It doesn't matter if your colleagues are across the office floor, or halfway across the world, everyone can get cracking on work at the same time editing and chatting within documents, making group work much faster.

Pressing save...or losing work: With your data in the cloud it is automatically updated, you don't have to press save. This means you'll never have to worry about losing a list of potential clients, or your annual report either as your data is always backed-up.

Going to the office or desk to get things done: Whether you're updating documents, sending emails, adding comments to a spreadsheet or putting the final touches on a presentation, Drive gives your employees ability for you to do this right from your phone or tablet so even when people aren't on site, they can still be on the job.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. As manufacturers around the world are discovering, shifting to a more collaborative communication model with the cloud not only cuts waste, it can lead to huge boosts in productivity.

Shaw Industries for example has totally changed how information is accessed and shared within its organisation with Drive. Instead of having to go back to their desks to look things when they spot a problem, plant engineers now access equipment manuals and safety procedures from their mobile or tablet from wherever they are with Drive.

This means that they can run their machines more efficiently and safely. Similarly Whirlpool says having all its information in the cloud has helped it to ‘collapse geography' and increase the speed at which it develops and implements product ideas because everyone can access their files and discuss them in real time.

Here in India customers like energy transmitter and distributor EMCO Limited are finding that their employees feel better equipped to run projects across country borders since moving to more collaborative tools. Management can access information about project timelines and progress, and employees can respond to customers and partners, across time zones and from anywhere on any device rather than waiting till they were at their desks. 

Being able to collaborate more easily with co-workers and customers has been proven to have a real impact on the bottom line. Recent research from Deloitte Australia, has found that companies that prioritise collaboration are twice as likely to be profitable and twice as likely to outgrow competitors.

For manufacturers looking to make their next process innovation and reap the productivity benefits, a move to cloud based tools like Google Drive for Work marks a step in the right direction.

The author is Country Manager - Google for Work India.
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