Collaboration Tools Via Zoom: Ensure Good Collaboration in Your Online Meetings

1. What are collaboration tools and what are their benefits?
2. You can use the collaboration tool ONLYOFFICE for your Zoom meetings
3. How you work on documents with your team during Zoom meetings
4. Conclusion: Why your team needs the tool for Zoom conferences

Due to the increased Corona infection numbers, school classes in 2020 only took place online. Many professionals were working from home and only met virtually, for example via Zoom. It is therefore not surprising that software for video conferencing and telephony was allowed to experience a real boom.

In addition to them, many so-called collaboration tools were able to establish themselves in the market: Documents are no longer saved locally on your device, but are located on a cloud. This way, multiple people (even simultaneously) can work on a file - especially practical in these times of remote working.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has been overcome - however, the popularity of the tools for virtual collaboration remains. After all, the advantages are undeniable: All participants can call each other digitally and work on common projects from anywhere and in any time zone. But how do you now ensure that your team gets the most out of these virtual meetings? What does your company need so that collaboration tools in combination with Zoom really deliver?

What are collaboration tools and what are their benefits?

At Collaboration Tools there are applications to enable good collaboration in teams and between different departments: 

• Digital Adoption Systems
• Meeting Management Systems
• Mindmapping Tools
• OKR Software (Objectives and Key Results)
• Videoconferencing Tools
• VoIP Software (Voice-over-Internet-Protocol)

Many solutions have in common that all participants can quickly, uncomplicatedly and online work on a task. This can include the creation of a mindmap or the completion of outstanding To-dos. The benefits of multiple collaboration tools are:

• Digital solutions for Remote and Hybrid work
• A higher Quality of results
• Quick Decision paths and fewer misunderstandings
• Better possibilities to get involved
• Simplified cross-team collaboration
• Time- and Cost efficiency

The international market leader for videoconferencing is Zoom from the USA. Due to the Corona pandemic, the number of Zoom users worldwide rose to 200 million in 2020. The versatile tool has been used by practically anyone since the beginning of the Corona pandemic: It is used in many companies, but also in schools and universities.

During the video conferences, however, there is still one shortcoming: Unless you are taking notes or keeping minutes, it is difficult to work together in writing during the meeting. You have to awkwardly switch between programs and tabs. If you are not careful, you are muted or the others still have to log in. Problems over problems. 

You can use the collaboration tool ONLYOFFICE for your Zoom meetings

ONLYOFFICE is an open-source total solution for creating and editing various document types. One of their core functions is DocSpace: Imagine a collection of text, image, and presentation files. Your entire team can edit, review, sign these documents, etc.

The English video explains the basic functions of DocSpace, which you can now use within Zoom. 

Benefit from even more features of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace: 

• Common writing: Whether a PDF, a text document or a presentation - all authorized parties can work on a file at the same time within Zoom.
• AI-assisted writing: Let AI also help you with writing, summarizing or translating.
• Cooperative brainstorming: The entire team can also edit creative approaches such as images or whiteboards (for mindmaps) in real time.
• Transparent tracing: Comments and the 'Track Changes' function provide a better overview of who suggested and corrected what and when.
• Explanatory filing: With online forms or contracts, you clear up verbal misunderstandings while you fill out the questionnaire together.

With the new feature of DocSpace, you can now directly open and edit documents in the Zoom interface. No more annoying clicking around, no more awkward searching for the right file during the video call.

How you work on documents with your team during Zoom meetings

Using ONLYOFFICE DocSpace is easy and is suitable for basically any team that uses Zoom and wants to ensure successful collaboration. Proceed as follows: 

1. Log into Zoom or create a new account if you don't have one yet.
2. Install the DocSpace app and grant the necessary permissions.
3. Open a Zoom meeting in the browser or in the desktop app, switch to the 'Apps' tab and start the DocSpace-App. By the way, you can also use the desktop version of Zoom besides the browser view.
4. Once you have selected a file type, you can start the collaboration and grant all users editing or viewing rights.
5. After the meeting, the edited document is automatically saved in DocSpace and you can view it afterwards. The file name then always consists of the date and time of the video conference.

Registration with ONLYOFFICE is not necessary, the collaboration function is free. All data from Zoom (ID, name, email address) are taken over. Existing (company) accounts cannot be integrated; DocSpace automatically creates a second account that supports the innovative feature.

Conclusion: Why your team needs the tool for Zoom conferences

In the meantime, the Corona time is almost forgotten. But the practical use of Zoom as a popular tool for virtual meetings is still common practice in many companies. It simply makes sense to hold a digital conference in the home office as well as with international teams. To now get the most out of virtual meetings, your team needs the ONLYOFFICE DocSpace.

Situations in which you will find a Zoom-integrated collaboration tool useful: 

• Internal meetings, discussions, plans, etc.
• Jour fixes and kick-offs with customers
• Webinars, workshops and online trade fairs
• Team building events
• Online courses and other further education measures

You edit and share all relevant document types at the same time, without having to leave the Zoom interface. As a result, your teams can cooperate better during the meetings, document the work results and work directly on content formats while discussing them. You will see that fewer meetings and emails are needed to achieve convincing results. Besides Together work also means With work and this is what you ensure with the ONLYOFFICE DocSpace.