An analysis of online communication tools for the ‘new normal’.
Emma Davies
Helping you do marketing better | Marketing consultant for businesses and agencies
It has been (a shameful) two years since I last posted an article on LinkedIn. The slowdown in activity from my side coincided with the growth of Voiceboxx. I’m really proud of our growth over the last few years as its been significant. Or it was until Covid19 started. That’s definitely slowed it down and its slowed me down too.
But, in business terms that’s not necessarily a negative to slow down. Its giving me space to think and work on the direction of Voiceboxx when we return to our ‘new normal’ whenever that will be. And with the best will in the world I don’t think any of us can 100% predict what the “new normal” will look like and how we will have to work for the foreseeable future.
Having said that, what I can predict is that we’re all heading to – and will continue to head towards – a digital first approach to our work, whether we like it or not. This might be through digital tools that we were already using or new ones that we’ve had to quickly research and start using. There are many things out there and (the majority) have a purpose and place depending on business needs.
So, to get me back into posting articles on LinkedIn (hopefully it won’t be another two years!), I thought an analysis of the tools available online might be of use to businesses. Hopefully this analysis will either reassure you that you are on the right track or help you identify what other tools to use. I’ll break down what tools are out there, and for what, to begin with and then for this post focus on one area in particular: online meetings.
There will be many tools that I’ll have missed as well. If I’ve missed a favourite of yours please drop me a comment below. I always love a new online platform to explore.
What’s what online: a by no means definitive list of online tools to aid communication
- Meetings: GoToMeeting, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, Adobe Connect, Join.me, Microsoft Teams to name a few (this link might be handy if the above don’t meet your needs: https://medium.com/@shane_barker/21-of-the-best-web-conferencing-and-online-meeting-tools-for-2020-6635acee681e)
- Chat: Whatsapp (in browser), Google Messages, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Facebook messenger, WeChat, Viber as well as more organised collaborative chat through Slack.
- Project management: Monday.com, Trello, Microsoft Project, Asana, Basecamp, Zoho projects
- Cloud storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, iDrive, iCloud
- File transfer: WeTransfer, MailBigFile
- Employee management: Workplace by Facebook, Sharepoint, ConnectTeam
Online meetings: what might work for you (and what might not)
One thing that we do a lot at Voiceboxx is a comparison analysis. By taking a range of requirements and analysing a website or online tool against those criteria we can recommend the right solution for a business. I’ve analysed the online meeting options above against a range of criteria that I think are important for a business. They might not be right for your organisation but hopefully it’s a starter for ten on what’s out there and what technology is best for what.
We’re five weeks into lockdown and it might be that what you are using could do better. And perhaps, you’re putting some of its issues down to ‘bandwidth’. Hopefully the analysis below might just make you review your existing online communications and how they can work better for you.
What are we using at Voiceboxx?
Interestingly, my analysis comes a day after a top LinkedIn article said that video chat fatigue is real: https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/news/video-chat-fatigue-is-real-4802836/ and links to the BBC article: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200421-why-zoom-video-chats-are-so-exhausting. I agree that zoom calls can be exhausting but so can a day of phone calls or face-to-face meetings. For me, an online tool isn’t necessarily a better replacement for a chat on the telephone or an in-person meeting, more that it is a way that we can continue to do our best when working remotely. Whether that’s a day we allow our staff to work from home because they have the plumber coming, or we’ve had heavy snow fall or as we are now in the midst of Covid19.
They are a way of us keeping the ‘old normal’ going. We’re using a combination of Zoom and Microsoft Teams and it doesn’t mean I get through the day any easier than I would if I was working in the office. It just allows me to continue my norm from afar. The list of tools above aren’t necessarily a replacement for Kanban boards on office walls or on-site servers, they just make it easier for us to keep connected with our new ways of working. And choosing the right tool, right now, depends on how your normal was before (perhaps alongside cost motivations).
Let me know your thoughts. How did you choose a video chat solution? Or are you simply continuing by phone and email?
Senior Director at Excellis Europe, a NNIT company
4 年Nice analysis, Emma. As a small and highly specialised consulting company, serving a very diverse portfolio of customers in the pharmaceutical / life-science industry based all over the globe, working virtually has always been a major part of our working practice. Adapting to our customer's needs has meant that we've got hands-on experience with all of the virtual tools listed (and some more). While they are very similar on the whole, what we have seen is a clear shift to Zoom which does have the edge in usability (at the moment at least) and also an increased uptake in the use of MS Teams calls. One additional - and for us very important - consideration is the operation across diverse platforms (smartphone, tablets as well as laptops) and also the availability of local phone dial-in numbers.
Thanks Emma