Zug, Switzerland, 07. February 2022 – Nothing works anymore without virtual collaboration – and without the right tools for it. VNC has identified four decisive characteristics when it comes to evaluating suitable collaboration tools.
Remote working saved many companies and organisations from collapse during the Corona crisis. Countless workflows, work processes and supply chains could not have been maintained without home-office and mobile working. This experience has turned messengers, video conferencing systems, groupware, communication and brainstorming software into tools that are now taken for granted in everyday working life and that are essential for the work organization of the future. However, the experience gained from using such tools also shows that their selection requires special care in order to make proper use of their potentials and minimise existing risks. VNC, developer and provider of open source-based enterprise applications, lists the four most important criteria for the evaluation of suitable tools:
- Independence from space, time and device: Collaboration tools must in principle run everywhere and at all times on all mobile and stationary end devices, regardless of the respective operating system. To achieve this, it is important to use standardized technologies and support standard protocols (such as WebRTC for video applications). In addition, it is also important to make them available as browser apps or flexible SaaS applications. Proprietary formats, plug-ins or clients, on the other hand, are an obstacle. This also applies to excessive bandwidth requirements, which limit potential applications.
- Function integration, openness and interoperability: Neither “all-in-one” models (complex, inflexible, expensive) nor “best-of-breed” concepts (complex integration of sub-functions) achieve the interoperability and functional depth of modular tool stacks that integrate all desired communication channels. The modular structure allows a targeted selection of the functions required in each individual case, including the possibility of expansion or reduction at any time, for example if certain functions are no longer needed. A common code base also ensures seamless data exchange between all program modules.
- Intuitive operation, high acceptance, low training requirements: The common code base is also the prerequisite for a consistent operating logic and interface design of all program modules. This makes it possible to use the functions of one module (such as the messenger) directly from another module or to switch seamlessly from one communication tool to another. This, together with the look and feel of frequently used apps from the private gaming and social media environment, ensures a high level of acceptance among users, who can work quickly and securely with the tools. This reduces both operating errors and the necessary expenses for training and education.
- Meeting security and compliance requirements: Data security and conformity with security and compliance guidelines are the overriding exclusion criteria. However, security starts with the basic technology. For example, GDPR compliance cannot be achieved with closed source. That is why open source is so important. The possibility to freely choose the provision model (hosting) ensures that users are always free to decide where their data is stored in a security-compliant manner and to whom it is passed on. If the tools are provided exclusively via provider-exclusive hosting, this option does not apply.
“Experience shows that a random selection or a purely superficial examination of collaboration tools can lead to the loss of many opportunities offered by the use of suitable software stacks,” emphasizes Andrea Wörrlein, managing director of VNC in Berlin and member of the board of VNC AG in Zug. “However, it should not be forgotten that the use of unsuitable tools not only results in unnecessarily high costs and insufficient support of work processes, but also creates high security risks that can threaten the reputation or even the very existence of the company.”
About VNC – Virtual Network Consult AG
VNC – Virtual Network Consult AG, based in Switzerland, Germany and India, is a leading developer of open source-based enterprise applications and positions itself as an open and secure alternative to the established software giants. With VNClagoon, the organization with its global open source developer community has created an integrated product suite for enterprises, characterized by high security, state-of-the-art technology and low TCO. VNC’s customers include system integrators and telcos as well as large enterprises and institutions. Further information on https://vnclagoon.com, on Twitter @VNCbiz and on LinkedIn.
Contact
Andrea Wörrlein
VNC – Virtual Network Consult AG
Poststrasse 24
CH-6302 Zug
Phone: +41 (41) 727 52 00
aw@vnc.biz
Nicole Haske
PR-COM GmbH
Sendlinger-Tor-Platz 6
D-80336 Munich
Tel. +49-89-59997-814
nicole.haske@pr-com.de