Built on Collaboration

The previous post covered why, more often than not, the collaboration process breaks down when using an information management tool that charges a per-user licensing fee or doesn't include training. Our two other 'rules of collaboration' concern data - how much is stored, where it is a kept, who controls it and who has access to it.

Rule 3: Don't pay extra for, or accept a limit on, data storage
For a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider, holding 100GB or even a couple of terabytes of information is nothing, just another cost. For the IT department of a construction firm that has purchased and is hosting document management software, this amount of data can represent a very high cost.

Because of this, some companies put in place limits on the amount of data each organization on a project can store, then charge for subsequent data. The inevitable outcome is that some data is stored, some isn't, which defeats the purpose of having the system. Also, how can anyone make a decision on what information is going to be required (potentially years) in the future?

Rule 4: Trust no one else on the project with your data
Is it any surprise that information management systems (therefore collaboration) can fail when firms are asked to hand over their valuable intellectual property to another organization on the project? With the installed software model, firms put their drawings and documents behind another company's firewall. The company with the software controls the data and controls access rights, which is not in the interest of project collaboration.

In contrast, most vendors using the SaaS model provide a third party platform for managing information. Each company owns its own data (the files it has created or been sent), creating a level playing field for everyone on the project. An archive of current and historical document versions is held on the system where it can't be altered or deleted.

The most used document management systems respect these four rules. They come from SaaS providers that, inclusive in their price, allow unlimited users, provide training to all participants and have no restrictions on data storage. What's more, data is stored independently with all parties having equal access rights to their information. Using tools that meet these criteria will support project collaboration and lead to successful projects.

Labels: Good practice, Technology