New collaboration tools
Hello everyone. I am happy to announce that we are now beginning the full roll out of a new set of collaboration tools that will finally put everyone across all Infinitas companies in a position to be able to easily communicate and collaborate with everyone else, no matter where they are located.
Given that we are a company spread over many locations, and with almost all staff taking time each week to work from home, it is crucial that our tools follow us wherever we go to stay productive. I feel it is also important that these tools should encourage spontaneous and informal 1-1 and group conversations, like a face to face conversation, instead of formal and time draining conversations over email where the cc list slowly expands over time.
To make this happen, we are now rolling out two new tools - Slack and Zoom.
Slack
Slack is a communication tool that allows you to find and chat with any person, or team, anywhere in the company. It is a little like Whatsapp or Skype chat, with lots of extra features that make it much easier to chat and share information. As we all get used to working in Slack, you will find yourself using email much less. You will be able to integrate and bring your tools and data right into the conversations you have with your colleagues - making your day much more efficient and work much more fun.
Here are a couple videos to check out to learn more:
- An introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c7_TpPUpL0
- An interactive demo that explains how it works: https://slackdemo.com/
Over the coming weeks we will share some experiences and tips so that you and your team can get the most out of moving your conversations to Slack.
Zoom
The second tool we are rolling out is Zoom. This is a video conferencing solution, that will be integrated with Slack, Outlook, and our meeting rooms, that will make connecting with your colleagues as easy as walking across a room to say hello. Zoom can host meetings up to thousands of people, works on your laptop, phone, and in the meeting room, and the video quality is second to none no matter where you are. I am confident that once we get our Zoom on, that the 10 minute dance at the start of each meeting will be a thing of the past!
We will slowly be disabling the other tools - Skype for Business, and Cisco Webex - and also ask that if you have private Whatsapp groups that you use to collaborate with your team mates that you move those conversations over to Slack. It makes you more discoverable by your colleagues, and makes sure there are no barriers to connecting with each other.
As this is being rolled out, please contact Bert de Jong if you have any specific issues or questions, via email, or Slack (@bert). The roll out team is also in the 'Technology Help' channel if you want to talk with the team.
If you have any questions or feedback for me, I am available in Slack at any time. Please feel free to say hello via a direct message or in the General channel, I'm @clifton.
Clifton