As it turns out, most information exchange at the office or in remote work happens through internal communication tools.

Communication platforms like Zoom, Slack, Discord, or Microsoft Teams are often the first places people go when they begin working hours. This is where they go to collect information, see updates on ongoing projects, notifications, comments, and instructions from their colleagues, as well as talk with them in real-time.

Around 75% of Workplaces Use More Than One Communication Tool

With the diversification of needs and specialization of different tools for different purposes, we now have a situation where 75% of workplaces that use internal communication tools employ at least two different platforms.

In addition to this, around 20% of organizations employ five or more communication tools to fulfill all their needs for collaboration and information sharing, with the average number of communication tools across the enterprise sitting somewhere between three and four.

The reason behind the need for multiple communication tools lies in the diverse requirements of the modern work environment. With so many different data sources, there are specifically designed tools to fill the possible gaps.

For instance, you have messaging tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams that enable both synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous (delayed) communications among individuals and groups.

When it comes to face-to-face interaction, you can use conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Meet.

Then, there is communication that happens through project management software like Asana or Trello, where employees keep up with emerging tasks and project progress.

Additional differentiating features like file-sharing integrations, real-time document collaboration, and customizable workflows also create the need for multiple communication tools, as each of the tools excels in a certain segment.

Organizing Internal Communications

So, all things considered, the usual workflow relies more and more on information coming from multiple communication tools as well as many of the different channels and groups within the same tool.

The challenge that arises with such work conceptualization is how to keep the comms organized and how to avoid feeling overwhelmed and drowning while collecting bits and pieces of information from different sources in order to get a full picture. Now, we will explore general tendencies in the tech industry and what kind of solutions emerge in the SaaS industry to tackle new challenges.

Single Interface for Multiple Programs

Because of the increase in specialized tools, many software solutions today tend to focus on integrating multiple data sources into a single and manageable whole. This is often realized as a single interface that navigates diverse apps and tools. 

Integrating multiple programs might be challenging, but some SaaS solutions specialize in enabling easy off-the-shelf integration with all the enterprise data sources (tools, databases, intranets) and making a singular searchable database.

Natural Language Understanding

With breakthroughs in natural language processing (NLP) and technologies like vector searching, it is now possible to search beyond keywords.

These solutions offer great practical value, as they can be coupled with search engines and help extract information based on its contextual relevance to the query.

This would sound like science fiction only a couple of years ago, but it is now entirely possible to ask the search engine to retrieve all the information about certain projects. Specialized search engines could respond to specific queries by looking through multiple data sources, including internal communication tools, and find information that is relevant to a single project, even if it is scattered across different channels, emails, chats, and other sources. 

AI Analysis and Summary

Now, even with NLP and a single interface, the sheer amount of information can often become overwhelming.

Keeping all the tabs organized, especially internal communication in companies with extensive cross-department collaboration can be a task that often makes us resent opening our laptops.

That’s why AI-powered analytics makes its way into the usual workflow of many employees with many possible uses and applications, and SaaS tools picked up on that.

When it comes to internal communication tools, AI can help analyze vast amounts of messages, emails, and documents. This enables it to recover the most important insights, summarize lengthy threads, or even identify potential bottlenecks.

Among the many uses of AI in the business, notable mentions include: 

• Chatbots that handle routine inquiries
• Personalized messaging based on employee data
• Predictive strategies driven by data analysis. 

All of these help in one way or another to handle a large influx of information through multiple internal communication tools in a way that increases engagement and productivity.

Organizing Communications with Akooda

Communication is the cornerstone of any successful enterprise, and that is why Akooda offers all of the mentioned features and more.

We aim to create a unified, searchable database that captures all of the circulating information across your business.

With all the information at hand, Akooda integrates with large LLMs to enable advanced analytics and summaries, making it possible to ask anything about the data that matters the most to your business.

Whatever the volume and intensity of communications in your business, one unified platform makes everything much easier to navigate.