How Dropbox Business Enables Remote Working For Web Imp

When the Singapore government announced the Circuit Breaker measures, companies and staff across Singapore struggled to implement remote working on short notice.

For Web Imp, it was business as usual. In fact, we were already working from home for 2 weeks BEFORE the official announcement, as our office building was declared a possible Covid cluster.

Although it was an abrupt change, all of the 20 staff at Web Imp didn’t miss a beat, and we were able to continue working from home productively.

Part of this was due to our digital business nature. The other half of the credit can be given to Dropbox Business.

Background

Back in 16th March, Malaysia announced that they will bar citizens from entering the country from 18th of March.

Our Technical Director, Lawrence, a native of Malaysia, had to quickly pack up his things on 17th of March, so he could make the long trek home before the 18th.

On 18th of March, the rest of the company split into 2 groups for alternate days work from home

On the 29th of March, our office building was found to be a possible new cluster, and from then on, we have fully transitioned to working from home.

We were able to quickly transition to remote working so quickly because we were early adopters of Dropbox Business.

Here are some examples of how the different team members of Web Imp are able to use Dropbox to continue their day to day tasks at home.

How the team at Web Imp use Dropbox while working remotely

Wilson, Business Director

Responsibilities : I mainly head the Business unit, and oversee the company as a whole. 

How I use Dropbox:

Using Team Folders, I am able to configure the organization of my files and folders in a company level where all the controls are managed in the admin console with the team folder function.

After that, I can assign permission rights of the team folders to the various user groups that needs to access the files with edit permission or view-only permission.

All my employees are able to access and work on the files within Dropbox from anywhere as well, and not just that, we have unlimited storage capacity so we need not worry about having insufficient space.

This forms the remote working Business Continuity Plan (BCP) that I have in mind for my company. 

Rain, Project Manager

Responsibilities: I manage project timelines and communicate requirements to the team. I also handle communications with our clients.

How I use Dropbox:

I use Dropbox Paper for project management; to keep track of all requirements and tasks done by the team. I am able to plan and plot all project timelines with the designers and developers.

All materials pertaining to a project is stored in the cloud and only people attached to the project are able to access them.

When I require clients to send materials over, I use Dropbox File Request. Clients can access the link and dump all required project files into a secure folder. When I need to send client large files, i will use Dropbox Transfer.

I make use of the unlimited storage to store our Zoom recordings. (I have multiple meetings in a day, so in just a short span of less than 2 weeks, I have already accumulated 50 GB worth of recordings! )

Lawrence, Tech Director/Lead

Responsibilities: I oversee frontend & backend teams on software applications development mainly in technical aspects. I also train and collaborate with team members to identify and resolve technical related issues as well as delegating work assignments.

How I use Dropbox:

Dropbox Paper allows me to plan, manage & collaborate on different projects with my development team. Using People Pages, I have quick & easy access to my team’s work from any device.

File & Version Recovery is critical in salvaging any human error on day-to-day operations.

Dropbox also offers third-party app integrations, making it ideal for those who require exchanging files across multiple platforms and software.

For example, one app that the development team regularly use to design websites is Figma. I can even embed my team’s Figma designs into Dropbox Paper. I can navigate the Figma prototypes from Dropbox Paper and do the planning on Paper.

Mun Ping, Finance Executive/ HR

Responsibilities: I manage Account Receivables, Account Payables and Cash Flow of the company. I’m also in charge of HR; from interviewing all the way to onboarding of new staff.

How I use Dropbox:

I work with the team using Dropbox Paper, keeping managers updated on all the progress.

As Finance Executive, one important job I have is to categorize expenses and keep a record of all our vendors’ invoices.

Dropbox has open API which we have used to integrate with our ERP system, so whenever i upload the invoices into our ERP, it is synchronized and push the uploaded document into our Dropbox folder of expenses. 

Dropbox Paper is useful for communication too. You can provide updates for individual tasks with comments so managers can follow up.

Normally, when we use chat apps like Mattermost, comments will sometimes get lost or hard to find. Using Dropbox Paper helps with progress tracking and feedback loops.

In my HR role, I use the Admin Console. For new hires, I will add them to their respective team folders so they can have access to certain folders for their roles

For employee off boarding, I can use Remote Wipe to remove their account and transfer all their files to their respective supervisor.

Asher, Digital Strategist

Responsibilities: I do business development to acquire more clients and digital consultations for business owners that might need help in going digital.

How I use Dropbox:

I use Dropbox Showcase to create a portfolio of websites and solutions that Web Imp has done. Dropbox showcase comes with a link which I can just send it over to clients and they can view our portfolio anytime.

Furthermore, it tracks the number of visits and downloads the link has garnered. 

I make use of the unlimited cloud storage to store confidential documents, contracts. These can only be assessed by selected people.

Sometimes, some proposals and documents will be accidentally deleted, but we were still able to recover them due to the file recovery feature.

Reza, WordPress Developer

Responsibilities: I develop WordPress websites, provide technical support and do website maintenance.

How I use Dropbox:

Dropbox allows me to collaborate on website development projects with my technical lead and coworkers.

I can create projects timeline using the Dropbox paper, and keep the whole team clear on deadlines and milestones. I can share and access shared files with co-workers from anywhere. Having unlimited storage space means its is also possible to store entire website backup files in Dropbox too.

Our company has a folder for our “Resource Centre”, where I can access learning materials that is shared by the company. 

Yudha, UI/UX Designer

Responsibilities: I work with project managers and developers to create design concepts and prototypes of software based solutions – like websites and apps.

How I use Dropbox:

Using Dropbox Paper is really helpful for creating project brief and managing working timelines to collaborate with the team and keeping all things on track.

File Recovery is highly crucial for my work, as I can always have a backup without having to manually do it myself. Dropbox is always doing it for me, which is great.

Smart sync is basically our go-to and a must-have feature for cloud storage. It only saves files onto local storage when I need it. It allows my large files to be easily accessed and also saves on my local storage.

Hafizha, Designer

Responsibilities: I do website and mobile designs, and design marketing collateral for our clients and affiliates.

How I use Dropbox:

I use Dropbox to share my designs across team members, and also with the client.

The comment tool on Dropbox Paper simplifies the feedback workflow, so the client can write it down feedback immediately.

I can easily collaborate on the design and development timeline with the team. For design work, I can curate sprint requirements that need every team member’s inputs.

I also backup my design work to Dropbox. Most of the raw design works are big file sizes, so I uploaded to Dropbox to save my local storage.

Marcus, Marketing Executive

Responsibilities: I run digital marketing campaigns for Web Imp and our clients, to improve web traffic and generate leads.

How I use Dropbox:

I use Dropbox Paper for a variety of reasons.

I work with the team using Dropbox Paper to collaborate and generate ideas.

I use Dropbox Paper to:

• provide and gather feedback, and collaborate with multiple team members at once. 
• create marketing plans which can easily include spreadsheet cells, project timelines, checklists, and comments.
• create document templates, which help me get interviews done with others quickly. I am able to do case studies which involve clients and team members using the templates.

I use the unlimited cloud storage to store documents and large image files. Smart sync makes it such that only the files that I use are synced to my computer, which helps me reduce local storage wastage.

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As we adopted Dropbox Business very early on, Web Imp is able to easily transition and thrive in remote working arrangements.

Further reading: Dropbox Business vs Personal: 5 Reasons Businesses Should Switch

Are you keen on trying out Dropbox Business for your own team? Simply drop us a message to arrange a free demo session.