Employees are under increasing pressure. As margins become tighter, productivity and workload have to increase for each individual worker in order for business to move forward and remain competitive. Everyone has to handle more, do more, and achieve more, and here we look at how there are alternatives to simply just working harder – like working smarter.

It’ll never work…. words that have been uttered on so many occasions they are becoming worn out. Working remotely, away from the office, even at home – it’s a daunting prospect for a business that has always relied on a fixed location, permanent local staff, and a traditional way of getting things done. 

We may recognise the value of solid communication, and so have a passing understanding or acceptance of the idea that online collaboration software could become essential to how a team or collection of teams function, but what about the day-to-day value to management?

As a remote worker, you’ll have more freedom, comfort and calm than could ever be hoped for in a traditional, non-virtual office. Online collaboration software allows for fluid, ongoing lines of communication between you and the rest of the team. Nevertheless, any worker, no matter where or who they are, needs a full appreciation of what, when and how they work in order to maximise their offering.

Just imagine that the commute is done as you saunter down the stairs first thing in the morning; the queue at the coffee shop is forgotten as you make yourself a nice cup and some breakfast “to go”, as in “to go upstairs”; and you always dress smart for work, if smart means your dressing gown… 

Cloud computing and related technologies are becoming increasingly attractive to smaller businesses, and it’s not hard to see why. This trend is simply following in the footsteps of all of the technological advances of the last few decades – designed to, among other things, help smaller businesses compete more effectively with large corporations. And it works.

It’s no secret that two heads are better than one, and with collaboration software you can put the best minds in your business together. Online collaboration software helps you maximise efficiency with instant communication and a variety of streamlined processes.

The cloud has been one of the biggest trends in computing. Drop sites and cloud sites seem to be popping up everywhere. Phones, computers, and systems at work appear to offer endless options. Unfortunately, while cloud computing for file sharing and collaboration has many advantages, some sites many have more drawbacks than you think.

During no other epoch did technology advance at as quick a pace as it does in today’s world. The lives we live today will only leave behind just the merest of traces of the technology that we will be using fifty years from now. Even a tour of leading tech companies will demonstrate that there is a vast disparity between how major IT companies and SMEs function.

Business competitors are always try to be a step ahead of their competition. Whether it’s being the first one to burst into a new market, find the best employees, or implement the newest in-house technology, all business people will tell you that there’s a very fine line between being first and second. One of the keys to success is efficient communication in the workspace.