Frequently Asked Questions
What is CollabWorks?
As pioneers in Virtual Resource Planning (VRP), CollabWorks is offering the world’s first Worker as a Service (WaaS) platform that provides the enterprise the means to capture People Cloud economics by optimizing the worker and the software they use. Companies join CollabWorks to better understand how to capture improved worker productivity, share use case experiences, and collectively work with both SaaS and WaaS vendors.
What is Virtual Resource Planning?
VRP is a new class “middleware” services that make people more transparent to the problem being solved. Instead of solving problems by jobs, VRP enables to enterprise to better match talent to problem where the talent pool can include part of all the enterprise, partners, and 3rd party contractors.
What is the People Cloud?
The People Cloud provides availability, optimization, and speed in any combination of private, hybrid, or public pools of knowledge worker resources.
What is WaaS?
Worker-as-a-Service (WaaS) is a class of human resource service providers that supply knowledge workers to enterprise customers. These providers are grouped into three categories: (1) Outsourced contractors or Business Process Organizations (BPOs) who hired employees and in turn contract them directly to their enterprise customers or provide services. (2) Broker providers who connect the sources of knowledge workers to the demand for services, and (3) networks of supplier and customers where the customers define projects and suppliers bid.
What does CollabWorks do?
The CollabPort platform initially addresses software optimization since software used properly is a major factor in productivity. Our research shows that most workers are increasingly using their own software in combination with company software. Most IT executives interviewed don’t understand the use of most SaaS apps nor its productivity value since the software is usually purchased by a BU. CollabPort provides: (1) Decision making tools to better optimize user software; (2) Administrative software to simplify daily user log-ins and provide enhanced security, and onboarding/off-boarding in minutes; and (3) a collaborative environment where optimal uses of software and vendor experiences can be shared.
What problem to we solve?
Traditional command and control organizations hire or contract staff by the job. As social problem solving, wisdom of crowd, and “worker” networks such as O-desk become more mainstream, matching the problem to be solved to the job is crude as increasingly suboptimal. Talent nearly always exceeds the job of a worker. The main reason for high job turnover rates is job dissatisfaction. Younger generations in particular want variety and growth often not achieve with changing jobs. Companies need to be able to onboard and off-board workers in minutes not weeks. They need to promote knowledge exchange, optimize skills, and create project teams quickly and virtually. To do so there needs to be greater transparency as to what knowledge worker can solve the problem and how. Could be by the job, by the service, full time, part time, or 3rd party.
What is the payoff?
There is a huge payoff. Optimizing how and where people work can yield a $10,000 saving per worker per year, or about 7% in productivity. Unified development platforms are reducing cycle times and increasing productivity by 30% or more. Enterprise social networking platforms are reducing email by 30% or more, yielding productivity gains of 5% or more. Tablets such as iPad are being devoured by knowledge workers and a tsunami of applications is coming. The stakes are high as people dominate enterprise costs. We are early stages of a major transformation towards the Virtual Enterprise. The early adopters will win market share. The laggards will lose.
"The most important contribution management needs to make to the 21rst Century is to increase the productivity of the Knowledge Worker." – Peter Drucker
What differentiates CollabWorks?
In the near term CollabPort is differentiated by offering a one-stop solution to optimize and manage the web based software of a knowledge worker. The services platform includes SaaS and WaaS decision making support, automated provisioning including complete SaaS provisioning, web to web connectors to support integration and vendor replacement, and an enterprise to enterprise collaboration environment where optimized solutions and vendor experiences can be shared. As the participating enterprises grow, the network effect will become increasingly compelling as the cumulative value of knowledge/experience exchange and collective vendor relationships expand.
What is the Virtual Enterprise?
The Virtual Enterprise means the freedom to optimize resources, digital and human resources. The word “Virtual” is this case means the “freedom to optimize”. Cloud Computing optimizes systems and applications. People Clouds optimize people and problem solving. Both are part of the Virtual Enterprise Architecture. Most startups are highly virtual. IT is normally completely outsourced and all but the core organizational functions are also outsources. Larger organizations transforming towards a more Virtual Enterprise as they become more mobile, allow their workers more freedom to select their own devices and applications, rely more on problem solving outside the organizational structure of functions and jobs.
CollabWorks conducts workshops and provides professional services in support of an enterprise member’s transformation initiatives towards a Virtual Enterprise.
Why should I trust CollabWorks?
The Founders and Advisors are 25+ year veterans with deep expertise in virtual technologies and organizations. We have a track record of execution. We have happy references.
How do I get started?
Join the CollabWorks network of enterprise now. Learn, share, and start by optimizing the productivity of worker software. Please contact us and we will arrange meeting. Once you fully understand the process, we will ask you to participate in a survey/interview. You then can decide what service best fits your current needs.
