Why Is Secure Collaboration in the Digital Age So Important?

Of the factors needed to support an effective digital transformation, one is indispensable: Without employee buy-in, no digital transformation will succeed. To attain the level of engagement needed to transform your business, you must empower your teams to work in new ways that make sense for them. Providing secure collaboration tools is thus an essential step toward implanting a truly digital work culture in your organization. Think about the importance of the information we exchange every day between email, text, social media, etc. We speak about financials, customers, employees, acquisitions, and other valuable information that needs to be kept safe. If this information of all things is not secure then fundamentally, we are exposed and not being good shepherds for our customers, partners, investors or employees. Keeping our information secure is required — and expected — when we are collaborating.

Gaps and deficits in organizational culture can be a major barrier to digital success, as McKinsey showed in a study that identified increased collaboration — along with customer-centricity and calculated risk-taking — as a must-have behavioral shift for organizations embarking on a successful digital transformation. A later study by McKinsey showed “how, and by how much, digitizing tools and processes can support success” by enabling employees to work in new ways — and called out three specific changes as essential:

• Adopting digital tools to make information more accessible across the organization — which, according to the study, more than doubles the likelihood of a successful transformation.
• Deploying “digital self-serve technologies” for employees and/or business partners.
• Modifying standard operating procedures to incorporate new technologies.

Beyond these three elements, McKinsey found that “an increase in data-based decision making and in the visible use of interactive tools” could also more than double the likelihood of digital transformation success.

So, with this in mind, what key attributes are needed for secure collaboration tools to engage employees effectively and help to create a cultural shift in your organization? What concrete capabilities will win your teams over and give your organization the digital momentum you’re looking for? Here are some of the ways in which secure collaboration tools enable teams to work together efficiently and effectively — while also securing sensitive data.

Increasing productivity

Secure collaboration tools help teams work together more efficiently, reducing the time required to complete tasks and increasing overall productivity. For example, cloud-based collaboration platforms allow team members to work on documents in real time, from anywhere, without worrying about version control issues or emailing files back and forth.

Enabling remote work

The pandemic accelerated the shift towards remote work, and secure collaboration tools became essential for enabling teams to work together from different locations. With the right tools in place, remote workers can collaborate just as effectively as they would in an office setting, without compromising the security of sensitive data.

Enhancing communication

Collaboration tools improve communication between team members, keeping everyone on the same page and working toward the same goals. By providing a centralized platform for communication, they make it easy for team members to share information and feedback, reducing the risk of miscommunication and misunderstandings.

Ensuring security

Digital transformation often involves the use of sensitive data, and it’s essential that this data is kept secure throughout the collaboration process. Secure collaboration tools use encryption and other security measures to protect data from unauthorized access or interception, reducing the risk of data breaches or other security incidents.

Facilitating compliance

Compliance with data privacy and security regulations is becoming increasingly important, and secure collaboration tools can help organizations meet these requirements. By providing features like access controls, audit logs, and data retention policies, collaboration tools make it easier for organizations to demonstrate compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA.

Transformation is disruptive by nature, and seamlessly providing multiple channels for sharing and communication in a safe way can be a challenge for any organization. Nevertheless, secure collaboration is an indispensable aspect of any digital transformation process — both technically and at a business level. Enabling teams to work together efficiently and securely is essential for digital transformation. Regardless of the location or the type of data they are working with. By investing in secure collaboration tools, organizations can ensure that they are able to collaborate effectively around any information and from anywhere in our rapidly changing digital landscape.