The Future of Virtual Whiteboarding: How to Collaborate, Now & for the Long Term By Jason Scott, VP I June 24, 2020

With the world sheltering in Birth of the Whiteboard: place, the percentage of From the 60’s through the 90’s, engineers, mathematicians, remote workers has increased and corporate strategy departments valued the exponentially, and agile simultaneous focus and additive collaborative nature communications like physical whiteboards enabled. Having an entire team in one whiteboarding practices have room, thinking together and with the energy of the moment been severely disrupted. In the allowed concepts to come forth quickly and be modified era of COVID-19, face-to-face easily, unlike traditional paper or electronic documents, or meetings and interactions even . Traditional whiteboards (albeit still analog) quickly became an offered better visibility, portability, and durability, and were impossibility, leaving not expensive to produce, so they readily caught on rapidly. businesses with little time to develop strategies and find Emergence of Digital Whiteboards: viable substitutions that In the early 90’s, digital whiteboards made their appearance. emulate the experience. They were created as simple touch-and-write digital boards to be used in offices in place of basic whiteboards and With the “New Abnormal,” chalkboards, solving traditional chalkboard pain points of totally remote situations do not limited space and storage, lack of flexibility, and readability lend themselves to the problems, in addition to that annoying chalk dust and sound. concept of whiteboarding as it Whiteboard Now: has been practiced in recent The first interactive whiteboard was introduced by SMART times. However, to pursue an Technologies in 1991. It offered touch controls similar to a agile approach to and the ability to write over standard communications in our remote Windows applications using a finger, pen, or other solid workplaces, some semblance object. The whiteboard system consisted of an interactive of whiteboarding needs to be whiteboard, projector and whiteboard , later incorporated. advancing to include an eraser, colored markers and back- lighted projection. THE EVOLUTION OF These whiteboards started as hardware designed to function THE WHITEBOARD as large display screens, and the increased availability of touch screen devices across workplaces made possible Whiteboards began changing software solutions that are compatible with those devices. In the way workplaces addition, some solutions provide both software as well as collaborate nearly 60 years dedicated hardware to offer an experience that is closest to ago, with their virtual drawing and sketching on a traditional whiteboard. interactive versions arriving 30 years after: [email protected] grailinsights.com WHITEBOARDING IN THE ENTERPRISE TODAY While interactive boards were initially used merely as a replacement to traditional boards, innovations have unleashed the endless possibilities. With the introduction and adoption of virtual collaboration and meeting solutions, the interactive whiteboard has morphed into the interactive and virtual whiteboard, an essential tool in the corporate infrastructure. Even without the advent of COVID-19, there has been a sharp increase in the usage of virtual whiteboards across organizations in general. The emergence of global and remote workforces has stimulated the need to bring this crucial element of agile communications to the forefront.

According to an industry report by Globe Newswire (report), the global interactive whiteboards market is expected to reach USD 2.31 Bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR 6.1% during 2020-25. Amidst the pandemic, the rising demand from the corporate sector is expected to further propel the sales of whiteboards. In an increasingly remote workplace that has gained sudden and massive momentum by the recent shelter-in-place orders, employers will look globally for talent that can exist anywhere in the world, making agile virtual whiteboards part of the routine package of remote work software. True, managing collaboration in multiple time zones and varied work styles requires an adjustment, but the basic requirement--interactive whiteboard software-- already exists.

How organizations are leveraging new tools to enhance remote communications

Enhanced accessibility and reduced costs An increasing number of organizations are switching to interactive whiteboards for collaborating with their employees and working with remote clients.

Time savings A surge in the adoption of virtual whiteboards across organizations facilitates quicker problem-solving by allowing attendees to participate in meetings and brainstorming sessions simultaneously B E N E F I T S INCLUDE Effective collaboration Unlike the traditional whiteboards, the interactive whiteboarding solutions offer a multitude of advanced features that help enhance meetings.

Optimized workflow A team leader can demarcate the board's interface into several sections by departments or units.

Seamless integration with other software These whiteboarding tools can integrate with other widely used tools/software, such as Microsoft Teams, Jira, Slack, Box, and Zapier.

Sources: Tech Target, MURAL, Cisco Film Making, , Cisco Healthcare, Deloitte, Tech Target, Fortune Business Insights, G Suite Kings Transport, Ingram, Google G Suite, Google G Suite, ZoomInfo, BenQ, Sutori [email protected] grailinsights.com The market for these products includes companies from a broad spectrum of industries, including entertainment, financial services, healthcare, and aerospace. They are using them for a myriad of purposes, such as branding, stakeholder engagement, and strategic decision making.

Dell uses Miro in its product development and design thinking process to collaborate inputs from teams across offices as well as within the same office.

Capco Digital, an end-to-end digital transformation initiatives company for financial services institutions, leveraged MURAL to run design thinking workshops digitally. The goal was to strengthen the client team’s daily collaboration habits, reduce dependence on , increase engagement, and align project objectives.

GitHub used MURAL in designing its brand awareness campaign remotely, by coordinating between participants spread across locations and time zones.

Filmmaker Jerry Bruckheimer uses Cisco WebEx to enable film production teams spread across the globe in exchanging information through graphics. Artists, directors, and designers are able to coordinate virtually and make real-time changes.

Spotify, a media services provider, believes that Google is the future of meetings as it allows multimedia collaboration between participants across locations.

Due to the increasing demand, the market for these solutions and services is quite active for both legacy and newer players. While a number of tech giants (Microsoft, Google) pioneered this space, the market has seen the rise of a range of niche players (Miro, Crayon) who are giving the category leaders fierce competition by offering more features, competitive pricing, and integration to the existing suite of applications. The companies driving innovation in this space demonstrate the potential and current usage of interactive whiteboards for improving the robustness of both distributed and co-located teams. However, these whiteboards come with their own set of shortcomings when compared with traditional physical whiteboards:  Unlike traditional whiteboards, interactive whiteboards involve risks of malfunctions and may often require IT interventions. According to a survey of 1,131 teachers published on ResearchGate in 2016, 70% of teachers face technical issues with interactive whiteboards. Enterprises are surely facing the same challenges.  Interactive whiteboard writing tools are more intuitive than using a or fingers. Likewise, when are not sensitive enough to a user’s touch, time between input and output can result.  The lack of interoperability between software solutions limits collaboration outside of a specific organization’s choice of software.  Even more than all these limitations, cost is the biggest barrier to adoption. Deploying these software solutions often means an additional expense of outfitting remote workers with touch- enabled devices.

[email protected] grailinsights.com Understanding these limitations, platforms are constantly innovating to offer cutting edge features focused on addressing those pain points:

Difficulty in text/sketch recognition: Writing text using a mouse or a digital pen on an interactive whiteboard just looks clunky. Technology vendors have been working to remedy this through some of their recent initiatives:  In March 2019, Microsoft announced an inking feature in Microsoft Whiteboard that analyzes the user’s handwriting and replaces it with legible strokes, improving legibility.  Google’s Jamboard offers a feature called AutoDraw, which functions like an auto-correct for sketches. If the user’s sketch resembles a common object, Jamboard suggests a of images that can be used to replace the rough sketch. Limited Accessibility: One of the biggest initial shortcomings of interactive whiteboards is that the technology could only be accessed through dedicated physical hardware connected to the software provider. However, most software is now device agnostic, compatible with a wide range of devices from phones to tablets to laptops--everything other than competitive whiteboard-specific hardware. In addition, the exponential growth in cloud-based software (SaaS) has eliminated the bulky requirements of on-premise, -based systems.  Google’s Jamboard initially worked primarily on BenQ-built hardware sold by Google. However, by 2018, Jamboard was also offering most features through tablet and mobile apps. It also offered a web version of the Jamboard that could be used to create Jams, add notes, draw, and erase.  In 2019, Microsoft introduced Whiteboard for web and app that offered limited functionalities of its native version; in addition to the , the whiteboard hardware offered by Microsoft, the whiteboard can be accessed via Windows, iOS and Android devices  Miro is an online collaborative whiteboard software accessible on modern devices such as PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, graphic tablets, and devices. Miro works with multiple brands of touchscreen devices that support full-size applications such as Hub  MURAL, yet another vendor that offers interactive whiteboard software, supports devices such as Windows 10 and iOS-run touch devices, as well as offers an application for Microsoft Surface Hub

THE FUTURE OF INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDING IN THE POST-PANDEMIC WORLD

The ongoing pandemic has provided a lucrative opportunity for providers by enabling remote workers with the ability to experience collaboration and agile communications virtually. As demand increases, investors are pouring money into interactive whiteboard companies. In April 2020, Miro received funding of USD 50 MM, taking their overall funding to USD 75 MM. In the beginning of the year, MURAL also received funding of USD 23 MM, which was ten times the funding from the previous round.

[email protected] grailinsights.com At the same time, providers are focusing on more innovative solutions:

 Interactive whiteboards have evolved to become more collaborative in nature by offering built- in tools like in-app video conferencing, chat, @mentions, tagging, voting, and presentation mode.

 When asked about Miro, a visual collaboration platform’s evolution over time, Chief Marketing Officer Barbra Gago quotes, “Our core mission is the same, but we’ve evolved into much more than a “interactive whiteboard.” We’ve invested a lot in understanding how teams collaborate and how this visual medium can be at the center of it, but also realized that we can solve for things beyond simple use-cases like brainstorming or diagraming (which were some of those early use-cases)”.

 Present-day interactive whiteboarding focuses on collaborating without constraints and visual collaboration in a broader sense; it is aimed at enabling better project management through a platform that is the single source of truth for work that revolves around visual access and enabling large-scale collaborative sessions and workshops.

While no one has a crystal ball, almost all agree that the future of the workplace will look much different when the workforce enters the “big return.” Work practices will be forever shaped by our experiences during the pandemic and the challenges we were forced to overcome.

Enterprises are already seeing a surge in the use of and demand for interactive whiteboards and are struggling to rein in Shadow IT. Providers are capitalizing on the current environment, and further fueling the fire by offering no-risk trials targeted towards the end-users to boost sales.

Enterprises that fail to get a handle on the issue early on will face a rocky road ahead:

 Systems will not be thoroughly vetted or managed by IT, greatly increasing the possibility of security breaches, data theft, and compliance issues.

 While adoption of these types of solutions may be viral, there is a good chance it will be siloed with different groups of users using different solutions, leading to a range of disparate solutions.

 There will be higher costs due to the inability to negotiate directly with the vendor and benefit from volume discounts. There will also be more demand for touch-enabled devices that might not be needed if the right AI-enabled tool is chosen.

 Interactive whiteboards will suffer from a lack of integration with other major productivity, collaboration, and line-of-business solutions.

 Technical issues may cause enough end-user frustration that they give up the practice of whiteboarding entirely, leading to a loss of productivity, efficiency, and creativity.

[email protected] grailinsights.com If enterprises get it right, they will emerge from the pandemic in a better position than when they entered. After the big return, telecommuting will likely see a sharp increase. According to a Gartner survey, 74% of CFOs say they expect to move previously on-site employees remote post-COVID-19. While whiteboarding is only one piece of a larger puzzle, it is an essential part of agile communications and one that must be addressed. Recreating the experience virtually could lead to:  Enterprises being able to tap into a truly global talent pool. Professions such as software development, R&D, and data science are in high demand and all utilize whiteboarding heavily. If sessions can be conducted virtually, businesses will have fewer hiring constraints.

 Distributed teams will be more productive and efficient. Even prior to the pandemic, many lacked the tools needed to emulate the in-person whiteboarding experience.

 An increase in telecommuting will enable organizations to cut down on expensive commercial real estate costs. Managers will see less value in having employees in the office if in-person scrums and whiteboarding sessions are just as effective virtually.

 Enterprises have already seen drastic cuts in business travel. While not a huge expense, eliminating the need to travel for brainstorming sessions will provide for some cost savings.

Providers will face their own set of challenges, especially newer niche players:

 End-user training is essential for increasing a product’s “stickiness.” Smaller companies, while nimbler, often lack the knowledge and resources needed to support the enterprise. For more details on the benefits of training, and how Grail can help, see our Customer Success offering.

 The “big guys” already have a strong relationship with the business, and IT specifically. They can focus on a top-down, dual marketing and sales strategy that sells to both end-users and IT, while new players will have to focus on a more grassroots campaign.

 Category leaders have a large ecosystem of products that can benefit from integration and have an opportunity to attach or include whiteboarding solutions at a lower cost.

 Vendors that offer videoconferencing and collaboration solutions can - and already are - incorporating whiteboarding features into their solutions, eliminating the need for standalone whiteboarding products.

Regardless of how the market will eventually pan out, there is currently an optimistic outlook for the interactive whiteboarding space. Whether or not demand will remain high, stagnate, or reduce after the pandemic will depend upon the performance of collaboration software and the ease of adoption among mid-market and enterprise businesses.

Improve your business processes through insight. Learn more about how Grail can help you enhance communication and collaboration through whiteboarding and beyond. Contact us at [email protected]

2 Sources: The Mind Mapping Software Blog

eztalks, CRN, UC Today(Aug,2017), Tech Target(Jun, 2018), UC Today, Tech Target (Jan, 2018), Tech Target (Jul, 2017), MURAL, Cisco Film Making, Miro, Cisco Healthcare, Deloitte, Fortune Business Insights, AV Magazine, Virgin.com, TechTarget, IoT for All, Miro, myViewBoard, BCV, CNBC, TechCrunch, Formstack, Topbots, Techcrunch, eztalks, Whiteboard Shop, Designer Daily, Tech Jockey, Ziteboard, BenQ, TechRepublic; Techgig; Viewsonic; Redmond; IAS; Google; Miro; MURAL; The Davidson Group; Zapier [email protected] grailinsights.com