Ways to collaborate and share information
Claromentis Intranet & Extranet manager provides several ways to collaborate and share information within an organisation. We have application called ‘Documents’ (Document Management System), ‘Publish’ (Content Management System) ‘Wiki’, and our new member of the family ‘Bookshelf’ (online policies & procedures).
In early phase of intranet deployment we frequently being asked by our clients, “Which tool is the best to share and collaborate a piece of information or should we just stick with an existing company shared drive?”.
There isn’t one solution to all problems
The good starting point is to be aware of the pros, cons and applicability of individual tool available. Unfortunately as an Information Architect we always says “There isn’t one solution to all problems”. The idea is by having the right solution (with right technology) to a specific problem, we can make everyone’s lives easier.
Let’s start with…
Shared Drive
Typically before an organisation deploys an intranet they have existing growing unmanageable shared drive(s). Shared drive is relatively easy to setup but it suffers from these issues:
- No version control – You ended up having similar files with version number scripted at the back of the file name for example: “MyPresentation_ver2.doc” not to mention the frustration of someone overwriting the file you’re currently working on.
- Searching – Does everyone feel that it is easier to search information on the internet than on the share drive?
- Limited Access – When you’re not in the office, say on the road or working from home, you either have to use slow & complicated VPN software or not having access to the company files at all.
- Security – There is no easy way to setup permission on a shared drive, typically it opens to everyone or if you have permission it’s so complicated to set up and configure.
- Audit - You can’t easily check who did what, when and where.
- Duplication – since a single physical file cannot exist in two places at once, you ended up with duplication everywhere.
Documents – Document Management System
Claromentis document management system is designed to address all of the common issues with company Share Drive. The heart of it is the application called ‘Documetns’ It provides built-in version control, searching & indexing, permission layer, easy access, and many enterprise features.
What are the Cons?
- It is not suitable for managing extremely large files. (Larger than 30Mb)
- Files are kept in native format, which means users need to have the application to open / view and edit the file. For instance not all users within organisation have AutoCAD software needed to open a *.DWG file.
- Speed to upload and download the file stored in Documents are limited to the speed of your network / internet connection
- Extra steps may be required to edit a file. Typically you have to download it (temporary), make changes and upload them back in, although we have several solutions to make this relatively painless such as webdav.
Publish – Content Management System
Using publish, users with no web publishing skills can collaborate & create web pages easily.
- Better access – Information displayed as web pages are widely accessible. Users don’t have to download the file or installing software to view. They can simply read them online.
- Information Hub – everything can be connected in publish page, link to documents, link to other pages, or links to external website. For example you can create a health & safety page which may have link to ‘health & safety assessment guide.PDF’ which is store in Documents as well as link to HSE websites.
- Mash-ups – Publish allows you can embed rich media such as online videos, podcast, web widgets and much more.
- Enterprise features– Publish has everything you need to manage online content, from built-in version control, security & permission, reminder, audit trails, multi lingual and much more.
It may sound like a good idea to convert all documents into publish pages, but there are several points to consider:
- There is not much point converting complicated document such as spreadsheet into a publish page, you probably better of store them in Documents and just link it from a publish page.
- Content for publish page should be relatively short, concise and to the point. Remember the information is designed to be read on the screen just like web pages.
Wiki
A wiki is designed to enable everyone with fast and volatile collaboration. Claromentis integrates with Media WIKI, one of the most popular open-source wiki software. Wiki focuses on fast and real-time collaboration by minimising complexity in content creation. There are several issues to remember here:
- Wiki tend to have open access for everyone – You have to keep sensitive and proprietary data off the wiki. Avoid posting sensitive data such as financials.
- Wiki syntax to learn, Wiki may focuses on simplicity but there is whole new syntax to learn. Wiki is typically very popular within IT department but what’s popular in one department may not be suitable others.
Bookshelf
Bookshelf is the application behind Claromentis Quality Manager; it is the latest addition to the information layer suite. Bookshelf is designed specifically for managing Company Policies & Procedures. It allows online procedures creation making sure that there is one version of the truth across entire organisation.
- Bookshelf allows company procedures and policies to be maintained online allowing true collaboration of subject matter expert.
- Once the policies or procedures are created online, it can then be read online or exported in various format such as MS Word and PDF.
Summary
These are just a few of the tools available in Claromentis Framework. There isn’t one perfect solution to all problems but at least you can choose ‘the best kit for the job’.
Any comments and feeback welcomed.