BABS Foundation Report: Communication and Collaboration Tools Analysis

This individual report, prepared for the London School of Commerce, analyzes communication and collaboration tools, cloud storage, and online/offline business models. It begins by defining information communication technology and its role in facilitating communication, especially during the pandemic. The report then delves into various communication and collaboration tools like Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams, detailing their advantages, disadvantages, and applications in business settings. It examines the benefits of teamwork in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also discusses cloud storage and computing, outlining its advantages (cost-effectiveness, accessibility, disaster recovery) and disadvantages (internet dependency, security concerns). Furthermore, it explores the suitability and applications of cloud storage. Finally, the report evaluates the positive and negative aspects of online and offline product/service sales, providing a comprehensive overview of digital tools and their impact on businesses.

Individual Report

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Communication and Collaboration Tools and how they have helped many businesses to
survive the current pandemic.......................................................................................................3
Advantage, Disadvantage, suitability, and applications of cloud storage and computing..........5
Positive and negative aspects of services and products being sold online and offline................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Information communication technology can be defined as use of modern tools and
techniques which will be useful in communicating with each other. It is the best way to interact
with people with the help of tools which are available such as, email, web conferencing,
WhatsApp, fakebook, Instagram and many other so that it will be easy to communicate. During
pandemic all the persons are using this tools to communicate and complete their work. In every
organisation this tools are useful and help in communicating with each other (Ratheeswari,
2018). In the present report, different communication and collaboration tools are discussed which
are useful in communicating. Cloud storage and cloud computing is discussed and its
advantages, disadvantages, suitability and applications are described. Further, online and offline
products or services is discussed in which positive as well as negative impact are discussed and
which type of shopping is most preferred by consumers.
MAIN BODY
Communication and Collaboration Tools and how they have helped many businesses to survive
the current pandemic
Communication and collaboration tools are those tools that facilitate communication and
collaboration when individuals are not able to communicate directly. There are several tools and
these tools have specially helped businesses during pandemic as majority of the workforce was
working remotely and this increased requirement for use of these tools for communication and
collaboration. Communication and collaboration tools are-
Slack- This is one of the highly used communication and collaboration tools by businesses.
Slack is an easy to use messaging service and also integrates with platforms like Twitter and
Dropbox. In this channels and conversations are organised on the basis of topic and regarding
topic, users can have as much as they want to (Francesca Cassidy, 2020). Along with this one of
the feature of Slack involves that any type of file can be shared through Slack with colleagues
within fraction of time. Slack also have function of video call where maximum 15 participants
can join video call and this also facilitates meeting over communication and collaboration tools
for businesses. Benefits of using this app includes that it is very simple to be used and new users
can start it without much time in set-up. Integration is also a benefit or advantage of Slack in
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which list of apps can be integrated for discussion across various platforms. However there are
drawbacks or limitations associated with it such as it can be disorganised and is also shallow.
Zoom- During the global pandemic this was one of the tools and was used by millions of people
and it became a true success during pandemic. Zoom is a cloud based service and integrates
video conferencing, online meetings, chat and mobile collaboration. Zoom is also second most
downloaded app in the world. Benefits of Zoom include that it enables to have clean, high
quality audio and video, class can also be recorded for future references and review and this is an
important feature for businesses, screen of Zoom can be easily shared and events or meetings
over Zoom can be scheduled in advance. Along with this events can be exported to calendars and
guests invited can also be decided and updated in advance. This ensures that no member of team
supposed to be present at meeting miss the calls and meetings when working remotely (Mahr and
et.al., 2021). Advantage of Zoom includes that it offers interoperability in which users can
connect to virtual meeting through Desktop, Laptop and mobile devices seamlessly. For small
businesses and personal use Zoom app is free and this is also a benefit of it and work over Zoom
is flexible and meeting can be organised effectively through its feature of scheduling meetings.
Zoom also allows better service on slow connections. Drawbacks of Zoom can be considered as
delayed services of customers and also security concerns of Zoom.
Microsoft Teams/Office 365- This is also an example of communication and collaboration tools
that businesses can use. This tool provides big range of features and this is a cloud based solution
that offers traditional word-processing, spreadsheet, and slide-show capabilities and allow
multiple people to edit document in real time. Microsoft Teams also offer feature of video
conferencing and through this, teams can now streamline remote communication through high
quality virtual meeting rooms (Mercurio, 2018). Advantage of Office 365 includes seamless
collaboration of team and regular and automatic updates of the app and advanced protective
features enables to reduce security risk associated with app. Drawbacks of Office 365 includes
that it has compatibility problem and internet connection is primary requirement for connecting
with Office 365.
Teamwork- With reference to the current pandemic of covid, teamwork plays an important role
in terms of establishment of collaboration among the members of the team and assisting the
company to face the pandemic. Teamwork is a group effort in which the team will be made by
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the inculcation of various employees and personnel which will assist the company to garb the
objective and the team objective (Driskell, Salas and Driskell, 2018).
As under pandemic every work become difficult to accomplish but by making the team
effective collaboration can be made possible. It can be understood as in order to establish
collaboration it is essential for companies to indulge teamwork. This will lead to have an
establishment of unity and integrity. For example, instead of performing the work by single
individual if it will be performed in a team or a group then not only the efficiency but the work
will also be accomplish in short duration. Likewise, an inculcation of digital technology in the
teamwork will lead to have more efficient performance of work and better rendering of services.
Thus, it would not be wrong to said that teamwork as a communication and collaboration
tool will lead to have better work performance and assisting the business to meet the pandemic
situation of covid. Likewise, it is also understood as if the teamwork will be adopted then it will
lead to have better co-ordination and work performance that could further help the company to
meet the covid guidelines and pandemic rules. Also a combination of technology and teamwork
will lead the company not only to meet the pandemic but it will also lead to the accomplishment
of objectives because of the raising business efficiency and the performance.
Advantage, Disadvantage, suitability, and applications of cloud storage and computing
Advantages of cloud storage and computing
Some of the main advantages of cloud storage and computing are: it is cost effective and
directly help business in reducing their overall data storage cost in an appropriate and effective
manner. It makes sharing of data or files much easier. Another advantage of cloud storage is its
usability and accessibility i.e., data can be used or accessed by business at any time any where
regardless of the location of business of data where it is stored. One of the main advantages of
Cloud storage is that it provides a feature of disaster recovery i.e., it stores backup of every data
that makes it much easier for business organizations to recover their data or important files or
documented after a disaster (such as corrupt system, failure of system etc.). Cloud computing
and storage is available for to be accessed by companies 24*7 (Liu and Yu, 2018). Not only this
it further provides flexibility to organization in terms of its capacity or it can be said that capacity
of storage and computing of cloud can be increased as per the need and requirement of business.
Other than all of these advantages, one of the most important advantage is that it provides a
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feature to business organizations for updating software’s and applications automatically. It
provides high security to data stored within cloud i.e. no one can access data stored in cloud
easily without having access to cloud. In fact, business organizations can set permissions to
different kinds of users for accessing documents or data stored within cloud.
Disadvantages of cloud storage and computing
Disadvantages of cloud storage and computing are as follows: internet connection
requirement is one of the main disadvantages od cloud storage and computing because without
internet connection data stored or computed within cloud cannot be accessed or uploaded easily.
It is important for business organizations to adopt a secure cloud storage and computing platform
because if chosen cloud platform is not secure then it can directly increase risk of data
confidentiality. Or if wrong person get username and password of cloud storage then risk of data
theft can increase directly (Lytvyn and et. al., 2019). Many times, users of cloud storage and
computing have faced confidentiality and security issues because when wrong person get access
to that data they can easily download or use that particular data. Technical problems within cloud
storage and computing is another disadvantage because if there is any kind of technical issue
then risk of data loss can increase because cloud computing and storage works online with
requirement of internet connection.
Suitability of cloud storage and computing
Cloud computing is important and suitable for business organizations today in many
different ways. today requirement of data has increased in many ways whether it is in terms of
usage of data or storage of data, Cloud storage and computing reduces requirement of physical
devices for storage and organizations can move their data to cloud without worrying about
storage space or requirement of any kind of physical device. It has further made mobility of data
much easier i.e., if an organization move their business location from one place to another, they
need not to worry about moving their data from one place to another they can simply access their
data regardless of the location and if they require a backup copy of their data then they can easily
get the backup copy of their data. It is suitable for business because it has helped in reducing
business operability cost.
Application of cloud storage
Cloud storage refers to a software in which data can be saved and it is useful for companies
in storing their data. Nowadays, all the work is being done online and it is important that
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information should be safe and their should be no problem in maintaining details. Applications
of cloud storage are it is useful in storing the data and employees can access with the good
internet connection and it will help in maintaining proper records. It is a software which can be
used by companies so that there data can be safe and it will not get leaked. This can be easily
accessed by persons from anywhere and it will be beneficial for company. It is important that
necessary steps should be taken by employees so that there will be jo issue in future. Many
companies are using this cloud storage because it is useful in recording all the details of a
company and it is safe if all the necessary steps are being taken. Cloud storage is the best way
which is used by most of the firms so that there will be no issue and details can be kept safely. It
helps employees in recording information related to employees and company. It should be keep
safe so that personal information will not get leaked. It’s applications are, it is helpful in
infrastructure, test and development, big data analytics, data backup, disaster recovery. This is
useful for all companies because in this data is safe and there will be o issue. It is useful for
companies as they can store their details and access from anywhere with good internet
connection.
Positive and negative aspects of services and products being sold online and offline
Positive-
 Online media can give a business service in order to target the consumer through
effective product and service. Therefore, there is good reason when using online
approach in order to provide the various options for consumers. Some kind of potential
client won’t know and what could reside in their near location. So as, it is moved towards
online option to find better options in product or service according to the requirement.
 Online media can be considered as money saver when launch a various kind of product
and service in marketplace (Wang and Zhang, 2018). it is the best option for client to
spend money and save time. on the basis of online, it become easier for comparison with
what it needed to spend on traditional marketing methods.
 Easy access to market- online option is way to provide the accessibility of client where
they can search, find or check information of particular items through website. for
example- online marketplace such as Amazon. This kind of enterprise allows for user to
purchase items through online. Nowadays, organisation can be selling their product and
service through online medium.
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 Potential for rapid growth- selling the product by online which means that increase the
demand of modern technology. In most of cases, different organisations are using
appropriate marketing strategy and make a plan to scale up order fulfilment system. this
kind of respond is increasing the sales and production of enterprise.
Negative-
 Cost of website- online sold retailers are mainly focused on the planning, designing,
creating, hosting, securing and also maintaining the overall online platform. the negative
aspect is that it is not cheap. Especially, if in case expanding the large business so that it
would require a lot of investment.
 Security and fraud- in recently, the growth of online has rapidly increasing and different
enterprise can use online mode. But it has been identified the security, fraud problem
which may directly affecting on the reputation, image of enterprise. So as, it is very
important to maintain or upgrade a proper security system to protect online website.
 Advertising price or cost- while online marketing can be consider as efficient way of
getting the right consumers. afterwards, It will be targeting the client according to the
demand (Barari, Ross and Surachartkumtonkun, 2020). but it may arise a negative aspect
in which increase the price or cost. Especially true, if company is competing in
marketplace. it is very expensive for enterprise to select or choose expensive marketing
campaign such as search advertising for purpose of product selling.
Positive and Negative Aspect of service and product in context of offline
Positive-
 Offline shopping is helping the consumers to find the different product and service
because it provide the personnel connection with business. in order to maintain a loyalty
towards brand (Homburg, Lauer and Vomberg, 2019). Different companies are
establishing a physical existence of enterprise and provide the physical touch of product
or service to their potential consumers.
 In context of offline, People will tend to pay for product according to their quality or
service. this is because consumer can be viewed or touched in person. in some situation,
it is become consider the best option for consumers to purchase an items through offline
mode.
Negative-
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 The Advantage aspect of offline is that build facilitate for their consumers, while e-
commerce website are already exists in globally. That’s why, it has found that offline
option gives a limited product or service to the consumers.
 In context of offline, companies are unable to speak to client at all time, it is harder for
consumer to solve their queries related product or service.
Thus, it would not be wrong to said that the while selling the products through online and
offline mode, there are certain advantages as well as dis-advantages too. As selling the product
through online mode will lead to have the raise in the sales percentage and generation of more
revenue, however on the other hand it has certain dis-advantages in the form of the non-
interaction of the company with the customers. this may lead to lack of communication and the
product will be delivered and offered not in the exact sense. Likewise, availing services through
online will also raise the efficiency of the company and making it competitive, but at the same
time it will also lead to have impersonal interaction. This can further understood as when the
sale is made through offline mode then the interaction between the customer and the seller will
be made and free communication occur wherein the customer will raise and make clear its
doubts and in the same way seller will also enable to explain the product as per the customer
need and preference. However, in case of online mode the products are being displayed without
any interaction. Thus, it would not be wrong to said that the major disadvantage in terms of
online and the offline sale is related with the communication and the collaboration issues. On
the other hand, it would also not be dined that online sale and purchase will lead to have better
sales and fast delivery of the products with a positive impact over the company in terms of
directing it towards the objective and assisting it to grab the aim. In short online and offline sale
will lead to have positive as well as negative impact towards the company either in terms of
making it competitive and directed towards the goal while on the same side it will also lead to
have low communication and collaboration between the customer and the company.
CONCLUSION
Form the above discussion it can be concluded that, there are many different tools and
techniques which can be used by companies to communicate with each other and it is easy to
interact. During pandemic this was the best way to communicate with people as all were working
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form their home. There are many communication tools such as, using email, WhatsApp,
Facebook, Instagram or any other social networking sites can be used so that proper
communication can be done and it will be easy (Kristiawan and Muhaimin, 2019). Cloud
storage and cloud computing has been described and advantages, disadvantages, suitability and
application is also discussed and how it is beneficial. Further, online and offline products or
services has been described in which its benefits are discussed and comparison is done between
both the products. positive and negative impact of online and offline purchasing of goods and
services has been described and how it is beneficial for people.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Barari, M., Ross, M. and Surachartkumtonkun, J., 2020. Negative and positive customer
shopping experience in an online context. Journal of Retailing and Consumer
Services. 53. p.101985.
Driskell, J.E., Salas, E. and Driskell, T., 2018. Foundations of teamwork and
collaboration. American Psychologist. 73(4). p.334.
Homburg, C., Lauer, K. and Vomberg, A., 2019. The multichannel pricing dilemma: Do
consumers accept higher offline than online prices?. International Journal of Research
in Marketing. 36(4). pp.597-612.
Kristiawan, M. and Muhaimin, M., 2019. Teachers’ Obstacles In Utilizing Information and
Communication Technology. International Journal of Educational Review. 1(2). pp.56-
61.
Liu, A. and Yu, T., 2018. Overview of Cloud Storage And Architecture. International Journal of
Scientific & Technology Research.
Lytvyn, V., and et. al., 2019. Development of Intellectual System for Data De-Duplication and
Distribution in Cloud Storage. Webology, 16(2).
Mahr, A and et.al., 2021. Zooming into the pandemic! A forensic analysis of the Zoom
application. Forensic Science International: Digital Investigation. 36. p.301107.
Mercurio, R., 2018. Beginning Office 365 Collaboration Apps. Working in the Microsoft Cloud.
Berkeley: Apress.
Ratheeswari, K., 2018. Information communication technology in education. Journal of Applied
and Advanced Research. 3(1). pp.45-47.
Wang, X. and Zhang, Q., 2018. Does online service failure matter to offline customer loyalty in
the integrated multi-channel context? The moderating effect of brand strength. Journal
of Service Theory and Practice.
Online
Francesca Cassidy. 2020. Top 10 communication and collaboration tools. [Online]. Available
Through: < https://www.raconteur.net/technology/top-10-communication-and-
collaboration-tools/>.
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