Huddle launches its Connected Desktop experience, unveiling the collaborative workplace of the future

SOURCE: Huddle

Office workers across the globe can now benefit from true anytime, anywhere working as Huddle today launched its Connected Desktop experience, combining the power of people’s desktop applications with Huddle’s next generation content collaboration service.

Removing the need for files to be saved locally and freeing teams from the corporate network, Huddle’s new integrations ensure colleagues can work together, store, edit and save files via their desktop applications directly into Huddle’s secure cloud. As a result, user productivity moves away from the traditional PC-era of individuals working in silos to true team collaboration, using the power of cloud, mobile, social and desktop, regardless of workers’ location and device.

The Huddle Connected Desktop experience brings together five new capabilities:

Seamless interaction with files in the cloud

Huddle for Windows and Huddle for Mac remove the need for files to be saved locally, enabling secure external collaboration and users to edit any document directly from the cloud with their favourite desktop application.  All content, regardless of the application it is edited in, is automatically saved into Huddle’s secure cloud. With the ability to open, lock, edit and save files as quickly and effortlessly as they would from “My Documents”, teams can effectively get their jobs done and move seamlessly between devices as all content and conversations are stored in Huddle’s secure cloud.

As with Huddle’s mobile offerings, if connectivity is lost while files are being edited via desktop applications, the latest file version is uploaded into Huddle as soon as connectivity is restored.

Huddle for Outlook takes information out of inboxes

Huddle’s Connected Desktop experience unlocks knowledge stored in people’s inboxes by moving content and all related discussions out of email with Huddle for Outlook.  With 65% of office workers still using email to share files across the firewall, knowledge is often lost or siloed in individuals’ inboxes. The integration saves attachments and all related email discussions into Huddle’s secure cloud in a few clicks. Email responses are recorded as a series of comments against the file in Huddle, retaining the context of the discussion such as who provided feedback and when. Anyone in the email chain who is not already a Huddle user is automatically invited into Huddle to continue the conversation and all information is recorded, searchable and audited. Consequently, teams no longer waste time searching for attachments and comments in inboxes, or establishing which document version is final. Organizations also have all the information required for compliance or auditing purposes.

Huddle Drive places all file storage in the cloud

With Huddle Drive, all storage can now be moved to the secure Huddle cloud.  The enterprise-grade virtual drive provides access to office workers’ Huddle workspaces, files and folders and combines enterprise-grade security with an intuitive, easy to use interface. Workers can browse folders as easily as if they were stored locally and all actions are audited in Huddle. With files no longer stored on people’s machines, the risk of corporate data being leaked or lost is mitigated.

Huddle Viewer enables all pictures and videos to be viewed in the cloud

With Huddle Viewer images and videos can now be immediately previewed in Huddle’s secure cloud as quickly and simply as they can in “My Pictures”. Office workers can easily locate the latest version of a media file and share it with colleagues. Files quickly load as office workers scroll down the page, making the file selection process simple. Office workers will also soon be able to stream video with Huddle Viewer.

Huddle Dashboard consolidates all business activity into one activity stream

Huddle Dashboard shows users their business activity stream and all the people they are working with in one central place. Office workers gain instant visibility of all activity and projects relevant to them across their workspaces. Files for approval, notifications, comments, tasks and actions are immediately flagged and teams can easily see what progress has been made across projects.

“The office of the future is no longer a physical environment – with a desk, chair and workstation tied to the corporate network – it’s a secure virtual environment that is accessible from anywhere via whatever device people wish to use,” explains Alastair Mitchell, CEO, Huddle. “People’s devices are now the doorway to their world of work. Thanks to the cloud, they can securely store, access and share all of their files and collaborate with everyone they need to – inside or outside of the organization.  We now have a suite of desktop productivity tools that connect the applications you use, the content you create and the people you work with seamlessly to the cloud from any device.  With our Connected Desktop experience, we’ve taken the focus away from the PC and given workers the ability to securely work with people in the cloud using the applications on their desktop, smartphone or tablet, regardless of where they are.  This is the new way of working and the future of the workplace.”

“Access and availability of content and enabling a more social workflow are core components of how organizations today can manage the transition to a new way of working,” says Vanessa Thompson, research manager, Enterprise Social Networks & Collaborative Technologies at IDC. “The changing nature of work and where work gets done from both a physical and business workflow perspective is underpinned by enabling a more social workflow. Users should be able to intelligently filter information in context as a base line requirement.  As social workflow becomes more pervasive in organizations it should enable an employee’s relationship with the organization to transcend traditional relationships inside the company.”

About Huddle

Huddle provides next generation content collaboration for government and enterprises. Its patent-pending intelligent technology ensures relevant content is delivered directly to Huddle users, with no need to search. Business units of any size work more efficiently by huddling together within a secure cloud service accessed via web browsers, desktop or mobile devices. Co-headquartered in London and San Francisco and with offices in New York City, Huddle’s customers include 80 percent of Fortune 500 and 80 percent of UK government departments, as well as companies such as Kia Motors, SEGA, Unilever and P&G. The company is privately held and backed by leading venture capital firms in the US and Europe. For more information can be found at www.huddle.com.