Brands & agencies are in dire need of collaboration: MVS Murthy

There was a time when being digital felt like wearing new clothing, now digital is like the skin for any organisation. Digital though continues to be used as an adjective, as if it’s from a different world. The fact of the matter is that it is the world.

Organisations spend millions of dollars for creating digital interfaces for their customers, but internally we are still very manual. Be it using the ubiquitous note pad/ book to sitting in endless meetings after meetings taking copious notes. By the time you are back to the desk, one more starts – where is the time to get things started?

E-mails suffer like town criers who need to go about announcing to everyone about everything being done – “Good Show! / Well-done! / Way-to-go!” are all such phrases which have endless currency. Sometimes someone on CC, tops-up the senior most person’s “good-show” with his or hers. Let’s not even talk about those 2 MB files going to a 100-member distribution list with 10 people on CC – imagine the bandwidth being consumed.

Like our urban cities that need better public transport and fewer cars, we too need judicious workflows and less crisscrossing of needless information. Often the urgent and important gets missed and reclassified as Urgent OR Important. Worse – “missed it, resend”. The ampersand is more crucial for senior executives to manage their time respond big and quick, this has a multiplier impact on across the board organisational efficiencies.

Generally, processes are focused on getting the best deal from the vendor by lowering costs, not looking for the most creative or effective solutions.

It is here that WorkApps plays the role of a smooth distiller, using beakers for distinctly distinguishing everyday work – tasks, chats, discussions, file management, projects.

Our model lies in the intersection of Product and Consulting Venn diagram. As simple it is visually, it is easier operationally too. WorkApps does not segregate Business & Technology as two different departments to speak too BUT sees technology powering everyday business.

For once you don’t need to check with tech, you can evaluate tech that empowers you, your immediate team and everyone in the organisation, including technology.

Its simplicity lends itself for tech teams to rotate strike and allow business to bat on espousing its usage. Isn’t this truly the beginning of collaboration?

Recently, WorkApps customised its enterprise model with interesting and exclusive features for the benefit of the digital savvy advertising industry introducing Campaign Planning with Projects, Client interaction with Discussions, Collections & Payments with Projects, Work planning with Tasks, Manage Creatives with File Manager and so on.

Real time update of all that matters in distilled beakers, allows for clarity and identification of what’s Urgent & Information. This has a cascading impact on reaching out to colleagues, departments etc. and setting a collaborative process into motion. The moment you find it you act on it – where is the need to send e-mails and / or seek for meetings. For instance, advertising agencies can have Multiple Job status in One Window, no repetitive communication and update everybody in one go.

We would want to believe that the less time you spend mailing or in meeting rooms, productivity will increase by around a third. As an executive this frees-up your time to think to create greater value. This includes Quick Chats with Clients & Teams and seamless interaction.

We recognise that at any point in time there are 2-3 devices, including our phone, from where we shoot out work. WorkApps is device agnostic, allowing access to all work from any or many devices.Additionally, retrieve old briefs, creatives and media plans.

The collaborative ability of WorkApps allows you to create inclusive solutions, involved innovation, a work culture that is collaborative from the inception of thought. Imagine sharing real-time information and knowledge so that teams can get off the blocks at the same time. And discuss simultaneously as the blocks are getting built.

Successful brand campaign ideas are a result of cross-pollination across teams from the beginning. Brands get to know their future teams through impersonal biography and case studies. WorkApps horizontally appeals across digital natives and digital migrants, and, vertically right from an executive to the CEO/VP of an advertising agency or a media-planning group. Brands and agencies should be having open, honest conversations that allow for crystal-clear understanding and debate.

(MVS Murthy is the Co-Founder & COO at WorkApps Inc., where amongst other things, he leads the global client acquisition. His expertise lies in BFSI product strategy, portfolio management, inorganic channel development, innovation and marketing. An avid reader, he is known for his out-of-the-box thinking and team management skills. Prior to setting up WorkApps Inc. he has worked with TATA AIG, ICICI Bank, Edelweiss Broking &Urja Communications.)