With the current health emergency, businesses across the globe have had to institute remote work really fast, as a way to protect their employees. One of the silver linings of the current pandemic could be that people discover the positives of working from home and decide to stick with it long term.
Damian Roller
Guides
With the current health emergency, businesses across the globe have had to institute remote work really fast, as a way to protect their employees. One of the silver linings of the current pandemic could be that people discover the positives of working from home and decide to stick with it long term.
Remote work offers the benefits of being able to work in a calmer environment and get more work done. But when it comes to communication, this can lead to various misunderstandings, difficulties in scheduling and holding web conference calls, and the like.
When communication cannot occur face to face, companies need to find ways to make the best of what they have. Open as App can help companies streamline their communication around data by making it more accessible and comprehensive through the use of an app. Since spreadsheets are so prevalent in any business setting, shifting to an app can help with mitigating some of the confusion and disruption that occurs in the current context.
Open as App is very easy to set up, instantly ready for use, and offers options for businesses of all sizes – from freelancers to big enterprises. Here’s how Open as App can help you work with others when communication is difficult.
By enabling your team to use Open as App in their remote work, you provide them with a super-tool for resolving daily, ongoing issues. Anything they do in a spreadsheet and need to share with clients, but have to do so securely, yet in a comprehensive manner, can be turned into an app through Open as App. This also helps you mitigate any harm that may arise through the use of shadow IT.
Moreover, using an app, your teams will significantly reduce the time they spend helping clients navigate complex spreadsheets and explaining what they mean. Instead, they will be able to focus on the data itself and keep the rest hidden.
Whether your teams usually work remotely but especially if they are starting now – having efficient meetings is one of the biggest hurdles in remote work. One way you can help your teams improve the quality of meetings is by providing them with an app to use. Apps are really easy to create with Open as App, and you can literally set up any app with the information you need to share 5 minutes before a meeting.
When creating your app, you can hide the data that doesn’t need to be displayed and isn’t needed for a discussion. This makes the app easy to use and helps everyone focus on the essential aspects, instead of struggling to follow where everyone else is on the spreadsheet.
Another great aspect of using an app for a meeting is that you can simulate different data scenarios in real-time. You can show easily change from worst to best-case scenarios, and have everyone follow effortlessly. This improves communication and guarantees everyone is on the same page.
Apart from good communication, apps can also help you with collaboration. Working with an app you can collaborate on shared projects by having all the data at hand and by leaving comments for your teammates to consider. In this way, you don’t need to use separate means of communication to discuss data but can do so entirely within the app.
You can also save your work and come back to it later. Say you have a calculation app. You can save any particular calculation you are working on in the app and come back to them at a later time. No need to create copies, backups, and so forth.
Finally, you can also determine who to share the app with so that it remains limited to those parties you want to collaborate with. Thanks to the various user rights options, you can make the app only accessible to a private group or share it more openly by making it public.
So far, so good. But what about reports? Can you generate reports with an app? You most certainly can. Apps created with Open as App are not static but dynamic, and you can very easily monitor data and progress, and generate reports in real-time.
This is possible because data input is reflected in the app in real-time. As long as the input is correct, you will have an accurate picture of your progress, and access to the latest data at all times.
Starting with Open as App is very easy. Ultimately, any app you create is based on data that already exists in your spreadsheets. What’s required of you is to simply plug the data into the platform and within minutes your app is ready for use.
But that’s not everything. The Open as App platform provides you with an entire infrastructure for app creation, management, and sharing. You can edit your app, change settings, and roll it out again at any point.
And if you are using Microsoft Teams as a communication tool with your team, there is full integration with Open as App. Just head to Apps, type “Open as App” in the search bar, and add the app to your Teams. This way, you can manage and create your apps in your Microsoft Teams environment.
Switching to a no-code citizen app development platform can help you stay ahead of the curve, and reduce dips in productivity than can arise due to having to move to remote work in a short amount of time. Using apps in your meetings with team members or clients can help you avoid miscommunication, and make collaboration easy and efficient.
Want to give it a try? You can immediately start with our Free plan and test how Open as App works, and whether it’s the right thing for you in managing remote work.