It was the star of the 2000s and since then it has almost become the enemy to be defeated. We receive every day more and more emails and so we spend more and more time each day to read them, classify them, shortly respond to them, and manage them.
The increasing number of emails is sometimes caused by a low optimal use of the latter. For example, by gathering many people in copy exchanges, answering everyone by reflex, or sending multiple versions of a document as an attachment.
It is for this reason we see many companies install internal social networks in order to increase collaboration within the company and reduce the number of exchanged emails. These social networks provide many benefits and allow, for example, the setting up of discussion forums, sharing contacts or collaboration on a common document. Therefore, they advantageously replace the email in many areas.
However, the email is still essential in numerous situations, only for communication within the outside. When we contact a supplier or customer, we use the email, and there is no way we provide them with access to the social network of the company. The email remains at present the only universal electronic communication means and shall remain so for a long time.
The next challenge therefore is not wanting to delete emails but to better manage and coordinate these exchanges with other software and existing company processes.
