Collaboration is an absolute necessity in today’s fast-paced world, and world-class projects need world-class software to make collaboration easy.

It’s difficult to imagine how people worked before the internet. A time when everyone worked in the same room, walking from desk to desk to ask questions, drawing, and writing on nothing more than paper. This certainly left some employees feeling isolated, lacking a more dynamic way to work together.

Now, thanks to the internet and the ever-present cloud, we’re getting products to market in record time. In part, because we can collaborate.

How We Increase Collaboration

A lot of work goes into making an end product, and with the aid of collaborative software, that work can happen at different times and in different places. There are plenty of tools designed to make workplaces more efficient and accessible, though they can look quite different from each other. Tools range from free to one-time payments to a subscription-based model. Each offers a set of features and requirements that might work better for some people than others.

For engineers–from hobbyists to professional makers–collaboration is crucial, and it’s most effective when it happens across one platform, no matter the number of disciplines involved.

The One-Stop Shop for Teamwork (and Truth)

If you’re striving for collaboration on a professional level, one of the most important things you can do is set yourself up for success with a tool that utilizes “the single source of truth.” In this model, all data elements are contained and edited in only one place, so if a person changes something, it changes across the board. This is obviously helpful, and it frequently prevents rudimentary mistakes like duplicates or forgotten values. 

In a collaborative situation, a data system without a single source of truth could spell big trouble for teams working on something parallel to one another. Without it, it is easy for outdated versions of schematics or documents to be altered and reintroduced into the current ecosystem. When people are working on out-of-date versions of things, work is duplicated and mistakes happen. Your project’s version history and communications should all be centralized.

Knowing What to Look for in Good Collaboration Tools

Aside from a single source of truth, a good tool for collaboration should help you or your organization in other ways. First, it should allow you to communicate at a basic level with the various parts of your team. This includes individuals within your company and others you might be working with outside your organization. You should be able to share with anyone you need in real-time, and the feedback you receive should also be the same.

Good collaboration tools also don’t require a lengthy installation process for collaboration to occur. Ideally, you’ll be able to, at the very least, view items with only a browser and comment, markup, and edit files so you can hit the ground running.

Finally, your collaboration tool should utilize the cloud. However, it should also offer some level of access for moments when you aren’t able to work online.

Fusion 360: Providing True Collaboration when it’s Needed Most

Fusion 360 is designed to shorten your time to market with thorough, effective collaboration with every part of your team. By streamlining your team’s process, Fusion 360 provides world-class collaboration for all types of engineers and engineering enthusiasts.