8 reasons why real-time collaboration is essential for business web apps in 2021

The world has rapidly changed over the last few years and businesses have to adapt to these changes to survive and thrive. People are used to working in offices where communication is easy and the problems can be solved as soon as they arise. Though, work from home exposes new obstacles to efficient team collaboration. Communication is an essential part of any project and it is the first one to be afflicted by remote work.

The importance of smooth and efficient communication rises significantly when working through a business web application since the team has to be organized and synced up during work on a project. To provide it we need tools that can fill the void of not being in the same room while working. Real-time collaboration is a way to ensure efficient workflow in a business web app and here are the reasons why.

Increased team productivity

Efficient communication is the key to success on any project and the main factor for boosting productivity. With the real-time collaboration tools communication within a team is smooth and fast since all members are constantly synced up. It helps to reduce the number of emails sent to the team members and shorten the delays in answers during the work process.

No overlapping tasks

Real-time collaboration tools like Vaadin Collaboration Engine allow you to see who is working on what at a certain period of time. When each team member can immediately see the progress of others it eliminates overlapping tasks, also eases and speeds up the workflow.

Quick problem solving

When several people are working in real-time on a project it’s much easier to spot and solve rising obstacles. Team members can address problems directly to each other within the used web application and solve problems quickly, sometimes even without the manager’s participation.

Enhanced team communication

Real-time working helps the team to stay connected with each other. Loneliness is one of the major problems of remote work. People feel a lack of communication and start to work in silos. Real-time tools help to communicate with your team more often and create a feeling of working in the same office room.

Speeds up the workflow

Imagine if you would work on a complex project with your team in the same room, sharing knowledge, ideas, and problems, or if the team of 5 people would work distributed without any interaction, what would be faster? The answer is clear when the team is working together the process goes smoothly and more efficiently since more ideas can be developed and more problems identified.

Creates internal and external transparency

Real-time collaboration clearly shows who is responsible for what on a project. It creates trust and transparency in the company since any manager or team member can see this information at any time. Transparent workflow can be used not only internally but as a showcase for the clients too.

Provides up-to-date information

In 2021 the changes are more rapid than ever. That’s why the relevance of used information is a crucial part of efficient work. When real-time tools are used in web applications the changes made to any piece of work will be instantly visible to anyone. Therefore, no one will waste time working on the old version of the document because of missing it in the mailbox.

Enhances supplier relationships

It is hard to overestimate the power of strong relationships with suppliers. They can significantly increase productivity and reduce risks in everyday work. The real-time collaboration through the web application can create an ecosystem that strengthens the connection with vendors and suppliers. Negotiation, planning, and controlling can be executed in real-time instead of waiting days to get a response email.

How to make these benefits work?

The reasons for implementing real-time collaboration in the business web apps are clear. However, business owners still need tools to make them work. Vaadin Collaboration Engine is just one of them which helps to build real-time collaboration features directly into custom business web apps. Developers can make the workflow go more efficiently with just a few lines of code in Vaadin.

Real-time collaboration is essential for distributed and remote teams. Even after the pandemic, communication through online sources won’t be finished. So why not start to use real-time collaboration tools already now?