Business Collaboration
Tips & Advice to help you make your decision on Business Collaboration
In today's economy, collaboration–or working with another company to achieve common goals–simply makes good business sense. Creative business collaborations can help companies not only survive, but thrive. Working with the strengths of each company in order to remain competitive in the market is a sound strategy that really works. Collaboration encourages objective problem solving and results in improved performance in current and upcoming projects.
Both companies involved in a collaborative relationship usually end up discovering that the collaboration processes is quite advantageous. For one reason, all of the people involved are presented with multiple opportunities for networking. This networking provides an excellent opportunity for business professionals to make new connections and referrals in the industry. Another benefit of collaboration is that there is usually a great deal of inspiration and support from everyone involved. In addition, the shared ownership and shared responsibilities mean that no single person or group is blamed for business problems or difficulties.
If you want to find out more about business collaboration, try the links on the left. Compiled by Business.com, these links can help you find information that will tell you about working in a collaborative relationship.
Business Consulting149EFF8A-4074-46B2-B5F4-F5A0895F6E39Whether you are a new business or one that has been around for the last 20 years, there may come a time when you will require the services from an outside source. As times change, so do the needs of business around the world and this is where the expertise of business consulting can come into play. You may be wondering, what exactly can a business consultant do for your business? There are many things that these professionals can do for your business and they generally start at looking and identifying problems that you may not even see. Having a neutral pair of eyes can really make a world of difference, in many respects.
Business consulting will also help to find solutions to the problems as well as come up with new ideas and ways for your business to improve. These professionals will take their time to learn the in's and out's of your business, devise ways to improve, implement and help put into action the newly devised plans. If you think that your business could be use a 2nd pair of eyes, why not consider having a consultant come in and spend time with you? Take a look at the links on the left to learn more about business consultants can help you.
Business Contracts98618CF9-40B9-45AB-B547-641033C86798There are many types of contracts that are used in the business world, today. The most common is that of the written business contract. Business contracts can help to ensure that the needs of both parties are being met and can also clearly define the agreements that both parties are agreeing to. These contracts can be used for a variety of reasons and are great way to help facilitate the needs of one's business. There are a few things to consider when thinking about drawing up a business contract, and it is always wise to have an experienced lawyer on your side.
Business contracts can be drawn up in many ways and the key ingredient to these forms is that both parties sign and agree to the terms in the contract. In the event that one party does not hold up their end of the bargain, a legal business contract can help to protect the assets of the company. One should spend some time understanding the particular laws in their state and how these contracts should be drawn up. Spend a little time doing some research, consult with an attorney or simply click on the links to the left to learn how Business.com can help you.
Business Credit CardsE89329BB-691A-434F-8295-B8228C961B52Running a business, as we all know, requires a constant flow of money coming in as well as going out. All business will incur expenses along the way, some of these are on a daily basis while others may just have the minimal overhead. One thing that can help a business to better manage its budget could be the use of business credit cards. These type of specialized credit cards can not only help one out in a pinch, but often times can provide one with some savings or other types of point and rewards. Having one of these credit cards can really help to allow the business to keep running, even in times of emergencies. What if your equipment breaks and you are unable to fix it due to financial constrains? Business credit cards can help pull you out of that situation.
A credit card that has your business name or logo on it can also go a long way for the branding of your business. There are many choices when it comes to choosing the right credit card company for you. Spend some time and see which interest rates, plans and specials will work best for you. You may want to click on the links on the left to learn more and see how Business.com can help you.
Collaboration Software
Getting everyone on the same pageBy Michael Mckinney, CEO Mckinney Consulting Partners Finding the collaboration suite that will best mobilize your business is a tricky affair. Each one seems to have its advantages and pitfalls.
I have spent the better part of the last 9 years evaluating various solutions for my clients. Over that period of time I have recommended a wide variety of services and developed a methodology for matching a companies needs with the strengths of an existing software or service. In this article I will walk you through my methodology and discuss a few of the better (and more cost-effective solutions).
Hosted or Installed
Collaboration suites have a wide-range of features and choosing one for the wrong reason can be disastrous. Perhaps the most critical aspect of any suite is its usability and ease of deployment. It is in this regard that many of the hosted vendors excel. Hosted collaboration suites (typically web-based) do not suffer from the installation pitfalls that plague many of the larger installed systems. Installed systems, however, have the advantage of integrating with a wider array of existing software packages. I typically recommend hosted solutions but large companies with heavy investment in older technology should consider an installed package.
Try:
Some of the best hosted services are:
HyperOffice (www.hyperoffice.com) - Allows quite a bit of customization & provides a wide range of tools. Its support for existing Outlook users is one of the best in the industry and its document management capabilities are unparalleled. If you are a heavy user of the document sharing features, this is the service for you.
WebOffice (www.weboffice.com) - This service was Intranets.com before being bought by Webex and is still very solid. Its interface is clean and it has a solid feature set. Its prices, however are high and its document management features are lacking. I would only use this service if you are in major need of web databases. (HyperOffice has not released this feature as of the time of this article)
Hosted Exchange Server - there are numerous companies offering to host Exchange. The best one seems to be www.Intermedia.net because they have great support. If you are looking to stick with Exchange this is the service for you.
What are you using the suite for
Unfortunately collaboration software has become sort of a catch-all for a lot of features. It is critical that you decide which features are important to you and choose accordingly. Many companies need a catch-all suite like the ones I mentioned above but some need the specialized support of a highly targeted collaboration package.
Try:
Although I can't get into every possible scenario, one such instance is a company looking for an advanced work flow process that can span across multiple facilities. When I was recently faced with such a challenge I first looked to my usual suspects above but, after realizing that the needs were highly specialzed, I ended up recommending documentum, an enterprise-level workflow package that could be customized to their needs.
The cost was considerably higher than any of the previously mentioned suites but the project required a much more advanced feature set and integration with existing software infrastructure. Using documentum we were able to create a custom workflow that ties together inventory, manufacturing, and sales into a concise and simple process.
Take the training
Most providers offer live training or online tools to train yourself. Take the time to avail yourself of these services and your deployment will be much smoother. I highly recommend trying out every aspect of the service yourself before asking your employees, partners or customers to do it. This will save you from major frustration in the future.
Try:
Take live training whenever it is available. It may cost a little bit more to get a training session on your product of choice but it pays big dividends as you use the product. When I recently deployed HyperOffice, I signed up for one of their free webinars (which can be found here... it was an eye-opening experience). Additionally I was informed that they had online training videos to teach me how to use each section.
Similarly weboffice directed me to their online university. This was a very nice experience and I would provide a link but they recently removed the direct link from their web site (I was unable to find it during while writing this article).
Documentum and other installed packages offer on-site training and online resources. Ask the vendor for a list of their offerings before purchasing and factor the cost into the price.
Every top-tier vendor has some tools available to get you started. Finding them and taking the time to use them will save you tons of time in the future.
- In conclusion, choosing a vendor is all about knowing your own needs and desires. Once you have identified these the vendor pretty much picks itself.
Real-time collaboration made easy with Google Docs. 30 days free!
Effectively Communicate Whenever & Wherever Needed. Visit Us On Line!
Collaborate on Biz Files on PCs, Macs & Phones: Dropbox for Teams
Thought Leadership & IT Community On Collaboration. Register Today.
Build Effective Teams Across Corporate Boundaries W/Cisco