COLLABORATING ON AND SHARING DOCUMENTS / 39
Getting to know the cloud
Cloud computing, the delivery of tools
and services over the internet, is the
basis of online file-sharing suites such
as Microsoft 365 and Google Drive.
Rather than being stored on a computer
hard drive or company server, they host
your information in remote data centers
where you can access it at any time,
from anywhere. Microsoft 365 features
Rolling back the clock
One key benefit of online document collaboration
is that it helps establish version control. This is
important if two or more people are working on
the same document at dierent times, letting them
see what’s changed and then mark their own changes.
If something goes wrong, document-sharing
platforms let you “roll back” to a previous
version, easily undoing the mess.
Setting permissions
One benefit of online document collaboration
is that it lets you set permissions to determine
who can access a file and how much they can
change. Use these tools carefully: they normally
range from giving one person read-only access
to making a document editable by anyone. You
must keep a tight rein on sensitive data.
browser-based versions of programs,
such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel,
while Google Drive is part of Google’s
larger suite of tools. Useful standalone
tools include whiteboard apps, such
as Miro, which help recreate the
experience of brainstorming in
a room together, and project
management services such as
Jira, Trello, and Monday.com.
US_038_039_Flexible_Working.indd 39US_038_039_Flexible_Working.indd 39 02/02/2021 11:0502/02/2021 11:05