According to a 2019 survey of senior executives, only 4 percent of companies are using a single video communications platform. In contrast, more than 60 percent use three or more video communication platforms within their single enterprise organization.
Considering the recent coronavirus pandemic and the need for many businesses across the world to move their employees into remote work environments, the inefficiency of using multiple video conferencing platforms doesn’t just waste time – it also wastes money. Fifty-four percent of the respondents surveyed said they were looking toward consolidation of their company’s video communications products, and that was before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
The writing is on the wall, and multipurpose workplace tool providers have been taking note. The more streamlined the process and the more integrated the tools, the more likely an enterprise business will be able to leverage the tools provided, and they’ll pay for the privilege to consolidate videoconferencing technology with other communications and project management tools.
In light of the new demands that Coronavirus quarantine has brought about – and the growing demand for better integrated project management tools – Slack and Google have incorporated major improvements into their enterprise workplace tools.
Slack partnered with AWS to provide better video conferencing and help developers manage their AWS resources. They also announced they would replace all their video and voice calling with Amazon Chime. The partnership means it will be more likely Slack can compete with the other major players in the enterprise workplace market, namely Microsoft and Google. Slack is also working to improve other features with integration, such as adding AWS chatbot and Amazon AppFlow to help teams manage their resources within Slack’s framework.
Google introduced a new tool to its suite of enterprise options that allows for more social interaction within the workplace. Based on surveys by Buffer, AngelList and Blue Fountain Media, remote workers list loneliness, communication and collaboration options as the biggest hurdles to working from home. In light of this data, Google created Currents, a social media connectivity option, based on its recently defunct Google+ platform. Currents is now only available to enterprise users as part of a suite of tools meant to boost connection and productivity.
These important steps improve user experience for current subscribers and can simultaneously attract new enterprise clients, which could ultimately make them the winning platforms when businesses consolidate their communications services.
If you’re looking for new ways to consolidate your multipurpose workplace tools for your teams, contact Mobile Goods today to learn more about the ways we can help, from kitting business phones to providing discounted pricing on the technology you need.