Team Collaboration: What It Is and Why It Is Growing Rapidly

by Jim Lundy

Today, I proposed on Twitter that team collaboration is the new common term for describing mobile messaging. We are at a tipping point in the shift from email to messaging, so it is important that there is common ground on terms. This blog discusses team collaboration, what it is, and why it is challenging email.

What Is Team Collaboration?

Team collaboration is most often a SaaS application for communicating via a messaging interface with individuals, teams, large groups, and sometimes the entire company.

This functionality has been described with different terms. For example, Aragon called it mobile collaboration for the past four years. Gartner has referred to it as workstream collaboration. However, in surveying the market, we have seen a stronger use of team collaboration by both buyers and vendors, so we will be using the term team collaboration going forward.

From “Facebook for the Enterprise” to ESN

In the early days of social networking, we had the same terminology issue. It was hard to describe what a social network for the enterprise was. Eventually, we were able to gain common ground by using the term enterprise social networking, or ESN. That market had a great run and communities are still important. Team collaboration, however, is the future of how people communicate.

Why Team Collaboration Will Challenge Email

Aragon feels that team collaboration is poised to challenge email as the dominant form of communication in an enterprise. There are many reasons for this and one of them is the way email works and the fact that, due to volume, critical messages are often not seen or read.

With team collaboration, messages appear on your mobile screen and in some cases, you can receive a sound or color notification to alert you of a message. Aragon has used team collaboration for communication between groups and for all-company messages and it is a game-changer.

The other reason team collaboration will challenge email is that it serves as a container for chatbots to interact with humans and eventually, with other chatbots. This is an emerging area that will change the digital workplace forever. Aragon provides all the information you need through extensive conversational AI coverage.

Who Are the Providers of Team Collaboration?

Aragon was a pioneer in covering team collaboration and our Globe™ reports identify and rate the major providers. The great news is that besides Slack, Cisco, Fuze, IBM, Google, Microsoft, RingCentral, and many more, there are new emerging team collaboration providers. Today, we announced three Hot Vendors™ that are making their mark as this market starts to grow at an accelerated pace.

The Market Is Moving Fast

So, how will this market evolve? First, conversational AI is here, and soon, Aragon Lead Analyst for AI Adrian Bowles will be releasing our first Aragon Research Tech Spectrum™ for Conversational AI. Check back here for more on team collaboration and conversational AI updates.