4+ document collaboration tools to easily increase office productivity

Users should be able to see version history, edit documents, share files, brainstorm ideas together, add meeting notes and share feedback. A document collaboration tool gives you access to all these features and a lot more.

Word lets you collaborate on documents with co-authoring by syncing your edits. After you share a word document, you can work on the file at the same time with other users on ‘Microsoft Word Online’. Under Share, you will also be able to see real-time edits. Colored flags will be assigned to each person’s cursor which is an indication of where each person is working in the document.

Document management and collaboration refers to a system that streamlines all document creation, storage, and collaboration processes. As data stored in documents grows with a company’s growth, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of documents, sync edits in real-time, maintain previous versions, control permissions, maintain structured wikis, etc. Document management and collaboration tools make internal and external collaboration easier by allowing users to set permissions, tag files and people, comment inside documents, organize all documents in one centralized hub, etc.

People collaborate on files for multiple reasons, but usually, the end goal is the same—to come up with one single version through revisions and edits. This process is called co-authoring. Document collaboration tools help distributed teams collaborate on a single file by maintaining the same version of the file across all servers. This is done through syncing changes made in real-time. Tools like these replace email communication and eliminate long collaboration cycles.

Document collaboration has the following benefits: Allows permissions control Easier to access version history Efficiency in tracking progress Facilitates remote team collaboration Reduces storage and security costs Improves employee engagement Helps maintain structured wikis