While some companies are pushing a return to the office for employees, remote and hybrid work is here to stay. According to Zippia’s research on the U.S. workforce, over 36 million Americans will work remotely by 2025. In Buffer’s global survey of report workers, 98% of respondents want to continue working remotely for the rest of their careers. The ever-growing number of digital communication and project management solutions has helped make remote work possible, but having more ways to talk to each other virtually doesn’t always lead to productive collaboration. Companies offering remote work opportunities must remember that despite people no longer sharing an office, they still need a collaborative digital workspace to get work done together.

Many of us have been on a video conferencing call where one person was sharing their screen, different folks were popping links in the chat, which led to everyone opening up new tabs in their web browser, and then checking in with each other to make sure we’re all looking at the same document. If that isn’t chaotic enough, sometimes the meeting host needs to leave but they were the one recording the call, so someone else has to spin up a new meeting link and the inefficient process of screen and link sharing starts all over again. We’ve all been getting by with the tools we have for remote teamwork, but it’s always been a disjointed process. We believe there’s a better way to help hybrid teams work – and grow better together.

Our Investment in Switchboard 

This is why we've invested in Switchboard, a powerful, digital collaboration workspace that helps hybrid and remote teams communicate and work side by side with ease. Switchboard’s all-in-one web-based solution combines video conferencing, messaging, shared workspaces, and app collaboration on one secure, easy-to-navigate platform. Created to improve hybrid teamwork, Switchboard was designed to be more than just a means of communication for teams – it’s a tool that allows for more productive and connected remote collaboration experiences.

Switchboard’s core multiplayer browsers support all web-based apps, so there’s nothing to download or integrate – teams can continue using the apps they know and love. Instead of the neverending toggling between apps and tabs during a typical video conference meeting, teams using Switchboard can view everything in one large space without needing one person to share their screen. The multiplayer browsers let everyone work alongside each other in an interactive space that recreates the feeling of being in the same room.

Switchboard also maintains continuity in between meetings. All the content a team works on is saved in persistent rooms, so collaborators can pick up right where they left off with all the information they need in one place.



In Switchboard’s collaborative workspace, participants can see and communicate with each other while simultaneously viewing and interacting with any number of apps.  

“HubSpot’s dedication to solving for disconnection and helping companies grow better is aligned with Switchboard’s mission to create a solution that enables teams to do their best work together,” said Amir Ashkenazi, founder and CEO of Switchboard. “We’re thrilled to receive this strategic investment from HubSpot and look forward to working together to build more engaged remote and hybrid teamwork experiences.”

In the future, Switchboard plans to build an integration with HubSpot with persistent room templates that support specific HubSpot customer use cases like interactive sales demos or campaign review meetings with vertical tools.

Working Better Together

HubSpot Ventures' investment in Switchboard isn’t just an investment in an innovative digital solution, it’s a commitment to building connections. Switchboard makes truly effective remote collaboration possible by connecting teams with the information they need in one space, while also creating a seamless workflow that lets people work more closely together no matter where they’re working from.

Learn more about how Switchboard makes collaboration better for remote and hybrid teams.

Originally published Apr 19, 2023 11:00:00 AM, updated April 19 2023

source:https://www.hubspot.com/company-news/hubspot-invests-in-switchboard