Top 10 takeaways from the Future-ready digital collaboration summit

Nicola Pearson Date published: Mar 28, 23

That's a wrap on the Future-ready digital collaboration summit! To give you a taste of what’s on offer, check out our top 10 takeaways from the summit below.  

1. Digital transformation at AztraZeneca: making more informed decisions early on

“It takes a long time to develop medicines and a lot of what we do goes to waste. The more we can move that to a virtual environment – using our data science, modelling and simulation – really helps us not only speed up that process, but also make more informed decisions early on in our development journey.” Sophie Bailes, Director of Digital Transformation at AstraZeneca

2. The dangers of data silos  

“Data silos that are left uncontrolled can lead to costly mistakes, data loss, fines and penalties, decreased productivity and a tarnished reputation in the marketplace. To guarantee smooth operations, circumventing these potential threats is essential.” Lauren Graden, Document Control Specialist, LGC Academy

3. Applying governance to digital collaboration 

“In the past twelve months, individuals have probably organically started to use MS Teams, SharePoint and Huddle at scale. But maybe we’re at a point now where organisations want to apply a bit more governance back into their process, so that we can start to control the approach by which people are disseminating knowledge.” Martin Geach, Technical Director-Digital, Atkins

4. The challenge of collaborating on content-rich documents

“Just stop and think for a moment about the huge challenge of reviewing a 100-page document with 50 people. How do you prove that you’ve done the process with rigour? Or even a ten-page policy document reviewed with ten people? The process is tiresome and time-consuming. This is what Ideagen’s PleaseReview software has been helping with for more than twenty years.” Tim Setchfield, Head of Collaboration, Ideagen  

5. Balancing the need to collaborate with the need for concentration 

Collaboration is critical but can be costly. If 80% of your time is spent collaborating (including meetings, phone calls and emails), that leaves only 20% left for ‘solo’ work.  Grace Marshall, Author & Productivity Ninja, Think Productive 

6. The risk of collaborating over lengthy email threads 

“We’ve all seen emails forwarded and there might be something in there, perhaps near the bottom, that’s actually quite sensitive or inflammatory.” Julian Talbot, Chief Technology Officer, SECTARA  

7. Adopting change is ‘not a side of the desk exercise’

“My advice for organisations wanting to boost their digital collaboration is this: this is not a side of the desk exercise. The world has fundamentally changed and is continuing to change. Digital collaboration is now a fundamental piece of what it means to operate in our world. As a business, as a government, as anyone trying to do anything. It’s here and it’s here to stay. If you’re not willing to dedicate the resources and the attention to making sure your transition is successful, the world may very well leave you behind. There’s a window of opportunity to make this leap now.” Patrick Gajos, Director & General Counsel, Sussex Strategy Group 

8. Communicating the need for change when implementing new technologies

You can have the best tech in the world. But if people don’t adopt it, you don’t get the benefit. It’s so important not to assume that people will get on board with change or understand the need for change. Listening to them and helping them through that change journey is so important. Sophie Bailes, Director of Digital Transformation at AstraZeneca 

9. Change is hard – bring in specialist professionals who can help

“Change is hard. 70% of change programmes conventionally fail. We know there are professionals who can help us with change. But sometimes we miss the dollar in actually seeking the support of people who are educated in Prosci methodology, or people who are change professionals by default.” Martin Geach, Technical Director-Digital, Atkins

10. The need to take enterprise security seriously when it comes to digital collaboration

“The first steps in improving enterprise security are to have an Enterprise Security Risk Assessment (ESRA) and an Enterprise Security Risk Treatment Plan (ESRTP). Have regular audits to check if there are any vulnerabilities and ensure there’s a robust policy with relevant training in place. It’s also a good idea to have monthly reporting against KPIs.” Julian Talbot, Chief Technology Officer, SECTARA

Discover Ideagen's regulated collaboration software

As we heard from our expert speakers, the world has changed fundamentally and we are in a phase of deep transition when it comes to digital collaboration.
Here at Ideagen, our suite of collaboration software supports highly regulated industries to work securely on business-critical activities while saving time and reducing costly risks. 

Get in touch with our regulated collaboration experts today and discover our suite of software solutions. 

Click on the links below to book demos of:

• Huddle secure document collaboration
• PleaseReview document co-authoring and review software
• Mail Manager secure email management