When you are working with a team, collaboration is one of your greatest assets. When work becomes siloed, the stage is set for a multitude of challenges, such as missed or repeated tasks, incompatible components, or disjointed final results. Collaboration is also important externally, as clients or stakeholders often expect some degree of involvement, the lack of which can cause doubt or mistrust. Increased collaboration can help perfect workflow processes, improve relationships among employees, and boost productivity and efficiency.

While internal culture and processes play a big role in fostering collaboration, there is another crucial component that is often overlooked: the software option you choose. This is especially true in fields such as hydrology, geology, oil & gas, construction and environmental science, all of which deal extensively with complex data analysis and representation conducted by teams of all sizes. As technology has continued to help these industries grow and become more connected, software options such as those for mapping and graphing have experienced some lag time in the way that they let team members collaborate, instead focusing purely on power and functionality.

All of those characteristics are critical for this kind of work, and fortunately the Golden Software developers have recognized the importance of the big picture and created options that embody both the technical and human elements required to achieve the best results. Collaboration, both internal and external, is a key component of success, an area to which many older software options were not exceedingly conducive. Below are a few key features to look for in both areas.

Sharing files and projects is not a new concept, but in an age where remote work is increasingly becoming the status quo, simplifying the process is a must. Newer graphing software options have made significant strides. Sharing files with embedded data is perhaps the most common way of sharing files, but this often involves enormous file sizes that eat up space on shared servers, take a long time to compress, and ultimately elongate project times while putting a strain on storage measures. Grapher includes save file types such as .GRF and .GRT that allow users to share project files without embedded data. Improving a team’s ability to quickly receive files and then access data saved on a shared network drive on their own computers, whether they are in the same office or located halfway around the world.

In many cases, clients or external stakeholders are not using the same kind of niche software as industry specialists. This can create complications when sending graphs, maps or other forms of data representation that are saved in hyper-specific formats inaccessible to those without the same software. Fortunately, Surfer allows projects to be exported in multiple formats, such as 3D PDFs, which allow them to be viewed in standard applications with the same detail and mobility as the professional industry platform. This allows everyone involved to stay apprised of progress and developments so that projects stay on track.