It’s 2016, meaning that cloud collaboration software is nothing new for enterprises. From the likes of Slack to Trello, all of the tools available that fall in the ‘collaboration software’ bracket have varying features to suit enterprises of any size and type.

Well, what is enterprise collaboration software exactly?

Collaboration software can mean different things to different people, but it is essentially software that has been designed to help groups of people come together to complete common tasks and projects in order to achieve goals easily and more efficiently. Enterprise collaboration software is simply collaboration software targeted solely at businesses.

Implementing enterprise collaboration software can prove very beneficial to companies. Moving to the cloud will help your business keep up with its competitors; as well as improve engagement, increase productivity and increase revenue.

Does my company have to get involved?

The idea of storing the majority of your business information and collaborating with clients in the cloud is a scary prospect, obviously. But with enterprise collaboration software continuing to grow and showing no sign of slowing down, it’s really just a question of ‘when will my company get involved’.

59% of the total cloud workloads will be Software-as-a-service (SaaS) workloads by 2019, up from 45% in 2014.*

So, what will my company get out of such a tool?

Faster decisions

The implementation of enterprise collaboration software will allow teams and clients to constantly monitor the progress of projects and to make decisions in real-time, thus allowing the opportunity to make faster decisions. Waiting time is reduced and long progress meetings won’t be needed as often.

Increased customer satisfaction

Easy-to-use enterprise collaboration software will improve customer experience, boost satisfaction and increase the likelihood of customer retention.

A customer is 4 times more likely to defect to a competitor if the problem is service related rather than price or product related.**

Improved productivity

When everything is accessible from one, centralised and secure place, improved productivity can be achieved amongst your team. You’ll be able to achieve a faster response to any issues, and easy mobility access means you’ll be able to achieve more on the go and not just in the office.

Data protection/Security

You’ll be assured that just because your business documents are stored in the cloud, they won’t fall victim to hackers if you take precautions and think smart. For example, Clinked provides the highest level of security for its enterprise collaboration software (we use 256-bit SSL encryption for content access) as well as private cloud solutions for even the most sensitive of data.

Ease of implementation

With reduced IT costs and no training required, it’s easy to get started using your enterprise collaboration software straight away. Normally, you’ll need to just type in your details to sign up and you’ll be ready to go. Another benefit of using such a software will be that you'll have support from the hosting provider in the form of online and phone support.

White-Label Branding

White-label branding should be a priority for enterprises because matching your tools to your house style can prove beneficial to clients and team members. Clinked offers white-label branding for example, where you can fully customise (and even possibly re-skin Clinked’s entire design) your enterprise collaboration software so it matches your branding and blends seamlessly with your website. White-label branded software creates a smoother user experience for clients and team members alike.

While this doesn't mean it will be the end of e-mail or face-to-face meetings completely, it does suggest that implementing enterprise collaboration software can be beneficial to companies in many ways and it is certainly the way forward in the future.

* (Source - Cisco)