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Did you know that fielding email affects your brain (and even your IQ) much in the same way missing a night’s sleep would? Or that the holy trinity of time wasters – email, meetings, and interruptions – are costing the United States of America tens of billions of dollars annually?
When we set out to develop Hubgets, we started with the customer’s problem – fragmented collaboration – then we began building. Creating a top-notch product for a non-existing market gets you nowhere. You want to analyze the problem first, then find the solution.
This mindset isn’t typical in business, believe it or not. Many companies create products with their fingers crossed behind their backs hoping someone will buy them. We don’t think that’s the right way to go. That’s why we designed Hubgets to look and feel a lot like a social networking platform – one that people would know how to pick up and use at first glance, creating a lean learning path for everyone looking to boost their collaborative efforts, internally and externally.
Cloud-reliant software and services have enabled a paradigm shift for developers and service providers alike. Once based on the buy-once-use-forever concept, the acquisition of software and services has gravitated towards a licensing business model that has proved to be far more lucrative for every party involved, from the people who code the solution to the end users.
A recent report by Nemertes Research indicates that Unified Communications (UC) solutions, or Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), are selling much better as subscription bundles, as opposed to perpetual licensing which involves a large upfront investment. And it’s hardly a surprise.
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Evolution is synonymous with progress, and for good reason too. In order to push your species forward, you have to be at least as good as your ancestors. Fail to adapt to changing times and you will perish. Many living things have opted for collaboration to ensure their survival. From ants to apes to us humans, leveraging brains and muscle in groups yields great results.
Of the illustrious minds of the 1800s, none saw this more clearly than Charles Robert Darwin, the greatest contributor to the theory of evolution.
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Cementing the belief that communication is vital in building and retaining a team, a study conducted by human resources firm SHRM reveals that employees rate their relationship with their immediate supervisor among the top five job satisfaction contributors.
Specifically, 54% of employees in the survey indicated that a good relationship with their team manager or supervisor was “very important” to their job satisfaction. Middle-management cited this aspect more vocally than the executive ranks (probably because the C-suite doesn’t get bossed around as much).
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We love it when communication flows. Everything we do at 4PSA revolves around communication and collaboration, so we believe strongly in the power of using these as tools for building teams and businesses. But sometimes, shutting up can help too.
According to a study published in the Journal Of Social & Personal Relationships, blocking communications with negative people can increase your productivity and even boost your IQ. It’s the kind of research that seems to reach an obvious conclusion, but most of us are oblivious to these teachings our entire lives.
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Unified Communications & Collaboration (UC&C) as a technology has unquestionable perks for productivity. In some cases, a good UC&C implementation leads to new revenue streams, a goal that sits high on every CEO’s agenda, yet many are reluctant to take the plunge. The reason itself is surprising.
Business leaders are regarded as anything but fearsome, but when it comes to investing in new technologies, many executives start to get cold feet. In a whitepaper titled Build a Better Business Case for UC, research firm Forrester offers a list of fears reported by the C-suite at 133 enterprises across the US and Europe regarding implementing UC services. Here it is below (complete with our own observations):
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Character is important when you’re looking to build a team. Good training is simply not enough to propel a company forward. You need passion and determination to excel in a competitive marketplace.
When you do find highly motivated people, your next job is to retain them. Their satisfaction has to be personal, not just aligned with the company’s goals. It may sound like common sense when you read about it, but in reality it’s not easy to attain. Youth Leadership Coach Israelmore Ayivor makes it his duty to remind aspiring leaders that teamwork rests on the shoulders of each individual.
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I recently stumbled upon some lectures that talk about communication & collaboration in business, explaining its crucial role in leveling the field for executives and floor employees alike, driving successful operations across an entire organization. They were great reads and I want to lay out some bullet points for our readers. If you own a business, listen up!
A few days ago, data group IDG Enterprise rolled out a lengthy report coupled with an infographic to show the state of UC&C (Unified Communications & Collaboration) today, with an eye on the next 12 months.
The research conducted by the enterprise technology media company revealed that data transformation continues to climb a steep hill, but that the UC&C sector in particular is making an innovative leap. Best of all, “organizations are recognizing the value that sits within these solutions,” according to Brian Glynn, chief revenue officer of IDG Enterprise.