Social Cloud - All-In-One Collaboration Solution

The problem of choosing a tool for doing business is in front of each team and a single team. Not so long ago, many people lacked “shared” files on the server with differentiation of access rights registered somewhere in AD, but today this approach often no longer works. People are increasingly connecting to the process from outside the office, and it may be unnecessary to take up VPNs or take other actions to securely connect to corporate resources.



Fortunately for us, for about a decade, various companies have been actively offering SaaS-services of the widest profile. Domestic companies were involved in the race for users not so long ago, but they already caught up with their foreign counterparts, and in some ways surpass them. In addition, for resident companies of the Russian Federation, the use of services developed by “we” can in many respects be more profitable both in technical and organizational terms.

Let's skip the common myths about using SaaS services in business and we will assume that they have already been overcome. In the end, we face a simple task - to provide a growing team with a simple and easy-to-use tool for working together in all its manifestations.
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In the end, how does the interaction usually occur in most firms? We will not take the ideal cases of fully debugged business processes in a spherical vacuum; let us imagine an ordinary office in any business center. All current correspondence (both external and internal) is conducted by e-mail. We hope that we use only corporate addresses, we have raised our server, or at least a web service that allows us to provide tolerable encryption of mail traffic. The volume of incoming and outgoing letters is constantly growing, and it is sometimes physically impossible to find the necessary attachment or phrase, especially in the absence of competent email clients.



Small questions are probably asked by Skype, and even through ICQ (yes, yes!). For this, in most cases, personal accounts are used, and therefore - distraction from work and inefficient use of working time is guaranteed. Finally, when using standard file sharing models while simultaneously opening a single document, other users may not get access to it, and cloud hosting is not a panacea. Who has never had a conflict of changes in Dropbox, let the first one throw a stone at me.

It is possible and not to mention that the differentiation of access rights when it comes to working with a variety of files and folders is a separate front of the system administrator, for which the company may at first simply lack resources. Despite the fact that externally things can be very well, every unread message, a lost letter and a missed call may be the result of a transaction that was not concluded in time, which means lost profits.



How to bring everything together, without wasting time on configuring a complex and probably expensive system, and most importantly - on training employees, some of whom may simply not be ready for large-scale changes in the workflow? We all know what a stupor can even cause an elementary request to press any key, and a new interface, other button names, one-time passwords and something else terrible - no, thank you.

With such prerequisites, it becomes clear why SaaS CRM systems have become so widespread. They do not need to be implemented (with the exception of cases when “well, I really want it”), the work goes in the usual browser for any employee, and the login is his own e-mail. Training, as a rule, is not required, and if something is not clear, there are always training videos and other supporting materials on the websites.

But CRM alone is usually not enough. Yes, it is possible to keep records of transactions in it and keep the contact database up to date, but what about the internal correspondence, files and everything else?



We need a universal solution, while not burdened with unnecessary functions. Bitrix24 - just one of those. This is an easy-to-use system that will allow any employee not only to cope with his direct responsibilities, but also to keep abreast of company news, track progress within the department, work with transactions, leads and contacts in the CRM module and deal with hundreds of interesting and useful things contributing to the development of a native company.



Registration at the invitation of the administrator does not take even minutes, and you can access the system from anywhere in the world at the short address chosen when creating the portal. Of course, the HTTPS protocol is supported, and the service itself is hosted in Amazon’s “clouds”, which guarantees the highest availability and reliability.

From arguments for technical specialists we will move on to more pressing and sought-after problems. Let's say we need to share photos with corporate parties. Bitrix24 is happy to help, just create an album and indicate who can view it. Need to store the latest documents centrally? We put the application Bitrix24.Disk on Windows or Mac, select the synchronization folders and at the same time ensure that anyone just does not see the production documentation and plans to seize the world of sales.



Working with files is as convenient as using, say, Dropbox. If you do not have access to the Internet, the latest versions of the documents are guaranteed to be at your disposal. As part of the free package, up to 5 GB is available, but no one bothers to rent additional space. By the way, if the service is used by no more than 12 people, then Bitrix24 with all the main functions will not be worth the organization a penny! Perhaps only this argument is enough to take and try the system right now.

The first thing that catches the eye when entering the system is the ability to set a task in a matter of seconds. If you need more details - at your service a detailed form. The CRM module will not disappoint even in the basic edition of Bitrix24, and even chat with an integrated video telephony system not only saves money, but also has a beneficial effect on the health of nerve cells.



As the system is filled with user-generated content, it is impossible not to draw attention to a flexible access control policy. In addition, at any time you can refer to the familiar and dear to most users of the news feed. In such an environment, even those who are unsure of the correctness of their actions straighten their shoulders and feel better, because likes, comments and statuses are so simple, familiar and understandable! It does not matter that the content is generated by colleagues, and not unfamiliar people from the other end of the planet, it only forces you to carefully choose the arguments. If the total tape is not enough - welcome to the group, each of which allows you to choose a circle of contacts on a specific topic.

Being extremely user-friendly for any category, Bitrix24 is a very flexible system. Starting with changing the composition of menu items to hide unnecessary sections, you can immerse yourself in the settings of notifications and the subtleties of the portal, eventually achieving the perfect work of services and not being distracted by anything that interferes with the main work.



Setting up what is called “for yourself” hardly takes an hour of your time, and employees will save whole days by instantly invoicing their preloaded details, collecting deals from the product catalog, updating contact information and communicating with each other in the built-in chat, with a light movement hands turned into a tool for voice calls and video conferencing. Voice communication and even video calls within the group are free, and the built-in telephony pleases with surprisingly favorable rates.



Returning to the potential of customization, it should be noted that the “default” option is also quite good. In most cases, do not have to touch anything, because it works the same. Despite the status of "beta", the system has long been the impression of a stable and reliable product. The response to the user's actions is made without delay, there are no problems with the display in various browsers, and the built-in application store allows you to instantly increase functionality due to additional modules, the number of which is constantly growing.

External services like Outlook calendars are also not forgotten, and mobile devices, as usual, are now in high esteem. But the main idea is different - you no longer need to switch between a dozen services and applications to perform some basic operations within the framework of the workflow. Clarified, downloaded, signed and marked as solved - that's all, you can take a break or update the tape.



In the subsequent cycle of articles, we will pay special attention to the schemes of working with Bitrix24 and possible scenarios for using the system, and also we will definitely consider the unique possibilities that allow us to take work with external contractors and contractors to a new level.

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Details about the system - on bitrix24.ru ! Try it yourself to create your own free portal and inviting colleagues will not take a minute!