Cloud technology has changed the world we live in. Now, files stored in the cloud are accessible anywhere you have an internet connection. But is collaboration around these files secure?

Applications hosted on cloud technology can run on any web browser, and most are accessible through a variety of devices – smart phones, tablets, and the more traditional desktop computers and laptops.

This increased accessibility means greater convenience and mobility. Business travellers can perform a day’s work miles away from their desks. Documents can be viewed without requiring a PDF viewer or a word processing program. And, with files more easily accessible, collaboration is also easier.

So, what’s the downside? As with online information sharing, storing and accessing files in the cloud raises some security concerns – one of which is confidentiality.

Of course, with the nature of business files, privacy needs to be carefully considered. On the other hand, documents should not be protected to the point that file access to the right people is restricted. 

So, how can you strike the right balance to ensure your staff are collaborating around hosted files securely?

A good online collaboration application should strike the balance for you. First of all, it should enable easy file uploading and retrieving. Users should be allowed to create groups to conduct private conversations, as well as add or remove contacts to and from groups easily. It should also ensure security by implementing a secure socket layer (SSL) encryption.

Built as a high level online collaboration application, CORUS enables easy file access, maintains secure logins, and ensures confidentiality of documents by allowing you to grant access to certain people and not others – guaranteeing secure collaboration in the cloud.

A Successful Inside, Supports a Successful Outside

Most successful organizations have a pretty good idea of what really makes them successful, and its not the consumers who buy their products and services. Its the people inside who work daily to bring innovative ideas to life and work with consumers to resolve issues. So it makes sense that the need to supply employees with better tools and practices is a top priority for 2011.

via Enterprise Collaboration Tops List of 2011 Organizational Priorities.

Employee Engagement

A Leading Indicator of Financial Performance

The worlds top-performing organizations understand that employee engagement is a force that drives performance outcomes. In the best organizations, engagement is more than a human resources initiative — it is a strategic foundation for the way they do business.

Research by Gallup and others shows that engaged employees are more productive. They are more profitable, more customer-focused, safer, and more likely to withstand temptations to leave. The best-performing companies know that an employee engagement improvement strategy linked to the achievement of corporate goals will help them win in the marketplace.

via Employee Engagement.

80% of email users with SharePoint access continue emailing documents back and forth, instead of sending document links and using library services for check in, check out, and version control.   This is consistent with the overall population of email users surveyed.  83% of email users prefer to email documents back and forth, instead of uploading the document on a public folder, shared drive, or workspace.

As the internet influences more and more of our lives, employers are turning to online project collaboration tools to bring their employees together. Online tools allow employees to work from home while still contributing to their project of choice. These tools also allow employers to keep track of what everyone else is doing. The project manager can create a complete outline for the project, assign tasks, create deadlines, and keep track of everything to make sure the project gets completed on time. This is a huge leap forward. In the past, collaboration required lots of emails back and forth to make sure everyone was on the same page. These days, you can do it all online.

via Online Project Collaboration – Work More Efficiently With Online Tools.

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