Collaborative Management

What is a collaboration platform?

September 12, 2023 • 15 mins • By Vineet Rauniyar

Ever thought of team collaboration without any hassle? Well, that’s possible with a collaboration platform.

Just imagine a digital workspace where teams work together and collaborate effectively to make things happen regardless of distance and time zone. 

Yes, that’s right, collaborative or say collaboration platforms empower teams to do so. And, in this comprehensive guide, we’ll be explaining every detail of it. 

What is a collaboration platform?

So, first, let’s briefly understand what is a collaboration platform.

A collaboration platform is software that acts as a virtual workspace. It makes it easy for teams to communicate and collaborate so that they can achieve goals by working together.

A collaboration platform is a reliable way to connect teams by breaking barriers of all kinds. 

Whether it’s a language, distance, or time zone, the team can collaborate and get things done in an effective way. 

Not just that, the platform also helps to manage tasks and projects so teams can complete them within a pre-defined time.

For instance, within a collaboration platform, team members can seamlessly schedule tasks and set deadlines. 

Along with that, It allows for video meetings with limitless participants for face-to-face interactions. 

Teams can also collaborate in real-time within groups and DMs and share ideas and updates seamlessly.

Moreover,  it also allows the sharing of documents eliminating the need for sending countless email attachments.

Plus, with its advanced tools, you can track progress, assign tasks, visualize workflow, and more.

Furthermore, the collaborative nature of these platforms extends beyond internal teams. You can invite external teams to collaborate within your virtual workspace as well. 

For example, you can invite stakeholders, clients, partners, or vendors, to participate in the collaboration process.

What are the types of collaboration Platforms?

There are different types of collaboration platforms out there. It comes in various forms, each tailored to specific needs and preferences. 

Just to give you an overview, here we’ve listed some of the common types of collaboration platforms.

Messaging platform

These kinds of collaboration platforms are generally referred to as messaging apps that allow the team to collaborate in real-time. Evidently, it helps to communicate with the team easily. 

Also, it allows sharing files and making video or voice calls. The perfect example is Discord.  

Task management

The platform allows the management of tasks by keeping teams on the same page. In these platforms, you can assign tasks and monitor progress all at once. 

For instance, Trello and Asana are some of the most famous task management platforms.

Document collaboration platform

The platform allows teams to work on the same document at the same time. Even if the teams are spread across the globe, they can still work together without any hassle.   

Nonetheless, platforms like Google Docs and Microsoft Office online allow the team to make changes together and see them happening in real time. 

Project management platform

These are the platforms that facilitate project and task management. The platform seamlessly enables users to assign tasks and manage multiple projects at once. 

You can also track progress, and monitor teams and it comes with a Kanban and Scrum board.  

Moreover, Jira is one of the most famous project management software. 

But its interface is overwhelming and there are alternative platforms available, which we’ll discuss later in this article. 

Social collaboration platform

Social collaboration platforms are digital spaces where teams connect, share, and communicate, blending social networking with work. 

These platforms are a hub for both work-related interaction and relationship-building and Jive is its best example. 

Video conferencing platforms

Collaboration platforms like Zoom, Skype, and Google Meet facilitate virtual meetings.

You can smoothly manage webinars, meetings, and remote presentations. Basically, the platform aims to enhance face-to-face interactions virtually.

File sharing and storage platform

These kinds of platforms make collaboration on documents and resources more efficient. 

There are plenty of platforms like Dropbox, and Google Drive that enable you to share and store files in the cloud and let you collaborate with teams. 

Virtual reality (VR) collaboration platform

These platforms are emerging technologies that allow for immersive collaboration. It allows teams to interact and work together in virtual environments, irrespective of physical locations.

Currently, Metaverse is one of the pioneer companies that helps you to collaborate with teams through virtual reality.  

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 

This kind of collaboration platform generally focuses on managing customer relationships. These platforms enable collaboration among sales, marketing, and customer support teams to enhance customer service.

CRM platforms like Salesforce and Hubspot are some of the big names in the industry. 

How can a collaboration platform help businesses?

In today’s dynamic work environment, team collaboration is what we need for a company’s growth. 

Since, hybrid and remote work culture is on the rise, keeping every team member on the same page and connected can be tough. 

But worry not, collaboration platforms are designed to bridge the gap.

Wondering, how? Let’s break it down.

Imagine a virtual workspace where teams are connected all the time no matter where they are. This is exactly what collaboration platforms aim for.

These platforms let teams discuss, coordinate, share files, and work together. It’s like having a virtual office where everyone is connected through their devices like laptops and mobile.

Moreover, it provides easy communication and enables ideas to flow freely throughout the organization with real-time interaction.

Not only that, project, and task management are no longer a mess. With collaboration platforms, you can effectively manage it too. 

No more digging through endless email threads. Everything’s in one place, accessible to the right team members.

Along with that, you can do video calls, audio calls, meetings, and conferences in real-time.

Actually, most of the collaboration platform is also integrated with calendars, making sure everyone knows what to do and when.

The bottom line, you can enhance your team productivity and improve teamwork through a collaboration platform as it also offers an array of automation tools.

In a nutshell, it makes teamwork efficient, projects more achievable, and workflow smoother. 

Why do companies need a collaboration platform?

Collaboration platforms make collective work smooth and efficient. Plus, if you want to increase teamwork productivity and progress, then a collaboration platform isn’t just a choice – it’s a must

  • Handling Team

A collaboration platform as a centralized hub, facilitates seamless communication and coordination among numerous team members.

The platform facilitates structured discussions and threaded conversations that help to maintain focus within large teams.

Thus, it ensures that relevant information remains accessible and contextual, reducing the risk of miscommunication. 

In essence, the platform provides a structured framework that enhances overall productivity in complex team environments.

  • Managing a team on a larger scale

In a nutshell, managing tasks on a larger scale is one of the big challenges for any type of organization. 

However, with collaboration platform’s advanced tool, ensures that tasks are organized, assigned, and tracked collectively.

With this platform, you can allocate responsibilities to team members, set deadlines, and monitor progress with ease.

It ensures that everyone knows what they need to do, and what their colleagues are working on. 

Most importantly, it eliminates the confusion that often arises when managing numerous tasks simultaneously. 

It does so through centralizing task-related discussions and updates, enhancing clarity, and minimizing misunderstandings.

  • Complete work without switching multiple tools

Using this kind of platform makes workflow smooth as you don’t have to juggle between apps to get work done. 

For example, suppose you’re working on a project, and you need to chat with your team, share documents, and keep track of tasks. 

Now, instead of jumping between different tools like email, chat apps, and file-sharing services, a collaboration platform brings everything under one digital roof.

Similarly, if you want to organize a conference or meeting, you don’t have to use another platform. You can do that within a collaboration platform.

All in all, a collaboration platform brings harmony to your work process. It’s like having all your teammates on the same path with everything in one place.

  • Cross department collaboration

Collaborating outside of your workplace is essential for any organization. Sometimes they need to collaborate with their clients, vendors, and shareholders or have to work with guests or another company.

And here’s where a collaboration platform sweeps in to make it smooth.

You can invite members from outside of your workplace for specific meetings or to group and chat, share ideas, and work on projects together.

  • Working together from different places

Suppose your teams are scattered around the globe. However, you need to collaborate with them on a daily basis.

Sounds tricky, right? But that’s where a collaboration platform becomes your virtual office.

It brings you and your team together, no matter where you are. You can chat, share documents, and even work on stuff together like you’re in the same room. 

Basically, this platform breaks distance barriers and lets you stay connected.

In short, a collaboration platform transforms your screen into a shared workspace. It’s like having your team right there with you, whether they’re next door or a time zone away. 

Therefore working together from different places isn’t a challenge anymore.

What are the features of a collaboration platform?

There are extensive features offered by a collaboration platform. However, these features are varied on the basis of the platform.

  • Virtual Workspaces 

You can create and manage multiple virtual workspaces in the collaboration platform easily. It can be used by teams of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises.

Furthermore, the workspace is a central hub where teams collaborate, coordinate, and work together.

Evidently, a virtual workspace includes everything you need all in one place. 

It enhances collaboration by providing a platform for team members to brainstorm ideas, share feedback, and work as a team on projects or tasks.

  • Discussion threat

Cluttered conversations and overwhelming chats may cause disruption in a workflow. Therefore collaboration platforms offer discussion threats, an effective way of organizing conversations. 

It allows you to have a conversation about a specific topic. It’s especially helpful for conversations that are long or complex.

For example, a team of marketing professionals can discuss threats and plan and brainstorm about marketing with only related members. 

Similarly, no matter what your team is working on, discussion threats help you to keep conversations organized and easy to follow.

  • Shared Documents

Shared documents are a feature of most collaboration platforms. It enables teams to store and access files in a central location. 

This can be helpful for teams that need to collaborate on documents or that need to keep track of multiple versions of a document.

  • Real-Time Notifications

Real-time notifications are an integral part of collaboration platforms. It allows team members to be notified of new messages, assign a task, mentions, updates, and more.

Notifications can be valuable for the team as it helps them to stay up-to-date on the latest activity.  It results in improved communication, collaboration, and productivity.

  • Access Control

Access control allows you to control who can view, edit, create, or comment on documents, tickets, and projects. 

Moreover, while collaborating with external teams you can give limited access and assign the duration of their stay. 

This can be helpful for teams that need to protect sensitive information or that need to collaborate on specific tasks or projects with different levels of access.

  • Mobile App

Collaboration platforms enable teams to stay connected on the go, right from their phone.

 Not only that, you can perform and access all actions just as you would from the desktop application.

  • Integration

Integration is a way to connect the platform to other software applications or services. 

There are many different types of integration features that can be found in collaboration platforms. 

Integration features can help teams to save time and improve their efficiency and productivity.

  • Task Tracking

Task tracking needs to manage multiple projects and tasks. By using task tracking, teams can improve their efficiency and productivity.

Therefore with a collaboration platform, you can track tasks, see their progress, and make effective plans and decisions

  • And more

The collaboration platform is strong and provides many tools for making work easier. The features mentioned are just some of its main ones. 

Plus, there’s much more you and your team can do in a collaboration platform to succeed together.

Collaboration platform case studies

So far, perhaps you’ve realized the importance of collaboration platforms. If not, studies suggested that the platform is projected to reach US$14.60bn in 2023. 

Experts expect the platform market to reach US$ 81.1 Billion by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 10.77% during 2023-2028.

Due to its exponential rise, it’s estimated that 96% of businesses want to bring change in their work environments with smart workplace technology. 

Therefore, 63% of high-growth companies have adopted a collaboration platform to let their team work from anywhere.

All in all, whether it’s a small or large-scale organization, everyone has realized the importance of collaboration platforms. Certainly, the market for it is poised to increase in the days to come.

How to select a collaboration platform?

Choosing the right collaboration platform determines the growth of the company. So it is crucial that your selected platform aligns with your organization’s needs.

  • Determine the needs 

First and foremost, you need to understand what your team requires from a collaboration platform. Or, do you need a collaboration platform? 

If your teams are from different parts of the world and you are meant to focus on communication, project management, document sharing, etc, then you need to consider these platforms. 

  • Choose the platform based on your company’s nature

Analyze and do extensive research into different platforms that are available. Evaluate their features matching. Then, make sure those features are capable enough to fulfill your team’s needs.

  • Make sure it’s integrated with different tools

Check if the platform is integrated with different tools. These tools are essential so that you don’t have to switch between multiple apps frequently. 

  • Security measures and data protection are a must

Make sure that the platform that you select has a strong security protocol so that your organization’s sensitive information and data are protected all the time.

  • Choose a platform that fits your budget

Remember that each collaboration platform has a different price. Make sure that the platform fits your team’s requirements and budget while providing the features you need.

  • Go through user feedback or use the trial version first

See if you can get opinions from other users who have already used the platform. Most of the platforms offer trial periods, which can help you to know how well it suits your team’s needs.

Best collaboration platform 

  1. anydone

anydone is an AI-powered collaboration platform that has every single feature to get things done. From connecting teams to managing tasks, it has all you need. 

Most importantly, it has advanced automation features for optimizing your work to boost the team’s overall productivity. 

Unlike Slack and Microsoft Teams, anydone is an advanced collaboration platform. It not only facilitates project management but also goes beyond by allowing users to create and oversee multiple projects at once. 

You can also track the progress of their projects but also gain insights through project analytics. Best of all, you can start your journey with anydone for free.

  1. Microsoft teams

Microsoft Teams is one of the most famous platforms out there. Basically, it’s a cloud-based collaboration platform. It ensures team collaboration through its chat, meetings, file sharing, and calling all in one place.

However, it’s important to note that Microsoft Teams lacked features and tools that help in project management.

This means that users have no option to use teams to create, organize, and oversee their projects within the platform.

  1. Slack

Slack is another famous collaboration platform that enables teams to collaborate effectively. It is easy to use. The interface is simple and intuitive, so you can get up and running quickly.

It is flexible and you can customize the settings to fit your needs.

Although Slack offers a range of functions, it doesn’t provide the necessary tools for streamlined project management. This limitation could have led users to seek alternative solutions to effectively handle their projects. 

Conclusion

Choosing the best collaboration platform is crucial. Make sure the platform you select includes the features and tools required to manage your team effectively.

Therefore, considering all factors, we must recommend that you try anydone, as it is one of the advanced collaboration platforms.

The platform offers every single feature that helps you manage your teams, projects, tasks, and increase productivity through its powerful automation.

Most importantly, you can use anydone for free and join its growing community right away.