You’re Drowning in Online Collaboration Tools, and That’s Okay

The Wall Street Journal reported that “the number of software apps deployed by large firms across all industries worldwide has increased 68% over the past four years.” That was in 2019, before the pandemic, before people scrambled to find even more solutions for remote collaboration.

Then, a few months into Covid lockdown, there was a 176% increase in collaboration app installations on enterprise devices. That number is likely higher today.

Take a minute and count how many collaboration and data storage tools you have on your devices. It’s probably more than you think.

Software as a Service (SaaS) makes it easy to quickly find point solutions to organizational problems. Looking for a project management tool? Sign up for Hive. Or Trello. Or Basecamp. Or Jira. Or maybe a combination. Do you need to manage your organization's content? Then subscribe to Wrike. Or Box. Or Google Docs. So many choices.

The point is, it's easy to find cloud-based tools to solve the problems we have.

The apps we use regularly have their purpose, typically for better collaboration and communication. All the applications we use make work easier and are here to stay.

The dilemma is that the apps also create disorganization because our files, documents, images, presentations, notes, and overall knowledge data are captured through multiple platforms.

In a way, having so many apps cancels out the time they save. That time now goes into hunting for all the information needed to work on a task, information such as a sales presentation, spreadsheet, ticket, or project status.

So how can you solve the problem of having information everywhere?

Consolidating your tools won't work

An organization's sheer number of apps makes consolidation and standardization a fruitless pursuit. That’s because new needs and new tools will arise, and teams will gravitate to new apps in response.

Naturally, teams choose various apps because of specific functionality they offer. The apps become part of the way the team interacts and works together. And this is a good thing. Work is challenging. Why take away the applications that make it easier?

Approach the problem from a different perspective— online workplace redesign

Before the work-from-home/hybrid workplace model, physical workplace design was all the rage. Major businesses like Google, Microsoft and Apple tried to woo employees with open-plan designs, pool tables, and free food.

Workplace experiences matter, and now with the new way of working, the focus is online collaboration. The new workplace design dilemma is figuring out how to organize data sprawl and help teams collaborate more efficiently.

Solving this will help end the information chaos. And organizations that create better online workplace experiences can look forward to more loyal employees.

Research shows that compelling workplace experiences generate 22% more highly-engaged employees who are 4x as likely to stay in their jobs. And collaboration thrives.

In the online world, successful workplaces ease the effort required to find and share the information teams need.

Tabjay understands this firsthand. Instead of organizing around projects or groups, which hasn't solved the data-and-information-everywhere problem, Tabjay focuses on tasks.

This approach lets you organize, access, and share everything needed to get tasks done, without any data migration or changing the tools you use.

Try Tabjay for free today!