Why Web 2.0 and Business Tools Are Better Than Email

If you learned that you no longer need to deal with email at work, how would you react?

Ever since the CEO of French IT company Atos shocked the world by announcing that he wants to ban email within his workplace, other businesses have been debating whether there really are alternatives to what seems to be most convenient form of communication ever invented.

According to a report by McKinsey, office workers spend an average of 28 hours a week writing emails, searching for information and collaborating internally.

Seeing that email can create an overload of unnecessary work, many businesses are starting to turn to social web 2.0 technologies. These up-and-coming tools are reinventing the way businesses share information, communicate with each other, and form stakeholder relationships. Still in the emerging stages, this type of technology is already proving to have a number of advantages over email.

Some reasons why Web 2.0 Tools are better than email

No more back and forth communication
Email communication chains can get lengthy. Web 2.0 tools eliminate the need to reply to messages, forward them on, and ensuring all the right people are cc’d and bcc’d. Instead, all information can be accessed in one centralized location, which the whole team can access at the same time.

Effective brainstorming
Traditional brainstorming sessions can be time-consuming. They can involve meeting after meeting, with lots of note-taking by multiple team members. Then, the notes need to be shared. This in turn may require lots of back and forth emails, with attachments that each member needs to save. With social Web 2.0 tools, brainstorming sessions can take place in the form of blog posts, discussion forums or wikis. This eliminates the need for back and forth communication as everyone can provide feedback and ideas to the whole community, which can all be viewed in one place.

Creates a repository/knowledge base
Contrary to with email, all data inputted into Web 2.0 tools stays there. This saves the burden of going through mass of emails to find something that was sent months ago. This way, information is no longer hidden in individual accounts; instead, they are in a set place which people can keep referring to and accessing the history of activities, information, and conversations around certain projects.

Because the economy is becoming more and more competitive, social collaboration is now essential in every company. It is obviously changing the way businesses communicate and puts corporate relationships on a new level. Furthermore, it allows valuable information to get out of their hidden places within inboxes, folders and other unshared storage places

But will social Web 2.0 technologies eradicate all use of email? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, we’d like to hear your thoughts.