What Australian teams should look for in an online workspace

An online workspace is a virtual environment where your teams can work together to get their job done, without physically being in the same place. At a minimum, your online workspace should have features like:

  • Calendar and Email
  • Video calling and Chat messaging
  • File sync and share with co-authoring
  • Assignable Tasks
  • Secure access from any device

We talk here about the 3 ways that a good online workspace should help you get your job done.

But where is the data stored? Many online workspaces will load balance where data is stored across a range of global data centres, meaning it’s often unclear exactly where your data is being stored and how it may be accessed.

For Australian teams, in addition to all the good things we’ve talked about above, your online workspace should also offer on-shore data storage options. e.g. in Australian based data centres (like AWS or NextDC) or on infrastructure that you manage on your own premise.

deskonline.cloud was created to offer Australian Businesses and individuals an online workspace with on-shore data storage options. We chose Nextcloud as the platform to build deskonline.cloud, an Australian based alternative to Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, Office 365 and all of the other cloud-based workspaces that don’t offer on-shore storage options.

There are two ways that deskonline.cloud can help you to transition to an easy to navigate online workspace with onshore data storage:

  1. we can work with your IT team to help you set up your own self-hosted Nextcloud online workspace; or
  2. we can do it for you and set you up with your own branded online workspace in deskonline.cloud.

Either way, we’d love to help! You can get in contact with us at info@deskonline.cloud or pop us a message on LinkedIn

Contractor on a project team with no access to the corporate network…

Deskonline.cloud lets you save files to a central location, with either secure links or passwords to let you control who can access the files.

Program and Project Teams

If you’re a contractor in this space you know the pain around BYOD vs access to company network vs maintaining a single file repository for project documents. Now you can keep your own templates and project documents in Deskonline.cloud for secure access wherever you are and without connecting to a company fileserver.

  • Log in to Deskonline.cloud via mobile, tablet or desktop with internet to access your files
  • Drag and drop to load files into your Deskonline.cloud space with a date time stamp
  • Set permissions control access to individual files or folders
  • Use permissions to grant secure access to external users or within your circle of Deskonline.cloud contacts
  • No need to resend files after they are updated – update files in Deskonline.cloud or upload a new file and resend the link only

 

You should also check out the real time collaboration features that Deskonline.cloud offers to boost efficiency of document reviews (think requirement specs, project plans, progress reports, RACI, change plans).

Simultaneous co-authoring is pretty cool and especially useful when you have team members reviewing, contributing and approving document from multiple locations.

To find out more about how deskonline.cloud can help you by being a #safeplacetosyncandstore head over to www.deskonline.cloud and sign-up for your 30 day trial.

When your laptop won’t connect to the AV…

If you’ve ever had to take your own device to present at a customer site, you will know that the special type of anticipation that kicks in when you’re not sure your laptop will connect properly to the AV set up.

This is how it goes down:

  • Confirm ahead of time that your device, OS and file formats are compatible with the AV set up
  • Arrive early to set up the room and make sure everything connects
  • Discover that the AV is not responding when you plug your laptop in
  • Call reception or AV support – can’t work out why the projector isn’t turning on when your laptop is plugged in
  • Reboot just in case – still not working
  • Have a little freak out – you’re on in 15 min
  • Reception offers you a Front of House laptop to use that they know will connect
  • You need to somehow get the 10MB of files you have on your laptop over onto the Front of House laptop.
  • If you’re lucky, you can transfer to USB or email your files in batches to Reception so they can save them to the Front of House laptop

What’s your back up plan? With deskonline.cloud, your back up plan can look like this:

  • When you do your final file saves, drag and drop all files you need to a deskonline.cloud folder

  • Share the folder and copy the link into an email and send that to Reception and yourself in case your laptop doesn’t connect to the AV

  • Arrive early to set up the room and make sure everything connects
  • Discover that the AV is not responding when you plug your laptop in
  • Call Reception or AV Support – ask reception for a Front of House laptop
  • Connect Front of House laptop to the AV – copy link from email to web browser

  • Click link and admire your presentation on the projector
  • Grab a coffee and wait for your guests to arrive

To find out more about how deskonline.cloud can help you by being a #safeplacetosyncandstore head over to www.deskonline.cloud and sign-up for your 30 day trial.