Portals for Secure Collaboration
More and more, our lives are lived as much digitally as they are physically.
Since COVID-19 banished us from the office and face-to-face meetings, we are even more reliant on our online universe than ever before.
Of course there are many downsides to being physically isolated from one another, but if we look to gather gold from the dust, we can see that web-based tools are powerful allies in business and we should use them to their full potential.
Using personalised visitor portals to facilitate external collaboration is a case in point.
With this technology, so much of the hassle and the weaknesses of gathering information from diverse sources is dealt with.
The Pitfalls of Manually Gathering Documents and Data
Trying to keep tabs of which documents/data need to be submitted and when by external parties is a tall order for even the most efficient employee, especially when there are high volumes to process. Mistakes will creep in, deadlines will be missed, and general stress will increase.
Tracking where the documents are in the overall workflow is another headache if someone must chase after them, and if they are not included in a digital audit trail, there could be compliance issues to deal with.
What is Guest User Collaboration via Visitor Portals?
With a business management solution like Nimblex, you can set up an online visitor portal that has restricted guest user access with security permissions granted for that individual’s use alone. A personalised dashboard for each guest (or guest user group) is designed for the desired tasks, e.g. submitting a report.
Once the form, data, document or media file has been submitted, it is processed downstream by the system and slips into the programmed workflow.
Examples of where this is used:
- vendor management portals
- grant management portals
- loading progress reports
- lodging a complain
- submitting an academic assignment
- inductions
- audit submissions
- and more…
Any form of digital information can be shared: a text file, a spreadsheet, an image, a video, etc.
What About Security?
For anyone looking into guest portals, security is the main concern.
This is entirely understandable and therefore no stone has been left unturned in securing corporate data and systems. Cloud hosts, such as Microsoft Azure, are vigilant in setting up cyber security with sophisticated encryption, firewalls, etc.
On a solution level, only certain authorised personnel, such as the system Administrator, can grant access permissions, and these permissions can be configured to allow narrow views of only the relevant areas a guest user needs to work with.
No permission is granted to guest users for high-risk, sensitive activities. Sometimes, a guest user only needs temporary access and this can be given for the time needed.
So, privacy, confidentiality and security are top priorities when building a visitor portal for collaboration.
Why You Need Visitor Portals for Collaboration
- These guest user portals are web-based and can therefore be accessed from anywhere at any time from any device with Internet access.
- The admin burden is reduced as the employee managing the documents/data does not need to process a heap of emails and attached files as the external user enters the required information directly into the system.
- There is one source of truth created rather than risking the double-handling of multiple files.
- Accuracy is greatly improved.
- Time spent working through files is significantly cut.
- Automated reminders ensure information is delivered when it is needed.
- The submitted documents become part of the digital audit trail.
- The whole procedure story is managed from a central location.
- Project Managers can digitally manage the process, set automated reminders, and track which external parties need to contribute and when. External contributors can be managed as part of the automated workflow.
Conclusion
With secure, personalised restricted guest user access via dedicated visitor portals, information can be uploaded into your system without you having to track it down and do it manually. This makes for a smooth process that reduces errors, and ultimately, reduces costs.
By Jeannie De Vynck
For more:
Nimblex Features – Visitor Portals for Improved Collaboration
