What is online collaboration?
At first, the concept of remote team collaboration can seem like a contradiction in terms. After all, traditional wisdom dictates that teams need to be working together in the same physical space to maximize their creativity and productivity. How can a team effectively work together when they are not in the same physical space or even in the same country? The answer is by using effective online collaboration tools.
Online collaboration can be defined as the process of using internet-based tools to facilitate communication between team members who are located in different areas. Dedicated browser-based or cloud-based software makes working together remotely seamless and simple. Digital collaboration tools can be used to bring together colleagues who are in any physical space, anywhere in the world, at any time.
Online project collaboration can be achieved by having teams work together in real time via specialized online document-sharing software that allows them to securely share text documents, CAD files, presentations, and spreadsheets. Colleagues can connect using virtual meeting software and brainstorm using an online whiteboard tool. Online collaboration apps enable team members to chat and share ideas easily.
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Collaborating remotely is made simpler, more secure, and more productive than ever with the amazing cloud-based solutions from Dassault Systèmes. We provide companies with the tools they need to enhance virtual team collaboration.
ENOVIA Project Planner
Reduce resource and overall project execution costs by enabling lean optimized team planning
DELMIA Lean Team Player
Make collaboration effective, intuitive and easy with a cloud-based whiteboard designed to fuel innovation
ENOVIA 3DSwymer
Connect employees, partners, suppliers, customers, consumers and regulators into a framework for sustainable innovation.
Why is online collaboration important nowadays?
With more people working remotely than ever before, online collaboration is now crucial to business processes. Managers and business leaders are now realizing that the key to effective remote working is developing online collaboration strategies that enable team members to communicate easily and securely.
Encouraging easy communication and supporting the flow of ideas between colleagues has always been an essential aspect of good teamwork. Learning to collaborate in a virtual setting requires teams to adopt new skill sets and new ways of working. With the best collaboration tools for remote teams, colleagues can share their ideas and work together just as if they were in the same room.
Why has there been a rise in remote working?
Recent studies have shown that the majority of companies are now embracing a hybrid or fully remote work policy. Prominent economists and business analysts have stated that the rise of remote working represents the biggest shift in the labor market since the Second World War.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many enterprises to adopt remote working policies, but this change has now become a permanent fixture of many business models rather than just a temporary measure. Workers love the freedom and flexibility that remote working offers, while employers benefit from being able to source talent from anywhere in the world.
The amount of people working remotely has risen by approximately six percent since 2019. An estimated 61 percent of US workers were working remotely during the height of the pandemic. As the world comes to grips with COVID-19, that figure has settled at around 30 percent. It seems more than obvious that remote working is here to stay.
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Contented related to team collaboration
What are the different levels of collaboration in a company?
Collaboration may seem like a pretty simple concept, but managers need to realize that there are different levels of collaboration. Understanding how the levels of collaboration work within a company will allow you to choose the best team collaboration software for your needs.
The group level
This refers to a small group of individuals that are all working together towards the same goal. Usually, group-level collaboration involves three to four employees working on the same project.
The team level
Team-level collaboration takes things up a notch. This refers to larger teams of five or more people and can even involve multiple teams with different specialties working together on the same project.
The network level
At the network level, managers will need to consider how their teams collaborate with third parties outside their organization. This could be directly working with clients, liaising with contractors, or working with regulators or government agencies.
The benefits of good remote team collaboration
Working together in a digital environment is a different experience than working together in the same physical space, but it does have a wide range of benefits. By focusing on the advantages of working remotely, managers can develop strategies to encourage good team collaboration online. Some of the benefits of remote team collaboration include:
- Enhanced productivity levels
- More creative outcomes
- Increased transparency
Enhanced productivity levels
Studies have shown that employees are actually more productive when working remotely. Workflows can be made more efficient as it avoids unnecessary meetings, colleagues can get instant answers to questions and access to documents, tasks can be updated immediately, and information can be shared in real time.
More creative outcomes
Remote working arrangements give employers access to a much wider talent pool. The entire world is literally at your disposal. Compiling a team composed of various members with different specialties, experiences, backgrounds, and expertise can result in more creative outcomes.
Increased transparency
Changes to projects and documents can be tracked using collaboration apps so all team members can see exactly who changed what and at what time. The best collaboration apps will allow team members to make comments on any changes and compare older and newer versions of a project with ease.
Strategies for enhancing remote team collaboration
Collaborating in a digital space with team members that may or may not even be in the same time zone can be a challenging prospect. Managers need to come up with effective strategies to enhance remote team collaboration.
Team leaders should establish standard operating procedures and have clear goals. They should encourage open and transparent communication, use clear and concise language and ensure that all team members have fully understood the messages. As remote working can feel isolating at times, companies can use icebreakers and team-building activities to build rapport amongst team members.
Any unnecessary meetings should be avoided to enhance productivity. One of the benefits of remote working is the ability to be more dynamic and agile, so teams will need to be flexible and willing to adjust to changing circumstances.
Managers and team leaders can make good use of online collaboration tools to facilitate remote work. However, they should ensure that everyone is trained in how to use these tools effectively.
The challenges of remote team collaboration
While there are significant benefits to working remotely, achieving the optimum levels of remote work collaboration can be a challenging task.
Team members may have to cope with communication barriers caused by the use of different languages and the proficiency levels of individual team members. The lack of face-to-face interaction can also add to communication difficulties and can make some people feel isolated.
Time zone differences can also pose problems, as not all team members can be available for meetings at the best possible times. Even when meetings can be arranged, technical difficulties can cause downtime and impede progress.
Team leaders and managers will need to focus on strategies to address these issues when they arise. However, by using the right online collaboration tools, business leaders can avoid many of the problems associated with distributed team collaboration.
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The 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud gives you access to a various set of applications that allow you to design, simulate, inform and collaborate on a project.
How do you choose the right online collaboration tools for your team?
Collaboration remote work requires sophisticated technology for it to work effectively. When choosing what digital collaboration tools to use, business leaders must look for software with features that enhance communication and provide adequate security.
The best collaboration tools for remote teams should have a user-friendly interface so that onboarding time can be shortened. The software should allow for real-time collaboration between team members and have the capability of being fully integrated with other tools used by the company. Stringent security and privacy measures are paramount since team members will often be accessing, working on, and sharing highly sensitive corporate data.
How can Dassault Systèmes’ remote team collaboration solutions meet your needs?
Give your team the power to collaborate securely, effectively, and seamlessly anytime from anywhere on the planet with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform from Dassault Systèmes. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a powerful cloud-based digital environment that gives you access to the latest roles from Dassault Systèmes, including:
- ENOVIA Project Planner
- DELMIA Lean Team Player
- ENOVIA 3DSwymer
ENOVIA Project Planner
With its simple and assisted project management tools, ENOVIA Project Planner enhances project performance for all stakeholders. It connects teams using a flexible and collaborative approach to project planning, execution, and monitoring.
ENOVIA Project Planner enables effective management of project tasks, durations, and milestones to ensure project success. Additionally, it enhances planning by taking resource constraints and task requirements into account.
Collaboration and communication are encouraged by ENOVIA Project Planner to foster efficient project execution among team members.
Learn more about ENOVIA Project Planner
DELMIA Lean Team Player
DELMIA Lean Team Player empowers teams to collaborate, capture knowledge and ideas, and communicate seamlessly using rich 3D content and data, thereby enabling them to push the boundaries of what's possible.
It allows for real-time team interaction, and operational meetings can be run using categorized sticky notes for notes, actions, and problems. Furthermore, it offers visual management capabilities with 3D rich content, PDFs, and sticky notes.
Learn more about DELMIA Lean Team Player
ENOVIA 3DSwymer
Enovia 3DSwymer connects all users in the value stream through its diverse range of apps and services, facilitating effective sharing, experimentation, and innovation.
Social communities can be established with collaborators, consumers, and customers to validate concepts and ideas, allowing you to engage with them earlier in the ideation process and reach the market faster. With minimal effort, valuable feedback can be collected and evaluated across the value chain.
Enovia 3DSwymer enables better decision-making by incorporating data from across your business, not just what's at hand or in outdated reports. Sharing data and project statuses securely and easily also improves productivity by reducing the time spent updating data and managing project statuses.
Learn more about ENOVIA 3DSwymer
Remote team collaboration - Conclusion & Perspectives
With remote working, managers can source the best talent from throughout the globe, workers can have more freedom and flexibility, and companies can drastically slash their overheads. The highly digitized workplaces of the 21st century will be powered by sophisticated online collaboration tools.
The popularity of remote working means that business leaders will need to focus on enhancing remote team collaboration. Achieving optimum productivity from your team means providing them with access to the best digital collaboration tools.
Online collaboration tools can be leveraged to empower teams to reach new levels of innovation and creativity. Colleagues can work together no matter where team members are located, what language they speak, what time zone they are in, or even what device they are using. As advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning progress, we are sure to see remote work collaboration becoming smarter, more agile, and more adaptable than ever before.
Why choose Dassault Systèmes for your project planning needs?
The power of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform
The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a revolutionary digital collaboration tool that allows you to connect with team members wherever they are located, at any time, using any type of device you choose. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides teams with one virtual environment where they can securely and safely share and store files, collaborate, manage projects, and communicate with ease.
Remove the restrictions and boundaries of traditional on-premises IT systems and access a wide range of PLM and CAD solutions from Dassault Systèmes. You can select exactly what roles you want for your business and disregard those you don’t. This means you can have a toolset that is fully customized to your unique needs. Cut costs, gain more freedom, and collaborate and innovate like never before with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
Providing innovative solutions for over 40 years
Deciding on the right online collaboration tools for your company can be a complicated process. You need to make sure you work with a software provider that is known for producing innovative, effective, and secure solutions that can be used for a wide range of sectors.
From our background in the aerospace industry, Dassault Systèmes has continuously pushed boundaries and delivered exceptional PLM and CAD software for more than four decades. Our flagship roles such as CATIA and SOLIDWORKS have become industry standards. Discover just how our tools can enhance remote team collaboration and let you develop newer and better ways of doing business.
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Frequently asked Questions
Using the latest online collaboration tools will allow business leaders to keep track of their team’s productivity levels.
When choosing the best collaboration tools for remote teams, look for software that is secure, enables easy project monitoring, and facilitates communication between teams.
Managers must make sure that they set clear goals, always communicate clearly with all team members, encourage team bonding, and use the right remote team collaboration tools.