A collaborative online workspace is becoming more and more essential for firms as working remotely becomes more commonplace. Having a collaborative online workspace can help facilitate much of the work you would carry out in an office environment, from meetings and planning team schedules, to working on projects together and annotating documents. But what should you expect from a collaborative online workspace provider as a minimum, and what features really make a provider stand out?

At Clinked we believe in providing the best quality software to be the basis of your business so that you are enabled to work as best as you can. That’s why our portal is full of useful tools that can help you connect to your colleagues faster and work better. In this article we’ll explore exactly what a collaborative online workspace is, its key features and benefits, and some of the stand out features of Clinked’s collaborative online workspace.

What is a collaborative online workspace?

A collaborative online workspace is a central place for a business to work together in the cloud. Not only should this provide the easy access that working online offers, but the elevated features that a collaboration focused portal should prioritize, such as straightforward communication tools and the option for multiple people to access and work on the same documents.

Key features of a collaborative online workspace

Fast

When you are working remotely and having multiple people access the same items, you need a reliable provider to guarantee that you have the means to get your work done. Fast software makes working together in real time with others seamless - and it is incredibly noticeable and frustrating when your workspace is not as fast as it needs to be.

Multifaceted

A great collaborative online workspace should work in the same way that a great in person office does - with dedicated spaces for specific tasks. Just like having specific tools like meeting rooms and projectors for presenting, a collaborative online workspace should also be able to facilitate this. This could include having several options for communication, like direct instant chat and wider discussion boards, to the ability to see and edit documents and be able to share with colleagues when necessary.

Accessible wherever

One major factor that separates a traditional office workspace from an online workspace is that one is in a fixed location whereas you access an online workspace from potentially anywhere in the world. What needs to be considered to make an online workspace truly collaborative is the way in which people can access this remotely and how this affects the user experience and the ability to collaborate with others. This could be done by using mobile apps to access the online workspace or using email push notifications to alert users when there have been updates in the online workplace.

Navigable

Having an online workplace design that is easily searchable and gives you the ability to track your work and find what you need easily is essential to work well with others. A strong search function and a well organised online filing system will make finding what you need to collaborate on with your colleagues much simpler.

Clinked collaborative online workspace features

Clinked software is built with collaboration in mind. Our online workspace has several defining features that make collaborative working an integral part of how you use our portal. 

Collaboration on files

Great cloud storage and file sharing is essential for working online well with others, but the additional features around how you can interact with your files can really elevate the collaborative working experience you can have with your colleagues. File formats such as pdfs can be annotated and specific members can be @mentioned in comments as well as in group chats. 

Communication

Communication is key for any workspace to be collaborative and this has been integrated into every part of Clinked’s software. As well as being able to comment on files, you can also comment and tag members in discussions, notes, and task events.

Clinked also has an instant messaging feature, which can be between individual members or be used for a group chat. Clinked’s mobile app makes it easy to keep in touch with colleagues on the go, as all of our chat functions are accessible on your phone and you can also receive push notifications from these groups. Email notifications can also be sent to you when anyone makes changes to your portal, so you are always up to date with developments from your team.

Collaborative planning

For teams to collaborate well, planning and scheduling tools are necessary to scope out how you can work together. Clinked has a built in calendar which you can use to plan tasks and assign these to your team members. These then automatically appear in your calendar which can also be synced to external calendars such as Google. Having access to scheduling tools like this keeps you in touch with your colleagues' work schedules, making it easier to plan when you can next work together.

Convinced that online collaboration is the future of working and want to try it out with your colleagues on Clinked? We offer a 10-day free trial for you to make use of our features and see how they can help your business and employees work better together. Alternatively you can talk to a member of our team who can explain in further detail the features that can best benefit you.