Digital Workspace

6 Advanced Cloud-Based Collaboration Tools Driving IT Modernization for SMBs

Cloud-based collaboration tools are helping small businesses streamline workflows, enhance productivity and achieve seamless communication across teams.

Brian T. Horowitz

Brian T. Horowitz is a writer and editor covering enterprise IT, innovation and the intersection of technology and healthcare.

Small businesses are modernizing their workflows with cloud-based tools that offer features such as automation, predictive analytics and integrated communication. Many of these tools are also embedded with artificial intelligence (AI), which is helping SMBs unify their workspaces and automate tasks such as transcription, translation, summarizing meetings and scheduling.

Often, these cloud-based collaboration tools are used to store documents such as employee handbooks or onboarding tools so team members all have up-to-date versions, says Melody Brue, vice president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

“Especially as we approach more AI use in the workplace, if your data isn’t in line, you’re going to have some trouble,” she says. “I think for small and medium businesses, they really do need to be modernizing now.”

Cloud collaboration tools also offer small sales teams the ability to pursue new customers with easier access to data, Brue says.

For Anurag Agrawal, founder and chief global analyst at the research firm Techaisle, these tools facilitate IT modernization. “These platforms allow smaller businesses to shift from fragmented legacy systems toward integrated, scalable environments, streamlining workflows by embedding communication and data sharing directly into core business processes, ultimately boosting productivity and operational agility,” Agrawal says.

Here are six cloud-based tools that streamline workflows and help SMBs optimize their collaboration environments.

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1. Microsoft 365 With Viva

The Microsoft 365 cloud productivity suite now includes Viva, a customizable employee experience platform.

“Microsoft Viva is an integrated employee experience layer within the familiar Microsoft 365 suite, helping SMBs consolidate disparate functions like internal communications, learning resources and performance insights,” Agrawal says. “By bringing these elements into the daily flow of work, Viva effectively reduces information silos and strengthens organizational cohesion, providing essential support for dispersed teams in hybrid and remote work scenarios.”

2. Gemini for Google Workspace With AI Integration

Incorporating AI-powered tools in Gemini for Google Workspace allows SMBs to automate repetitive tasks, says Paul Nashawaty, principal analyst at theCUBE Research. That includes email sorting, document drafting and meeting transcription.

“The AI capabilities embedded within Gemini for Google Workspace provide SMBs with intelligent automation directly within their familiar productivity tools,” Agrawal adds.

Features for SMBs in Workspace include smart email categorization and predictive content and email generation, Brue says.

“Gemini can produce a very good first draft, so that gets them cranking through their emails a whole lot easier,” Brue says.

Brue uses Google Docs to collaborate in real time with her partner on Moor’s podcast.

“As we’re preparing topics for the podcast, I can see what he’s typing live, rather than waiting for him to send me his thoughts,” Brue says. “We’re collaborating in real time.”

“The recent announcement of Google Workspace Flows adds another layer, empowering SMBs to build their own custom, no-code automations across Workspace applications to further optimize specific business processes,” Agrawal says. The result? SMBs can augment workflows and accomplish more with fewer resources.

LEARN MORE: How can you leverage digital technology to build your modern workspace?

3. Slack With Workflow Builder

Slack’s Workflow Builder helps SMBs with tasks such as automating approvals, ticketing and onboarding. SMBs gain efficiencies through cross-department communication. Slack reports that automations on its platform result in a 35% increase in time savings.

Even nontechnical users can create custom workflows to improve their responsiveness and decrease their reliance on email and meetings, Nashawaty says.

In Slack, organizations can integrate other apps that are part of their workflow, including Asana, Jira for IT issue tracking or Google Drive.

“These integrations drive faster issue resolution and real-time updates, enhancing agility in dynamic work environments,” he says.

For SMBs, Workflow Builder can “democratize automation,” according to Agrawal. He says even nontechnical staff can use the tool to create custom routines for ordinary processes such as approvals or requests.

“By integrating these automated workflows with existing IT systems, it facilitates more agile cross-departmental communication, and teams can turn conversations directly into trackable actions,” Agrawal says.

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4. Zoom One

Zoom incorporates chat, phone and whiteboarding to offer an integrating collaboration platform for SMBs. In addition, AI features offer automation and insights to help review meeting highlights.

“Integrating AI features like real-time translation and meeting summaries supports seamless global collaboration, enabling teams to stay aligned and productive across time zones,” Nashawaty says.

Unifying features such as chat, video meetings and whiteboarding within one platform helps simplify the tech stack and combat tool fatigue, notes Agrawal.

“This overall centralization significantly improves collaboration efficiency, particularly for SMBs operating across different locations or with language barriers,” he says.

5. Cisco Webex With AI-Powered Insights

Cisco Webex optimizes productivity for business meetings by incorporating AI tools and intelligence into videoconferencing.

“Advanced AI tools for tasks like real-time transcription, action item identification and potentially even facial recognition helps ensure that meeting content is captured accurately, maximizing the productivity derived from synchronous collaboration,” Agrawal says.

Nashawaty notes that AI brings face recognition technology and the ability to personalize meeting experiences to larger and hybrid environments. “Everybody can be paying full attention, because the AI is taking notes for you,” he says.

This ensures that everyone is mentally present during the meeting and aligned on next steps.

“I think Cisco has done a really good job with Webex in creating those action items so it will generate post-meeting summaries and provide clear follow-ups for people,” Brue says. “They’re not always 100% right, but humans and AI have to work together.”

EXPLORE: The technology solutions that are right sized for your small business.

6. ServiceNow Collaboration Hub

ServiceNow allows SMBs to integrate real-time collaboration into IT workloads for tasks such as incident resolution and change management.

“Its integration with broader IT ecosystems ensures that cross-functional teams stay aligned, reducing handoff delays and improving operational visibility,” Nashawaty says.

“By integrating real-time communication and task management into processes like incident resolution or change management within the broader IT ecosystem, Collaborative Work Management streamlines critical functions, enhances visibility and significantly improves core operational aspects of transformation,” Agrawal says.

“If you are a small company wanting to be a large company, these tools can help with scale, automation, growth, collaboration and productivity,” Brue says.

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