Beste Interne Kommunikationssoftware

What is Internal Communications Software?

Why Use Internal Communications Software?

Who Uses Internal Communications Software?

Kinds of Internal Communications Software

Standalone — Many internal communications software are standalone products with plenty of integrations. Dedicated internal communications tools will also sometimes provide additional features like video conferencing, limited VoIP capability, and employee directories to create a full internal communications hub.

Embedded — Instant messaging can also come as an additional feature in other types of software or larger collaboration suites. Internal communications functionality can often be found in employee intranet software, employee engagement software, or virtual workspaces. Other types of communication software, like video conferencing software, can also provide instant messaging.

Industry-specific — Some internal communications tools are built for specific industries with their unique needs in mind. For example, internal communications tools for manufacturing and field service will often include push-to-talk (PTT) software built in so remote employees have multiple instant communication channels available to them. There are also clinical communication and collaboration platforms and HIPAA compliant messaging software built specifically for health care use cases, which take compliance into consideration. Some popular, generalized internal communications options have also begun to create industry-specific solutions or build compliance into their product so they’re available for specific industries out of the box.

Internal Communications Software Features

Internal communications software share a few basic features across all products. As the space becomes more competitive, however, some vendors have added additional communication and productivity features to help their product stand out among the crowd.

Instant messaging — Instant, direct messaging is the mainstay of internal communications applications. Users can instantly message one another on a 1:1 or group basis. Groups can be made by users and administrators, depending on the administrator’s permissions.

Status updates — Users can leave a status attached to their profile to indicate their availability.

Activity feed — An activity feed is available to update users on new messages sent to them personally or ones in groups they are a part of. The feed will also sometimes present replies to posts made by the user.

Notifications — Business messaging tools will provide notifications when the user has received a direct message or a message has been posted in a group they are a part of. Additionally, users can turn notifications off or set certain permissions for notifications.

Emojis — Business messaging apps will often come loaded with emojis. Some applications will even allow users to create their own.

Search — A search bar allows users to use keywords to look for old messages.

File sharing — One of the main benefits of business messaging is the ability to easily and quickly share files and documents. Users can either send links to documents hosted in the cloud or attach files that are saved on a desktop to the message they’re going to send. Some tools will even integrate with file repositories for streamlined file sharing.

Surveys and polls — Business messengers will often provide simple survey and polling features that allow users to rapidly come to decisions within the app.

Additional Internal Communications Features

Conferencing — There has been increased effort on the part of business messaging vendors to include audio and video conferencing functionality within their products. Users who are able to move between text-based and audio-based communication in-app can resolve problems and answer questions more quickly.

Knowledge base integration — Some knowledge management tools serve as connectors between internal communications apps and knowledge bases. They will attach questions asked to answers then send both to a knowledge base, which can then be searched in a Q&A format.

Automatic translation — Some business messaging applications have the ability to automatically translate messages from one language into another via machine translation software.

Screen sharing — Business messengers with video conferencing capability will often also allow for screen sharing between conference participants.

AI assistants — AI assistants will sometimes be included in business messaging apps to help guide users to behaviors based on the messages they’ve sent. For example, if a user types to another that they need to meet at a certain date or time, an embedded AI assistant can open a prompt for the user to add an event on their calendar.

Trends Related to Internal Communications Software

Addition of conferencing features — Traditionally, businesses relied on one tool for internal communications and another for video and audio conferencing. This was beneficial since conferencing often includes external entities that wouldn’t otherwise have access to strictly internal tools. However, more businesses are recognizing the benefits of video conferencing and VoIP for internal use cases. Since most businesses currently have these features spread across multiple tools, it can be inconvenient for users having a conversation in one application to move to another, even if it would be a more fruitful exchange if they did so.

Subsequently, more businesses are looking for internal communications tools that also provide avenues for dialogue. More business messengers include video conferencing and VoIP capability in their offering, albeit not the best of breed since they’re not the main feature of the product. This may be changing, however, and more products are putting audio and video conferencing on even footing with instant messaging in terms of their priorities.

Potential Issues with Internal Communications Software

Contextual inappropriateness — The convenience of instant messaging in the workplace is more often than not a boon. But as useful as internal communications software is, it is not always the most efficient or appropriate channel for certain situations. Problems can arise when individuals haven’t created clear distinctions for when it is appropriate to use a business messenger over email or another communication channel. While one-line emails could easily be relayed in an instant messenger, long-form messages with potential external participants aren’t going to work on an internal communications platform.

This potential problem can be avoided with the implementation of clear guidelines identifying which communication channels should be used in a given situation. Businesses and organizations should include these guidelines in their onboarding and training process and also make them available in a knowledge base for later reference. Individuals who aren’t using the appropriate channels should be gently reminded to break these habits.

Software and Services Related to Internal Communications Software

Productivity bots — There are productivity bots built for specific internal communications software that extend the functionality of the latter. Productivity bots can serve as AI assistants if a product doesn’t have one embedded or provide helpful features that aren’t otherwise available to users on the native platform. For example, productivity bots can add polls or surveys to products that don’t offer them natively or connect the app to other software tools.

Employee intranet — Some employee intranet solutions will provide an internal communications tool built into their product. If one isn’t provided natively, products will often integrate with other popular business messaging options to fill the gaps. Users benefit from having instant messaging tools deployed within their intranet so the intranet can then serve as a consolidated collaboration and communication suite.