How Companies Use Communication Tools to Run Their Businesses

The digital age has changed the way companies do business. A good majority of organizations have moved their operations to cloud-based applications, utilizing the power of the Internet to improve their operations and expand their capabilities.

The Internet has also changed how companies communicate. With this supertool, collaboration has exploded. The speed of information has increased exponentially. Locations are more connected to one another than ever before.

It is interesting how companies have maximized their communication abilities through the Internet. Below, we discuss some of the ways organizations make use of those abilities.

Intranet

Companies have established their own intranets. Internal networks are established to provide the company with a central source of communication and knowledge. Here is where employees can go to find SOPs (standard operating procedures), designs and schematics, memos, and contact information for any department or employee in the company, regardless of the offices’ locations.

Emails in businesses tend to be numerous and repetitive. Different managers will forward the same email that went out to the entire organization to their divisions to ensure it was received. Or they will send it out with additional comments attached. This tends to clutter the inboxes of employee emails and will often go unopened. This can lead to information being lost. Intranets can provide a library of information needed to carry on the business.

VoIP

Voice communication over a telephone was once done strictly through a landline. Now, the Internet is becoming the preferred path for both vocal and video calls thanks to VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology. With connection speeds faster than landlines could ever reach, long distance calls to other countries is near instantaneous.

New companies are utilizing Unified Communication solutions for all of their communication and data needs. Many more are finding that upgrading can be beneficial for both speed and costs. Existing on-premises communication systems are being converted into Internet-based systems by replacing the phone lines in a process called SIP Trunking. Companies use SIP Trunking to reduce monthly phone bills, the number of phone lines they have, and any maintenance fees.

Internal Blogs

Internal blogs are for the employees, by (some of) the employees. Companies maintain their own blogs for their employees to use in a variety of ways. One way they use the blog is to gain insight into a work related issue or a problem with a project. Employees writing about their experiences in their field will not only keep their fellow staffers engaged, they may write about a subject that could help another employee in their own work.

It is a great means of recognizing employees as well. Managers could write about why they felt an individual deserved recognition, or it could be a team member acknowledging another for hard work or ingenuity. This could be recognition for an employee in another division who was helpful, something that does not happen enough in departmentalized organizations.

An internal blog gives employees an outlet for their feedback and concerns. This can lead to discussions about how these concerns can be fixed and how changes could be made based on the employee’s experience. Sometimes, this will be the only way their thoughts will be communicated.

Cloud Applications

Programs based in the cloud itself are tools companies are utilizing for its collaboration aspects. With many of these tools working in real time, employees in one part of the country, or one region of the world, can work on a project while another is doing the same from hundreds of miles away. They work they do updates immediately, allowing everyone on the project to see the changes. They can then discuss the changes and their thoughts through built-in communication or another application if they choose. Document creation and graphic artist designs are two commonly collaborated projects in the cloud.

The Internet has become a powerful tool companies are leveraging to improve their communications. From applications based in the cloud to SIP Trunking their phone services, connectivity is increasing in the workplace. It is bringing divisions together to work towards a common goal. It is granting access to information faster than previously possible, leading to an increase in productivity and functionality.