The cloud has gone from a mere buzzword to being the tool enabling collaboration in business more than any other today. The cloud is no longer a far-reaching idea, or something companies use for intranets. Instead, it has completely changed the culture of businesses around the globe, allowing employees to do so much more, no longer limited to email communications.

Increased team collaboration in business is changing the way we work, the way we think and is creating a real impact on productivity

True cross-platform communication

Companies are no longer forced to provide one-size-fits-all options for hardware and software. The cloud has made “any device” possible, allowing your employees to access your network and mission-critical documents from mobile phones, tablets and workstations. Nearly a decade ago, it was common to tout on-the-go productivity, since laptops made work from hotels and planes possible. But, the cloud has taken this one step further by truly enabling teams to be agile and work the way they want to work.

One of many benefits with BYOD is device consolidation across the board. The rise of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies have enabled even more flexibility, with the upside of cost-savings to the company. Employees don’t have to tote a work phone and a personal device; they can combine devices since they are no longer limited by access. Some experts theorize that in the future, it will be common for employees to just have one device for all needs: video, email, phone use and so on.

Multimedia communication and real-time access

We all work in ways that best suit our personalities and unique job requirements. Collaboration in business has yielded a collage of multimedia communication. Throughout the day, an employee could be on a conference call, take a video call, discuss a project with team members via live chat and then work on a presentation on their tablet as they wait for their flight at the airport. Workplaces are becoming more flexible and collaborative than ever before, and the location of individual employees is becoming less of a concern. This is especially felt in large cities where employees have notably long commute times. Now they can collaborate effectively from home or while in route to the office.

A recent study by Forbes Insights states that 86 percent of leaders said, "they are using cloud-based applications for greater workforce flexibility, providing video, voice, email, IM, data management and access to business processes anytime, anywhere. The most advanced among these are also device-agnostic, allowing the BYOD (bring your own device) approach."

For example, Mitel customer, Malvern Hills District Council found themselves in need of an IP communications system that not only minimized and consolidated all communications channels, but also allowed their employees to work with greater ease and flexibility. By investing in cloud collaboration, the organization was able to:

Overall increase the efficiency of workers
Have staff working at different sites and communicate effortlessly
Reduce the irritation of modern technology, making it easier to communicate
No longer have staff continuously tied to email, instead use instant messaging for quick communication of needs

Advanced security and stability

The cloud is still being perfected and we’ve yet to experience its full potential. As it is evolving, users are still becoming more comfortable with its security offerings. But, there are more options today than ever, and without a doubt, experts agree the cloud is more secure than a physical, on-premise solution.

Beyond security, one of the most appealing facets of cloud collaboration is its scalability. Making changes to your platform, adding storage and growing with your business is more seamless than ever—and far less costly than physical, onsite data centers.

For many businesses that are not yet fully embracing the cloud, it is not a matter of if they will make a migration, but when. As more companies adopt the cloud, employees are coming to expect the flexibility and collaboration in business it makes possible. And leaders in IT and business operations are urged to adopt the cloud for the spikes it drives in productivity and the tremendous savings it brings to their bottom line.

Learn more about how Twinstate's unified communications and collaboration solutions by scheduling a call with an expert today!