Working With The Pandemic: Communication Platforms Shaping The Professional Space

When the year 2020 began, less than 5% of the global workforce was working remotely. Now, in little over a year, more than half of them are forced to work from home. The fact that top tier companies like Facebook, Google, Microsoft and more have established long term or permanent remote work policies, goes on to show the immense impact the pandemic has had in the professional world. The popular adoption of new working arrangements requires a different kind of skill set and familiarity from the company employees.

The advent of the pandemic catalysed the digitization of information for businesses. What has resulted is a major influx of data, and insufficient systems in place to optimally handle it. Existing data management applications are dated. Despite that, given the current load of information on corporations, the demand for them has been skyrocketing. The need to have systems that can help manage such vast information databases preceded the pandemic, but it has in effect acted as its springboard.

The combined challenge of working in a virtual space, while handling large volumes of differentiated data, requires new forms of communication platforms. There is a need for advanced systems that will be more efficient, productive and most importantly, less time-consuming. Easy-to-use interface, ability to hold and share data, allowing effective communication, are some of the few features a company looks for.

Here is a list of three companies that is shaping the way we communicate in the new normal:

• HYLYT

HYLYT is a new-age enterprise team collaboration platform. Especially designed to create ease-of-working in the workspace, it combines communication channels with an in-built information management system.

One of its primary features is the in-app messaging and calling option. This allows the creation of rooms for team coordination and communication. It also has an instant note taking feature that helps save time and store vital information on-the-go, the perfect tool for meetings. The ability to sync your device’s in-built calendar with the calendar that HYLYT provides and edit it accordingly is the icing on the cake.

Additionally, HYLYT provides cloud storage on a subscription basis for business accounts. It allows for the storage of files that have different formats organised with the use of meta tags, giving the user ease of access. HYLYT comes with an advanced search option that has 14 distinctive criteria to help the user find exactly what they’re looking for.

We take Privacy and Data Protection seriously, and have taken measures to minimize data leakage. With multi level password protection, and instant cloud storage, the app is foolproof. When an employee leaves the company, their account is instantly eliminated so that the information is secure and can be passed on.

HYLYT provides a one-stop solution through its collaborative experience. Its user-friendly interface in this gig economy revolution makes it more inclusive and facilitates seamless communication in an enterprise.

• ProofHub

ProofHub is an online project management app that helps teams to organise and track multiple projects and get task updates from the team members simultaneously. ProofHub offers some core tools and does not have a complicated user interface. Navigating the app is simple. It has a column of buttons on the left side with access to tabs on the top catering quick movement. When one clicks on an active project, the interface guides the user to that exact section.

With a wide range of header tabs – Discussions, Tasks, Gantt, Calendar, Notes, Files, and Time – the user can select tabs that are of more prominence for a specific project when starting it and customize it accordingly. The option to colour code makes ProofHub visually organised.

ProofHub also includes task management tools. The tasks can be detailed, including estimated time to complete the task, labels,and the documents that are uploaded with it. It has a checklist feature for tasks that allows the user to mark them as ‘in process’, ‘in approval’ and ‘done’. ProofHub allows discussion through a live chat room. Except for the slight lag, with its multiple communication and organisation features, ProofHub provides a simple and easy way to keep teams motivated, and projects running.

• Chanty

Chanty is a messaging app that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots to improve communication and collaboration. It has a task based approach that singularly focuses on increasing work productivity.

Chanty has an unconventional interface. It is specifically designed to prioritise tasks, with its tab on top of all the conversations that are open in the app. This feature may be useful to some. With apps like Flock and Glip, the user gets familiarised with the interface it has and might miss it eventually, but with Chanty, the originality and the unfamiliarity stands out, setting it apart from the others.

The features that Chanty offers are divided on the basis of payment. The free version allows an account to have 10 users, but lacks audio and video chat features and minimal storage (20 GB per project). Users can pay to upgrade their plans to have a better, barrier free experience with unlimited users and 20GB storage space per user.

Chanty also offers AI bots that help the user increase their productivity and also has an auto-fill option when the user wants to zero in on specific material. It is a powerful way to streamline company operations and communication primarily for the completion of tasks. While this adds to the fact that it increases productivity, it can also backfire because there is a lack of personal communication between employees which in the current remote work scenario may have a negative impact.

There is a definite change of lenses when it comes to our perception of communication platforms in the current logistics. The days we are witnessing and are embracing ourselves

for, our collaborative platform, in a very real sense, is becoming our new office building. The new setup has made us reexamine the way that we impart at work. This hybrid workplace may feel like another wilderness. However, with instruments like HyLyt, it’s workable for you to adopt a best-of-breed strategy and build the new collaboration stage that your organization needs to flourish.