Internal Communication software: purchase guide
What is internal communication software?
Internal communication software allows a given person to transmit and receive information with another person. It is called a synchronous communication when it is a communication established between several people in real-time. This includes instant messaging, videoconferencing, telephony ... When the users are not available at the same time, it is called asynchronous communication. This is where e-mailing software is mainly used.
What are the features of internal communication software?
Software and communication tools are very heterogeneous, so it is better to take a look at their features by grouping them by family.
Live Sync
Videoconferencing tools, telephony and chat are real-time communication tools whose purpose is to exchange information mainly informally and quickly. These tools often offer the following features
- VoIP (Voice Over IP): Phone calls via an internet connection. VoIP can reduce telephone costs because calls are often free nationally and internationally on fixed (sometimes mobile) telephones.
- Video calls: They allow the display of the faces of participants through their webcam. Video can convey more emotions from an audio call.
- Chat: chat or chat opens a chat channel in real-time. The interest of the cat is to be less intrusive than a phone call and less formal than an email. People respond after a few minutes to a cat when they answer after a day to an email.
- Screen Sharing: screen sharing allows you to show your screen and the actions that happen in real-time to one or more people
- Social networks: social media sharing tools make it possible to centralize to address one's community wherever it is: on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin or YouTube
Asynchronous communication
Asynchronous communication tools are less intrusive than synchronous tools because the recipient discovers the content of the message when he wants. He is simply notified that someone has messaged him. They are also the most historically used tools:
- Mail: paper mail is still widely used for legally valid communications (signed contracts, letters with acknowledgment of receipt). It is also an effective marketing channel.
- Emails: Emails or emails are electronic messages sent to one or more people via an SMTP protocol. 7 billion emails are exchanged every day in the world.
- Answering machines and voice messages: Voice messages can convey a message requiring an explanation while having a high level of attention from the recipient.
- Wall Displays: Whether advertising or permanent messages, wall or digital displays (on television) have an impact and a strong presence in their environment
- Video: videos uploaded to intranets or YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, etc. are strong supports to attract the attention of an audience that can access content whenever it wishes.
- Comments, posts, votes, shares, reviews: Enterprise social networks and modern intranets offer collaborative features that encourage user interaction.
- Press relations: some tools allow to communicate synthetic information to press agencies or journalists directly (press releases for example)
- SMS and fax
Who uses internal and external communication tools?
All companies from freelance to large groups use several tools and means of communication. The trend goes even in the direction of a very large plurality of communication channels to communicate with individuals in the most relevant way possible (email, individual chat, group chat, videoconference, etc.).
In general, the smaller a company is, the more it will favor fast communication channels (Google Hangouts, Slack, Asana), because the importance is given to agility, speed and efficiency.
On the other hand, the larger a company, the more it will encourage the sharing of knowledge and the capitalization of information in the company. This helps to consolidate the foundations of the company to continue a healthy development. Emails are also more important when the share of managers increases. Their role is to communicate clear and synthetic information understandable by the greatest number.
How to choose internal communication software?
Applications are becoming more versatile. So that you can find the one that meets your needs and that of your collaborators, discover our guides on communication.
A communication software is chosen primarily on the basis of its relevance to the context of the company. For example, if security is a crucial element, a Gmail or Outlook type mail will not be relevant. It is preferable in this case to move towards a messaging hosted on the national territory or in the company with high security standards (BlockChain, AES256, etc.).
The uses of the end-users are also very important because the communication tools are permanently open on the computer and the employees' telephones. They are used with great intensity and inappropriate use could be very poorly lived.
However, the price of business communication tools is not an important criterion, as competition is strong and prices are low and consistent.
What are the best communication channels?
Here is a selection of the most popular ways and media of communication depending on the type of business.
For freelancers and freelancers
- G Suite (formerly Google Apps) including Google Hangouts and Google Meet
- Slack, the unified cat
For startups
- G Suite (formerly Google Apps) including Google Hangouts and Google Meet
- Slack, the unified cat
- Trello and Asana for Collaborative Task Management
For Small Businesses
- Microsft Office 365 because it includes the Office suite in addition to communication tools
- Buffer to communicate on social networks
- Intercom to communicate with visitors to his site
For SMEs
- TalkSpirit or Jamespot corporate social networks
- VoIP solutions with OVH or other providers
- Professional video conferencing solutions like Skype for Business or WebEx
