SON SON
With reports stating that up to 50 percent of our work day can be spent reading, writing and replying to e-mails, one wonders if work productivity is actually decreasing due to e-mail. It doesn’t help that so many e-mails are junk and spam. Or that studies have shown that workers who are overwhelmed by constant e-mail can suffer burnout or even a temporary drop in their IQ.
So is it finally time to ask if there is an alternative? And if so, how and when should your business go without e-mail?
Wiki
Thinking outside the inbox
Have you ever looked up a topic on Wikipedia? If so, you are already familiar with one of the alternatives to e-mail called wiki. Adapted from the Hawaiian word for quick, wiki enables real-time collaboration in a democratic environment. Simply put, wiki is an easy-to-use, website-based database that allows unlimited users to search for, edit and create information. A networked server gets you started.
For businesses that are team-project orientated, share a writing environment or generate significant amounts of documentation through groups, wiki is an ideal collaboration tool. With content all in one location, wikis eliminate cumbersome e-mail threads, lost attached documents and multiple versions of documents.
Because wikis allow dozens or even hundreds of editors to perfect content, information can be taken to a whole new level. Also, change history is recorded to a database so input can be tracked and downloaded. Each user can copy content to his desktop or laptop and read through the content whenever and wherever he is. But there is a down side: insufficient planning, bad structure and confusing mark-up languages can all work against the usability of wikis. Nonetheless, when it comes to wikis, the good outweighs the bad. In fact, the Gartner Group predicts wikis will become mainstream in at least half of all companies by 2009.
Let your team feel the sensation: get into the groove
A more structured alternative for collaboration is available with Microsoft Office Groove® 2007. It’s a software program designed for working on various project activities within a dedicated workspace. It’s accessible to people both inside and outside your organization. Local access, automatic real time updates and built-in “Who’s working?” alerts allow you to spend less time coordinating with team members via e-mail and more time working. As with wikis, there is no more need to attach documents or manage versions. However, with Groove 2007 you never need to access the network to download current materials before working offline because your local version is updated automatically.
Keeping all of the voices in synch
Across your organization communication types, technologies and devices are proliferating. E-mail, fax, instant messaging, voicemail, audio and video conferencing can combine to create disjointed, unproductive communications. Just documenting important voice mails or key points of audio conferences on e-mail can cut deeply into your productivity.
Solutions to communication chaos are emerging out of Voice over Internet Protocol technology. Known as VoIP, it unifies communication services over converged IP networks. VoIP services (such as used by Skype and Vonage) integrate diverse data, voice and video systems. As a result, employees, customers and business partners can collaborate regardless of medium, location or device. Follow up e-mails to document the content of a voice mail message become a thing of the past.
Once just for the enterprise, VoIP benefits are becoming more attainable for smaller businesses. Find out more about the requirements and benefits of HP’s VoIP solution and HP Microsoft Solutions for People Ready Business. You’ll write and read fewer e-mails and stay better informed than ever.
source : HP newsletter