E-mail alternatives

Not every activity needs to be conducted via e-mail. Here are three complementary technologies that may be better suited for your employees’ communication needs:

FTP The good old File Transfer Protocol still works like a charm for sharing large files without replicating them across the network. And there are lots of FTP clients out there, so users can choose whichever is easiest for them.

Team work spaces These are software products that provide collaborative workspaces equipped with discussion forums, file sharing, version control and instant messaging. The idea is to provide project teams with a virtual workroom that is more efficient and flexible than collaborating via e-mail alone.

Wikis For company-side discussions or postings, wikis are a lightweight method for getting the information out. Wikis are editable HTML pages that allow authorized users to post content and collaborate. They offer a better alternative to sending a long e-mail with cc’s to half the company (except, inevitably, one key employee).

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