Company Communities – Bringing a Breath of Fresh Air to Corporate Communication

Business organizations these days are constantly striving to build a transparent and pervasive network for all their employees in order to facilitate better corporate communication. Keeping this challenge under consideration, cloud software juggernaut Salesforce recently showcased an ingenious new product called Company Communities that is designed to overcome the one-dimensional, limited nature of corporate intranets.

It aims to bring a much-needed personalized experience by putting a strong emphasis on the mobile and social features of corporate communication models.Salesforce hopes these features will encourage and enthrall employees in their work. Just like smoking Saffire Vapor from your e-cigs is a much healthier option than smoking cigarettes, Company Communities promises to deliver exactly the same kind of efficient functionality for your corporate communication platform.

How Company Communities Is Better Than Your Corporate Intranet

Recent research studies have shown that nearly 80% of employees in major organizations get their own mobile device for work, and 68% of them are actively using it for social purposes in the workforce. Hence, the demand for corporate mobile apps has drastically shot up, since employees feel their work efficiency is maximized with the help of these tools.

Company Communities is aimed particularly at businesses that heavily invest in corporate intranet services, but are held back due to the poor participation levels of their employees. It takes a departure from the mundane and highly formal corporate communication model and engages employees on the social front. This is accomplished with the help of a diverse set of Android, iOS and Windows apps that are tailor-made to give your network of employees the best possible social interaction platform.

Many cloud experts and established Salesforce customers have called Corporate Communities a deeper extension of its popular enterprise-networking platform, known as Chatter.Company Communities does indeed capture the essence of Chatter; however, it takes its service to a whole another level with the help of a nifty set of tools that helps you accomplish the following tasks with great finesse:

·     Efficient Distribution of Content – Your employees can now publish, review, approve and upgrade content they intend to share with certain co-workers according to their organizational roles.

·     Engaging Experts – The provision of a social profile for all employees ensures that anyone can easily interact and seek information from other employees whose field of expertise matches with the content required.

·     Proficient Teamwork – Corporate Communities allows all employees to conveniently access and share content as well as obtain suitable advice on it. It facilitates better collaboration on work projects and helps you assign them to the right experts in your organization.

·     A Rich World of Apps –Salesforce provides access to a strong suit of corporate apps as well as third-party tools that can easily be downloaded by employees to cater to their specific work requirements.

My best friend Michelle is a blogger and freelancer. She’s written about almost every topic under the sun, and loves constantly learning about new subjects and industries while she’s writing. In her spare time she enjoys spending time outdoors with her dogs. 

Data Recovery and Cloud Hosting

Recovering data in a cloud environment may be new to those who have recently made the switch to cloud computing.  Because more and more organizations are migrating to the cloud, it is important to understand how to recover data in an event that any data is lost due to a security incident.  There are a number of methods to go about recovering data, and understanding each method is the first step in knowing what to do in case you have a security problem.  Below are three methods of data recovering as it pertains to cloud hosting.

Replication

Replicating data is one of the simplest and most relied on form of backing up data.  When you replicate data, you are simply placing your data on another system.  Doing this will give you backup data should anything be lost on one system.  Although this is one of the most popular methods of backing up data, it doesn’t necessarily translate to 100% of your data being able to be recovered.  Some data may be lost.  Talk to a cloud computing professional about what you can do to protect yourself using this particular method.

                                         

Outsourcing

Many organizations will elect to outsource their disaster recovery to a managed service provider.  There is obviously a cost associated with this method, but managed service providers are equipped to handle data recovery.  There is a great peace of mind knowing your data can be recovered from professionals that focus primarily on this task.  If you make the decision to go this route, make certain you understand the timeframe it generally takes to recover data from the managed service provider you are considering. 

Restore from Backup

There is an automated process of backing up data to the cloud that can be taken advantage of.  This particular method is relatively safe and inexpensive, but backing up the data can take hours depending on what was lost.  If you consider this method, talk to a cloud computing expert about the differences between interval backups and synced backups.  Each is different types of backup solutions with pros and cons to consider.

Regardless of what method you choose any route you decide to take a wise choice.  You want to make sure you backup your data and understanding what your options are is a great first step at making the right decision for your business. 

Maintaining a Safe Cloud Computing Environment

One of the most popular misconceptions about cloud computing is that data on the cloud is not safe and secure.  Although no storage data is 100% safe, regardless of platform being used, cloud computing has proven to be just as effective, if not more, than traditional hosting when it comes to security.  As long as there are people making every attempt to hack into systems to obtain information, there will always be a focus on security, rightfully so.  If you are considering using the cloud to store your data, we provide a handful of tips for maintaining a safe cloud environment.

Use Email Wisely

Email is a fantastic tool to communicate, but it is also a focal point for those looking to hack into systems and obtain sensitive information.  If you need to relay a username and/or password to another person, avoid using email.  Simply call the person and let them know what that information is.  Emailing sensitive information out such as usernames and passwords is a great way to have your information compromised.

Be Clever

You would be surprised just how many people choose “password” as their security password.  Be clever when it comes to accessing your information.  Create passwords that are unique.  Also, when it comes to security questions and answers, think outside of the box.  Don’t answer the question of “what is your favorite color?” with “blue”.  Instead, use another name such as “football”.  An unrelated response can tighten your security measures considerably.

Be Aware

A simple way for someone to steal your information is to simply look over your shoulder.  If you are logging in from a remote location, be aware of what and who is around you.  Avoid any high traffic areas and try to do work with your back against a wall.  This can help reduce the chances of your information being stolen.

Cloud computing is safe and reliable.  However you want to make sure you don’t leave yourself open to having your data stolen and following the tips above will help.  Before you make any computing decision, be sure to do your research and understand the facts, especially when it comes to cloud computing.