5 Reasons Your Team Needs
An Online Whiteboard

Progress in technology has changed how most things are done. Today, you can work remotely from anywhere worldwide and paperwork has been greatly reduced by the digitalization of things. Technology has enabled things to be done online without compromising quality or efficiency.

One such technology is the use of online whiteboards in businesses. The history of boards goes back to when chalkboards were the only type of boards used. Around the ’90s, whiteboards were invented, and businesses moved from chalkboards to whiteboards. With the increased digitization, companies are slowly beginning to embrace whiteboard online software.

What Is An Online Whiteboard 

An online whiteboard is a software solution found on a browser or as an app. In other words, an online whiteboard is the same as a physical whiteboard. The difference is brought about by the lack of limitations offered by an online whiteboard. A physical whiteboard has limitations in the amount of space it offers, the items you can add, such as audio recording and videos, and the location where you can access it.

There are various online whiteboard solutions that your team can use. Some of these solutions are:

  • Limnu
  • Deon
  • Allo
  • Mural
  • Stormboard
  • Bluescape
  • Padlet Briefcase
  • Explain Everything
  • Collaborated
  • InVision

When choosing an online whiteboard, consider the needs of your business. The best online whiteboard should be able to meet those needs. Now that you have a list of online whiteboards you can choose from, here are the reasons why your business needs the software in the first place.

1. You May Need It To Facilitate Communication During Remote Working 

Although remote working was still in place before the Covid-19 pandemic, the pandemic has been a critical contributor to the new norm being adopted and made the new normal.

Remote working during the pandemic was one of the measures to help curb the spread of the virus. As mentioned before, working remotely has remained an option after the pandemic in most companies.

Working from home or in a different location can be challenging if you don’t have the necessary tools. The essential tools ensure that despite your location, your team is going on accordingly, through constant communication. For this to happen, you need a tool that you and your teammates can access anytime and anywhere.

An online whiteboard is an example of a tool that’s easily accessible. You can use the software to communicate things like:

  • Progress of your work
  • Challenges encountered and potential solutions
  • Working hours that are favorable to everyone
  •  Targets to be achieved among other work-related issues

2. You May Need It For Visualizing Team Projects 

When assigned a project, your team should visualize various aspects of your project. Visualization makes it easier for someone to process information. In this case, understand the project goals.

Reasons why visualization is important for your business.

  • It helps the team make fast and informed decisions, therefore saving time
  • It enables you and your team to identify trends and patterns vividly
  • It makes it less complicated to work with big data
  • You can use it to determine the relationship between operation and performance
  • You can also use it to analyze the possible risks and opportunities by illustrating possible forecast

It can be hard to visualize a project when all communication is only in word form. You may need diagrams and illustrations, among other visual set-ups, for better visualization.

Project visualization is effective when it’s done using the best tools. Having an online whiteboard ensures your team has a mutual understanding of the project through visualization.

3. It Can Be Used In Meetings With Your Client 

Most clients, if not all, prefer communicating with the companies or teams they’re working with. However, at times, it can be challenging to hold physical meetings due to the difference in schedules and location. This results in virtual meetings. During these meetings, clients look forward to getting updates from your team.

While you could use tools like PowerPoint to give updates to your clients, it questions the ability of your company to stay up to date with important trends. You may want to use some of the online whiteboards since it has more robust features than other tools of presentation. These features allow you to be more creative with your presentation, hence impressing your clients. The features include:

  • Drawing, sketching, and handwriting using a digital pen
  • Sticky notes
  • Rating and voting
  • Commenting and chatting
  • Multimedia content like audio recordings, videos, and images
  • Access rights management capabilities that are used to control the actions of members and others

Moreover, an online whiteboard allows clients to give their expectations, feedback, and ideas at the presentation time. This makes them feel involved, unlike one-sided update meetings. It also reduces time-wasting, where you must wait for client feedback before getting back to executing the project.

4. You Can Use It To Reduce The Cost Of Physical Meetings

Holding physical meetings is expensive because you have to cater to things such as the cost of transportation, snacks, and sometimes accommodation if it’s not a day’s meeting. These things increase the cost of holding a physical meeting. To reduce such unnecessary expenses, you may have to consider virtual meetings.

You’ll need effective online communication tools like the online whiteboard to ensure the virtual meeting is just as productive as a physical one. Therefore, if you’re looking to cut the cost of operation for your business, consider investing in things like online whiteboards. Such tools will help with an easy transition from physical to virtual meetings.

5. You Can Use It To Store Your Information In One Place 

When working with a team, a lot of communication and documentation is done. All these files are stored on different platforms of communication like Teams, Slack, and Google Drive, among others. This, therefore, makes it hard to locate some files. It also creates a sense of disorganization.

Therefore, consider using an online whiteboard if you want to restore order in how your team organizes its files. It allows you to store all your files in one place. It also helps with:

  • Attaching documents to your whiteboard. This makes it easy for other team members to access them
  • Keeping all your conversations on the board
  • Importing notes, images, and diagrams that you created in other programs

Summing It Up! 

Technology has changed significantly over time, and most sectors, such as business, have embraced these changes. The development in technology over the years can be illustrated by how companies have advanced from using chalkboards to online whiteboards. Since the online whiteboard is a recent technology, they have more robust features than other traditional communication tools. Your business will therefore need it for remote working communication and visualization of projects.

Online whiteboards are also very resourceful for meetings to update clients on job progress. They also help reduce the cost of physical meetings and help organize files in your business. Therefore, if you haven’t invested in an online whiteboard, you may want to do that today.