Breaking down silos: How communication automation platforms enable collaboration across teams

A modern consequence of ever-growing business complexity is data silos. This problem has become so pervasive that a survey by Forrester on behalf of Airtable found that a majority (79%) of knowledge workers reported that teams throughout their organizations are siloed. (Airtable, 2022)

Moreover, the survey revealed that, on average, large organizations use 367 software apps and systems to manage their workflows. As a result, inconsistencies and discrepancies abound. Plus, businesses cannot identify customer patterns and trends, making it difficult to capitalize on opportunities. (Entrepreneur, 2022)   

Luckily, communication automation platforms (CAP) powered by artificial intelligence (AI) are the perfect tool for dismantling silos, improving collaboration across teams through workflow automation, intelligent analytics, and rich integration capabilities.

Workflow automation 

It’s no secret that authentic collaboration gets stifled by time-intensive, manual, and repetitive tasks such as creating and upkeeping documentation, organizing ideas, and informing stakeholders. (Lucidchart, 2023) Typically, when working on these mountains of mundane responsibilities, teams will turtle up, further solidifying silos and producing project bottlenecks.

CAP, however, gives businesses low-effort tools, like drag-and-drop workflows and pre-built templates, accelerating development cycles and giving knowledge workers more time to collaborate on high-level and revenue-generating activities. Plus, workflow automation technology prevents silos from developing in that it constantly keeps projects moving and sends information to the correct personnel. (Workflow, 2023)

Intelligent, built-in analytics 

When knowledge workers have access to the same data, every campaign and project will align, helping businesses more effectively drive coordinated efforts toward shared goals. Nevertheless, when teams use different data, they arrive at different conclusions, stalling decision-making and resulting in disagreements and potential disaster.

Businesses must ensure that all their teams have access to the same information. Thankfully, best-in-class CAP vendors have built-in, templated analytics and reporting features powered by AI to support tracking and insight-gathering efforts. Ideally, a CAP solution will enable teams – regardless of department – to leverage the same data concerning omnichannel customer interactions and other vital business metrics.

Application integration capabilities 

In the same way that dissimilar data sets hinder collaboration, teams that use different applications and tools will also encounter consistent and aggregation challenges, impeding cross-communication and teamwork. (Workflow, 2023) These issues are even more pronounced today – especially since many organizations have fully remote or hybrid work models.

Leading CAP solutions will, unlike ridged APIs, include advanced templated integrations, permitting businesses to quickly connect their marketing automation software and back-end CRMs such as Salesforce and Zendesk. Additionally, CAP providers should integrate with commonplace apps, social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, and AI solutions like ChatGPT and IBM Watson.

Ultimately, having more streamlined and connected systems through CAP integrations will break down silos and promote collaboration.  

Break down silos with IntelePeer

With 80% of respondents from the Airtable survey saying that reducing silos is a top priority for their organization, there is no better place to start than with a leading CAP solution. (Airtable, 2022) Recently, Aragon Research named IntelePeer one of the noteworthy and innovative vendors impacting the CAP market.

Connect with us today to learn how IntelePeer’s Smart Automation platform can help your business smash silos and enrich collaboration.