file formats<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Choosing team collaboration software that supports popular file formats is imperative. You do not want a situation where you create a document but cannot view, edit, or access it once you extract it from the collaboration platform to send to a client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And vice versa. You also do not want to have important files on your laptop or received in your email that you cannot share or edit on the collaboration platform. Choose a solution that is compatible with common file formats available on popular smart devices too \u2013 Windows, Android, iOS. Some common formats to consider are: docx, xlsx, pptx, odt, ods, odp, doc, xls, ppt, pdf, txt, rtf, html, epub, csv, and OOXML formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"iii_Document_co-authoring_capabilities\"><\/span>iii<strong>. Document co-authoring capabilities<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another key feature is co-authoring capabilities. A good document collaboration tool should support co-authoring because the very essence of collaboration is getting people to work together on a common platform to achieve a common goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-authoring allows you to forget those email chains filled with attachments and confusing edits. Co-authoring allows real-time document collaboration. Two or more users can work on the same file\/document (text document, presentation, spreadsheet, notes) simultaneously. In most collaboration tools, when two or more users edit a document simultaneously, they get to see each other\u2019s changes as they happen &#8211; live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-authoring abilities speed up the feedback process and reduce email chain and confusion. With online collaboration, team members working out of different offices can still edit documents together simultaneously. Cloud computing cuts down on lag time and helps everyone easily contribute to a project.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, an ad agency may be working on a pitch that requires lots of brainstorming, editing, and revision. Storing the pitch online and working on it together means that they can see what everyone\u2019s doing, track suggested changes, and work with instantaneous feedback.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"iv_Cloud_Storage\"><\/span>iv. <strong>Cloud Storage<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A team collaboration software should allow for the uploading of files and other media onto it. It should be possible to keep documents or media for a reasonable period on the platform for others in the team to access as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Storing a project or&nbsp;document in the cloud&nbsp;is the easiest way to know that everyone who needs it has access to it at all times, from anywhere in the world. The advantage is real-time collaboration, but it also means everyone can jump online at the drop of a hat, find a specific version, and read or make changes or add comments to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cloud storage keeps things in a central location for easy access. This can dramatically improve productivity in any environment. When interacting together is uncomplicated, it is easier to build rapport, leading to better outcomes for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"v_Instant_Messaging_or_Office_Chat\"><\/span>v. Instant Messaging or Office Chat<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Select a collaboration tool that supports both one-on-one messaging as well as group messaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, just firing off a quick question and getting a prompt response to one person or even a group is genuinely useful. With instant messaging tools built for your office, employees can check-in and problem-solve quickly. Office chat is useful as it reduces endless email chains, speeds up communication, and ultimately leads to quicker signoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teams should be able to chat with each other from anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bonus points if the tool also allows saving of chat history. This helps to hold onto the thinking that went into a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"vi_Video_or_audio_callsVideo_conferencing_facilities\"><\/span>vi. Video or audio calls\/Video conferencing facilities<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>Video conferencing is a way to get all the benefits of meeting face-to-face without the expense and hassle of planning one.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>One-on-one video or audio calls can also be used in place of one-on-one physical meetings and telephone calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their aim of these facilities is to give employees and teams the ability to share ideas, share data, document, and presentations in real-time either on a one-to-one basis or in groups \u2013 as in virtual meetings and conference calls. Video\/audio calls and conferencing build better relationships in remote teams, save on travel expenses, and enable cost savings by minimizing the need to make local and international business calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"vii_Ability_to_set_access_privileges\"><\/span>vii. Ability to set access privileges<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>An online collaboration solution should let you set access privileges because no one needs access to everything. Choose a solution that allows you to set access privileges either by individuals and\/or to groups, e.g., accounts, sales, project X, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some enterprise-level solutions also allow setting privileges to allow file sharing with people outside of your organization because collaboration sometimes demands blurring of lines between internal and external parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"viii_Audit_trails\"><\/span>viii. Audit trails<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Auditability is another key feature of an online collaboration tool. Whether for general security or compliance reasons, it is important that your chosen solution keep track of what files and other resources users have been added, accessed, edited and when (date and time stamps).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ix_Data_security\"><\/span>ix. Data security<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as with email, data security on team collaboration software cannot be over-emphasized. Online collaboration solutions must use industry-leading data security standards to ensure that company data is secure in storage and transit &#8211; as this is essentially a cloud-based storage solution. There needs to be sufficient evidence of protocols in place to ensure that the risk of business data getting into the wrong hands is minimal to none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-vivid-red-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"BONUS_%E2%80%93_Version_Control\"><\/span><strong>BONUS &#8211; Version Control<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Bonus points if your digital document collaboration tool has automatic version control so that there is no confusion on which is the latest version of a document. This means that any time changes to a document are made, it is possible to tell which the most recent version of the document is. This also means if necessary, you can revert to an older version of the document (before changes were made).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And finally, for true enterprise collaboration, look for a solution with approval workflows. For instance, some will lock a file while a manager is reviewing it. Your manager can then mark the file as approved and unlock it once done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-green-cyan-background-color has-background\">MailSafi Collaboration unlocks the modern ways of working. Whether your employees are working from home or in a different geographical location, you can have the peace of mind that they have the tools to work effectively wherever they are. Whether using a laptop or your mobile device, you can easily attend meetings online, share documents, co-author in real-time, chat, and be productive from anywhere. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mailsafi.com\/contact-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Contact us today<\/span><\/a><\/strong> to register for our service!<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div><p id=\"pvc_stats_2409\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"2409\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon large\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/mailsafi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p><div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Online collaboration tools are some of the most underutilized yet most powerful tools a business can have to improve workplace productivity. To solve today\u2019s complex business problems, you need input from people with different skill sets and perspectives. This is why collaboration across teams (and even with clients) has become more important than ever. 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