Hey, Can I have your undivided attention for a minute?   Thank you! There is a question I need you to answer: ‘What is the average number of emails that hit your inbox every day?’   Pause for a couple of minutes and see if you can estimate how noisy and crowded modern inboxes can be.   No idea? Let me help.   One Hundred and Twenty-One. That’s the number of Emails an average office worker receives per day, in 2022.   That’s a lot of numbers, right?   And these emails come in different forms - all vying for your attention. The majority of these Emails are clustered with attention-seeking subjects and catchy headlines. Each one is written with the purpose to rope you in so you click the button, read their content, and develop an interest in what they have to say.   For most people, the Email notifications popping up in the corner of the screen is a serious distraction. Not only does it prevent them from getting the tasks done, but it also makes it difficult to get back to work, with the same state of mind.   Here’s a hard-hitting fact about Emails Killing Work Productivity:   Whenever a person stops working on a project/task to check their inbox, it takes them almost 23 minutes to get back on track. Refocusing on work after an Email Interruption is not an easy thing. If you are receiving over 100 emails, it is sure to harm your productivity.   It’s Established. Though intended to act as a productivity tool in the majority of cases, emails are only killing productivity!   Think I am wrong? See for yourself:   Hyper-Responsiveness When was the last time you checked your inbox? As for me, ten minutes ago. As reported by surveys and studies, an average office worker checks their inbox 36 times an hour. Since Emails are Omnipresent, every office worker, whether an employee or an employer, knows that they are important.   And Cherry on the Cake? Promotional offers, discounts, new deals, and event details from your favorite sellers. They all get in the way of work.   Hyper-responsiveness to emails chops your workday into a series of work slots punctuated by distractions. When these emails need you to reply, the 26-minute average can stretch to an hour, without you noticing. Because, the quicker your reply, the faster responses you’ll get. The more responses you get, the more time you’ll stay distracted. It’s a vicious circle, you see.   Bottom Line: You Can’t Resist the Temptation of Checking Your Inbox.   A Habit of Composing Long Emails Another crucial reason that explains how Emails kill our productivity is the time spent on composing them. I am guilty of writing detailed emails to my clients. I am sure you are too. We all end up composing long and detailed replies when dealing with a new client or an important one when the same thing could’ve been communicated in half the time and half the space.   Bottom Line: You tend to forget that short emails are not rude and It’s always better to be concise.   7- Surefire ways of improving Email Productivity   1.  Create a Schedule to NOT check your Inbox 2.  Set-up an Email-Cleansing Routine 3.  Create and Email Hierarchy 4.  Use Canned Responses 5.  Leverage the power of Email Management Tools 6.  Develop a smart email etiquette 7.  Leverage Office Chat Application   Excessive Emails will continue distracting us from our primary duties as long as you take the following steps: 1. Create a Schedule to NOT check your Inbox   Unless you love killing time while at work, this first tip will prove to be extremely helpful. By creating a schedule to not check your inbox, you can save plenty of time, and you won’t burn time sending replies throughout the day. You’ll stay focused and be far more productive.   Just stop checking your inbox when at work. Stop refreshing that page so darn much. And if you think this is easier said than done, let us introduce you to a few tools that can help you with the same:   Inbox Pause: With this tool, you can have complete control over when emails appear in your inbox. Thus, you get to increase productivity by eliminating interruptions and reducing stress. Freedom: An app that blocks internet access to selected apps and websites, allowing users to have a distraction-free workplace, and self-imposed time. Cut back the Email push notifications: It’s the pop-ups that distract the most. They are ruining your work life. Why don’t you kill them too? Yes, really. Turn them off, for good! Add Message with your Signature: Add a statement under your signature, which informs your important contacts that you may not respond unless urgent. For Example, “I only check my emails four times a day. If it’s urgent, please walk to my desk to see me or call me.” 2. Set up an Email-Cleansing Routine   Your Inbox is someone else’s To-Do list, and you don’t have to keep them all stored unless they are really important and they serve a purpose. What’s the point of having so many useless emails?   Merlin Mann suggests the practice of clearing the email inbox of unnecessary emails. The Email-Cleansing Routine is something you need to do every single day. It can be tough but sure is very rewarding. Here’s what you need to do:   Do – Do the task right now if it’s actionable. Delegate – Forward this email to the correct person. Defer – If it’s not urgent, do it later. Delete – If useless, drop it in the bin. File – If the message has the information you may need in the future Add it to the archives. 3. Create an Email Hierarchy   If your work demands you to go through your Inbox multiple times to access important files and information, the first tip is not useful in your case. People like me who get assignments and tasks via Emails, need to stay active and frequently refresh our inboxes because that’s our virtual workplace.   Hence Avoiding Emails or Inbox-checking is not possible. Here’s another solution: Use Filters.   Yes, with filters, you can scan your inbox for better email management. Since Gmail has advanced so much over the last few years, you can   Use it to save time and avoid elements of distractions. Here’s how: File + Folders Filter: With this, you can organize emails containing files that need your attention Filter Based on Work: Put your Work Emails under the Label ‘Work’ to read only filtered mails Filter Based on Personal Emails: Put your Emails under the Label ‘personal’ to read-only filtered mail Filters Based on a particular Email address: ‘Put your Important contacts under the Label ‘Important’ to read-only filtered mail Star Important Contacts: Start Important Contacts for quick access.   4. Use Canned Responses  I told you in the previous section about the amount of time we all waste composing emails or send outbound emails. It kills work productivity.   The struggle is real. But you’ve to face it, and Canned Responses can be a savior as long as you know how to use them.   For those who don’t know, Canned Responses are a Gmail Feature that allows users to create and save a standard response that can be inserted into while composing a message or sending a reply-all at the click of a button. Here’s how you can Enable Canned Responses:   Go to Settings Navigate to ‘Advanced Tab’ Select ‘Canned Responses’ and Enable it.   To use a canned response, you first need to write one, and for that:     Open a compose mail Type an email that you wish to use as a canned response Click on the three dots available at the bottom right corner of the window Click Canned Response Finally, Enter the name of this canned response Click OK   Now, whenever you wish to reply with a response, you simply have to open the email, click the three dots, select canned responses, choose among the saved responses, and Insert it before clicking the press button. 5. Leverage the power of Email Management Tools Email Productivity can be made a game with cold email software. With an appropriate tool like a cold email outreach tool, for instance, you can solve the trouble for yourself and your employees and team members as well.   Apart from managing the high bounds of electronic emails, you can also organize important ones into a specific pipeline. Since millions of entrepreneurs are vouching for creating a distraction-free workspace, there are plenty of Email Management tools to choose from:   Constant Contact: To manage email lists and communications Boomerang: To remove emails that don’t need immediate attention Bananatag: For tracking the sent emails Infusionsoft: For following up with prospects MailChimp: For sending your subscribers the content they want.   6. Develop a smart email etiquette Email-Etiquette is something most of us lack, even though it is one of the most sensible ways to get more done and also maintain a sound work-life balance. Once you follow proper Email-etiquette, you get to expand your network and save time too.   Email Etiquette might not sound like a productivity tip but following these five tips save your recipient from confusion, for they receive the required information at once, and   Use a meaningful subject: Messages without a subject deserve a place in the trash can. They are a way to convey messages in a short time and let your recipient know what the mail is exactly about. When you expect others to not burn your time, make sure you don’t burn them either. Don't use ALL CAPS: Yes, it’s the most annoying thing, and yet people think typing in caps helps them get attention when in reality it only repels. Be concise: Let me remind you once more - When you expect others to not burn your time, make sure you don’t burn them either. Bottom line is to make sure your message is easy-to-read and scannable. I recommend using bullets or numbering. You don’t have to write a novel there. There are plenty of authors already. Proofread your email. Ensure readability: Avoid writing with overuse of exclamation marks and emoticons, unless the person on the receiving end is your ex! Add a CTA: When writing a professional email, adding a call-to-action is important so that the other party knows exactly what step you want them to take. Your CTA should have a clear direction so that the recipient doesn’t have to respond with a bunch of follow-up questions.    7. Leverage the Office Chat Application     I’ve saved the best for last.   Using an Office Chat App is indeed the best way to increase workplace productivity, reduce the chances of emails killing worktime, and assuring efficient collaboration as well.   One of the easiest ways of protecting time is by using communication tools designed for workplace collaboration. When you use a customized app, all the notifications and messages you receive are about work only. There’s no unnecessary pop-up vying for your attention. If you are a team leader or an employer who constantly worries about their employee's productivity, it’s high time you start leveraging the power of using an office chat application.   Troop Messenger, for instance, allows internal team members (employees and employers) to exchange messages, media, and files in a single, secure interface. With features like one-on-messaging, and video and voice calling, you can get things done faster and manage daily project tasks in an organized manner. With Troop Messenger, you can do a lot more than message and file sharing. Here’s how:   Video and Voice Calling: Face-to-Face interaction over presentations, deadlines, and projects. Audio Messaging: Crystal clear audio to know things better Burnout: Private conversation window to chat confidentially with a team member. Your chats aren’t stored anywhere. Live Location Tracking: Share or receive real-time location for a specific amount of time. Screen-Sharing: Share real-time desktop scream for collaboration on a task Advanced Search Filters: Filter your search by contacts, images, locations, and videos for easy and faster data retrieval. Unlimited Groups: Make collaboration easy with unlimited Groups.   Key Takeaways It’s Established. While intended to act as a productivity tool, in the majority of cases, emails are only killing productivity!   Emails are controlling your work life, believe it or not, and they will continue doing so if you don’t take the charge. Hence it’s crucial to embrace better Email habits to stay on the right track, clears away distractions, and have a clear head when working.   Make use of the right tools, use filters, create connections, and stay in control of your time. Start using office chat apps. It’s on you to safeguard your cognitive resources. The more you avoid ‘task-switching’ distractions, the better work you’ll be able to do, and that too in a lesser amount of time.   And now, I’ll take your leave with a Mantra you need to remember: “Not everything is as urgent as it seems.”

Uber, Samsung, United States Armed Forces, TADHack, W3F, and UpCloud World’s leading companies are using Mattermost, Riot, or Matrix to give their teams the ‘best-ever’ virtual workplace experience.   While these companies are on three different messaging platforms, with different requirements, they have one thing in common - they all understand the importance of having a virtual workplace where all employees and stakeholders can communicate and collaborate, irrespective of the differences in time zone and location.   Along with these renowned names, 97% of businessmen and executives believe that the lack of communication within a team negatively influences the outcome of a project.   75% of the businessmen rate team collaboration and communication as the ‘most critical aspects,’ and 86% of the entrepreneurs cite a lack of communication and ineffective collaboration for workplace failure.   These statistics are a testimony to the fact that getting communication right can easily be a make-or-break factor for businesses, especially for virtual teams that rely on an in-depth communication style.   In a virtual business, relationships can be strained where communication happens primarily over electronic devices and the internet. The better you communicate, the better and more cohesive will be the end-projects.   Conventional forms of e-communication like email or Whatsapp fail to cut it as people are spread out further afield. And that’s where we realize the immediate need for messaging platforms like Riot-Matrix and Mattermost - office chat applications specifically designed to meet the collaboration needs of teams working remotely.   MatterMost vs Riot/Matrix   1. Messaging Functionality 2. Voice and Video Conferencing 3. Integration 4. FileSharing 5. Security 6. Supporting devices 7. Pricing   A bit about Matrix   Three keywords define Matrix: Interoperable systems, Real-time Communication, and Decentralised collaboration. As an open standard team chat application, the matrix is known for robust specifications that have the potential of evolving the concept of modern communication.   Interoperable: Matrix, being Open Standard, is specifically designed to integrate and interoperate with multiple communication systems. Decentralized: As a decentralized tool, with no central point, the matrix can be hosted on different servers. The team leaders can business owners can have complete control over their data, which gives zero opportunity for the third party to peek-a-boo! Real-Time: Matrix is designed to function in real-time, which makes it an ideal tool for systems and workplaces that need an immediate exchange of data and media. And hence, it makes for an apt Instant Messaging tool as well. A bit about Riot   Riot is a Matrix client that was built with an emphasis on usability and performance. Built on top of Matrix-react-SDK, this open-source tool allows teams to bridge beyond their borders.    Uber, Samsung, United States Armed Forces, TADHack, W3F, and UpCloud, with Riot, you don’t have to juggle between different applications for communicating with different vendors, teams, suppliers, and networks. It bridges various services like IRC and Slack, and thus people using different tools can chat with you, while you use integrations and bots from the open-source Matrix ecosystem.   Here also, you are in complete control of shared messages, documents, files, and sensitive data, and private conservations are end-to-end encrypted so that you never have to compromise your team's business's privacy.   A bit about Mattermost     As a self-hosted Slack Alternative, Mattermost is a flexible messaging platform that enables highly secure team communication and collaboration. With Mattermost you can deploy faster by connecting files, people, and systems with workflow. The centralized DevOps communication platform can be used for secure integration with popular DevOps tools like bots, Git, CI, and CD.    Many global companies like Uber are working better with Mattermost by connective tools, people, and automation across millions of users. This exclusive team chat app is employed for enterprise-grade security, scalability, and availability - all of which help team members and employees to work seamlessly with complaint systems and mobile security. Why are we comparing Matrix/Riot and Mattermost? If you’ve read the Troop Messenger blog before, you know how we’ve always been curious about our rivals. Exploring rival apps and similar team collaboration software helps us analyze office collaboration needs from a customer’s perspective. An unbiased analysis of our competitors leads us towards designing a better tool for our end-users - Troop Messenger- a better, cleaner, and more user-friendly chat alternative. Recently, we did an in-depth analysis of Rocket Chat and Zulip. This time we would like to focus on the well-known Mattermost, Riot, and Matrix. Comparing the emerging leaders of office communication Let’s dig deeper into comparing these office communication platforms and review what’s the big deal about them. To help you with the decision to choose between Matrix/Riot and Mattermost, you should know the key differences in using this new infrastructure: 1. Messaging Functionality  Matrix  With Matrix, you can create an open collaboration platform that is vibrant, independent, and continuously evolving. It maintains a complete conversation history and features end-to-end encryption of chats that are synchronized across all devices. Simple HTTP APIs for creating a chat room SDKs (iOS, Android, Web) for creating a chat room Direct chats and chatbots Conversations replicated over all participating servers Reach other users in the Global Matrix Ecosystem Complete with end-to-end encryption Synchronized conversation history Formatted messages Read receipts  Rating: 4/5         Riot  Riot is more than a simple chat platform and makes for a perfect team chat app whether you’re a team, a community, or a family. Whether you want to stay visible for attracting more members or stay flexible enough to gather users across different apps and entities, Riot is a good choice. Here, you can create private communities for grouping your rooms and filtering them.    One-to-one chats Big public chats Small private conversations Create chat rooms per topic, group, event Decide the level of access control Decide the visibility of history Create your own private communities   Rating: 3.5/5     Mattermost  Mattermost is unarguably one of the fastest-growing messaging platforms designed for DevOps. Uber and the US army use Mattermost for handling over 70,000 simultaneous users who send hundreds of messages every second. With a highly available setup, you can avoid outages and track your system health with various performance monitoring tools.   Organized conversations in channels Scalable messaging Fully searchable message history 1-on-1 and group messaging Multi-language support Private/encrypted direct messages Emoji and rich Markdown formatting   Rating: 4.5/5    Verdict:  Mattermost’s Messaging Functionality > Riot-Matrix’s Messaging Functionality When it comes to messaging functionality, Mattermost winds over Riot-Matrix. Whether it be scalable messaging or organized conversation, Mattermost leads Riot-Matrix, which are inter dependable on each other, support big public chats, but they lack features like multi-language support and Markdown formatting.   2. Voice and Video Conferencing  Matrix With the advent of WebRTC, Matrix developers acquired the ability to create a robust platform for exchanging high-quality video and voice calling. If you want to build VoIP into your application or wish to expose your current VoIP application to a wide audience, then building on SDK Matrix and bridges should be a brainer.   Matriz is a decentralized conversation store instead of a messaging protocol. Hence, once you send a Matrix message, it is replicated over all servers and sent among servers participating in a given conversation.   Internet of Things communication VoIP/WebRTC signaling (voice and video) Integration with Jitsi for multi-party video chats 3D Video Calling Group conversations Read receipts Typing notifications Presence    Rating: 4/5     Riot With Riot, you can make one-touch video calls, and voice calls, and send audio notes on all platforms. The audio quality is decent enough for workplace communication.   Respond to calls natively (as you respond to phone calls) Share links with users during conference calls External users can join video conferences via links and their browsers   Rating: 3.5/5     Mattermost Mattermost supports different third-party videos, screenshots, and audio via plugins is planned. There are also plugins like Cisco WebEx Meetings supported on a self-hosted on-premise solution.   Video call with screen sharing Audio call with screen sharing Invite team members to a Zoom call One-on-one calls based on the WebRTC protocol Third-party plugins like Zoom, Skype, BigBlueButton Integration with Jitsi, Kopano, SIP PBX, and appear.in   Rating: 4/5   Verdict: Riot-Matrix’s Voice & Video Conferencing > Mattermost’s Voice & Video Conferencing   Matrix, as a decentralized conversation store, leads in this context, all thanks to VoIP/WebRTC signaling for voice and video. Mattermost doesn’t support options to respond to voice & video calls natively (as you respond to phone calls).   3. Integration   Matrix  Matrix is definitely the boss when it comes to integration. With bridges, bots, and Widgets, there’s a lot that can be done. Where Bridges link discussions across various networks, Widgets embed third-party tools in the chatbox, and Bots interact with third-party apps directly from the chat.   Read and Write to Channels outside Matrix (Slack, Gitter, and IRC) Bots to sit in channels and listen & respond to commands (GitHub, Guggy, Giphy, and RSS Bot, Travis CI). Widgets for a full-blown interactive matrix room (Jitsi, Etherpad, and Grafana)   Rating: 5/5            Riot  Same as Matrix, Riot also allows interaction with other applications and services directly from your rooms. Since Riot is built on Matrix, anyone can easily and effortlessly develop their own integrations as well.   Bots like Giphy and Google Images to help with tasks like searching Embed widgets within the chat rooms for collaboration on documents Stickers addition from ever-growing sticker packs In a Riot chat room, add a bridge to transparently talk with external app users like Slack (without even leaving Riot).   Rating: 4.5/5    Mattermost When it comes to integration, Mattermost definitely rules. The powerful integration features can facilitate the teams to work faster and do more within a single platform.   DevOps integration set Custom slash commands Incoming and outgoing webhooks Plugins and extensions Robust API library Bots and developer toolkit OAuth 2.0 applications   Rating: 4/5   Verdict: Riot-Matrix Integration > Mattermost Integration   When it comes to integration, Matrix-Riot is definitely the boss. Matrix-Riot bots interact with third-party apps directly from the chat. In both these tools, you can add the bridge to transparently talk with external app users like Slack. Mattermost allows DevOps Integration, plugins, and extensions, but doesn’t support bridging features like Matrix-Riot.   4. File Sharing  Matrix Cloud file sharing and Synchronous Editing Share, view, and receive files Encrypted file sharing   Rating: 4/5     Riot  Share, view, and receive files in any conversation Search for files in the file panel. Drag and drop the option for quick file sharing   Rating: 4/5  Mattermost File, image, and link sharing Build powerful workflows Share system feeds in channels   Rating: 4/5   Verdict: Riot-Matrix File Sharing = Mattermost File Sharing   It’s a tie. Both Riot-Matrix & Mattermost support easy and user-friendly file sharing across devices.   5. Security Matrix Matrix’s security is strengthened with the Double Ratchet Algorithm that’s made effective by Signal and extended to support the encryption to matrix rooms that contain hundreds of devices.   End-to-End data encryption via Meglom and Olm cryptographic ratchets The only recipient can access or decrypt a message Warnings for logins from unexpected devices   Rating: 3.5/5    Riot If you are using Riot for team communication, be sure that no one else can peek into or eavesdrop on your conversations. Even the server admins cannot access chat since it uses the best end-to-end encryption available.   End-to-End data encryption No access to the third party for shared data, not even server admins Secure key backup for recovering the encrypted data Double-factor authentication Highlights when the account is compromised   Rating: 3.5/5    Mattermost Mattermost clients have the freedom to keep complete control over their data. From e-compliance reporting to enforcing multi-factor authentication, Mattermost guarantees security in the best manner possible:   eDiscovery and compliance reporting Custom terms of service Data retention policies AD/LDAP authentication AD/LDAP Group sync SAML 2.0 single sign-on Database management tools Multi-factor authentication Performance monitoring   Rating: 4.5/5  Verdict: Mattermost Security > Riot-Matrix Security   Mattermost is an undisputed winner since it guarantees security through features like AD/LDAP authentication & SAML 2.0 single sign-on. Riot-Matrix provides End-to-End data encryption via cryptographic ratchets but fails to compete with Matermost’s Multi-factor authentication.   6. Supporting devices   Matrix The best way to use Matrix features is by using the Riot Web client within the browser. The Riot Web client is then configured by default in order to connect it with the home server of matrix.org.  Rating: 3/5       Riot Browser: Launch Riot right in your browser; Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome  Desktop: Download the application on your personal computer App Store: Supported on iOS 11+ v1.25.1, 10.12+ v4.3. Play Store: Supported on Android 7.0+ v1.25.1 F-droid: Version 0.9.9 (40090900)   Rating: 4.5/5     Mattermost Mac: Supported on 10.12+ v4.3.2 iOS: Supported on iOS 11+ v1.25.1 Android: Supported on Android 7.0+ v1.25.1 Windows: Supported on Windows 7+ v4.3.2 Linux: Supported on Ubuntu 16.04+ v4.3.2   Rating: 4.5/5  Verdict: Mattermost Supporting Devices > Riot-Matrix Supporting Devices In the context of Supporting Devices, Mattermost has an upper hand over Riot-Matrix. It’s available across multiple platforms. Matrix is chiefly available as Riot’s web client, meanwhile, Riot can be accessed through Browser, App Store, and Play Store.   7. Pricing Matrix  By registering an account on matrix.org, you can use Matrix for free, which is maintained by a non-profit Matrix.org Foundation.   Rating: 4/5    Riot Riot is open-source and it’s also free, for everyone, and forever. You can use Riot free of cost, without even having to compromise your data and privacy. Premium service is available from Modular.im, with plans starting from $1.50 per active user per month to   Rating: 4.5/5   Mattermost Enterprise E10: $3.25 per user per month, suitable for small-scale companies. Enterprise E20: $8.50 per user per month, suitable for high-trust enterprises and organizations   Rating: 3.5/5   Verdict: Riot-Matrix Pricing> Mattermost Pricing   When it comes to pricing, Riot-Matrix is the cheapest office collaboration tool. Riot/Matrix is free, and you can also upgrade to premium plans. Mattermost sure offers value for money. It’s a great tool for large enterprises. But if you have a limited budget, Riot/Matrix is undoubtedly the cheapest solution.   Key Takeaways If you want to be in more control of your company’s security, my advice would be to go with Riot or Matrix.   Matrix and Riot are the perfect choices if your employees need to communicate with vendors or stakeholders using chat apps other than Matrix (Slack, Trello, etc.) They can literally communicate with them without being forced to install the same application.   If you want to be in more control of your company’s data, my advice would be to stick to Mattermost.   Mattermost’s self-hosted platform offers unmatched control over data, legal compliance, and privacy. If data control is your team’s priority, Mattermost must be the solution, for it provides full access to source codes, libraries, and server APIs, without any monitoring by a third-party tool.   If your team’s virtual workplace priority is an intuitive user interface with an advanced feature stack, you can try Troop Messenger.    While Riot, Matrix, and Mattermost offer efficiency and agility through modern communication, Troop Messenger can provide additional internal security with features like ‘Finger Print Access’ and ‘Passcode Security Pin.’ Troop Messenger can be a good pick if you prefer an easy-to-understand messaging platform with simple navigation. Conclusion When intellectual minds, with brilliant ambitions, work towards a common goal, great things are bound to happen. But, no great thing is achieved without a team effort, and for an effective team effort, office collaboration tools are an indispensable component.   With the right tools, employees and team members are able to complement each other’s weaknesses, and strengths, and ultimately become unstoppable! Not only are these tools designed to reduce the need for extraneous meetings but also for providing faster access to media, files, and documents to make communication efficient.   If you too have given thought about adopting a team communication platform, I’m sure you’ve already considered collaboration giants like Slack, HipChat, and Skype. All three of these platforms have been the biggest players in the office collaboration field, and with great reasons - similar functions with quirky differences.   We’ve all been loyalists to Slack, and to some extent, Skype as well, but this winter Let’s try Riot, Matrix, and Mattermost and see what might be different. It’s always great to change things once in a while!

You’re leading a peacekeeping mission and simultaneously safeguarding your nation against enemies. It’s a multi-state effort, that involves an active contribution of your colleagues from different departments, some working next door, and some in remote areas.   As a leader, there is a dire need for you to maintain active collaboration and real-time data sharing with all the team members. You also need to integrate with third-party contractors who are handling other mission-critical services.   But, you don’t have the right medium to maintain that interaction. You don’t have a secure platform to deliver critical information to your team members. Your mission is hampered through phone calls and static email solutions, and eventually, the lack of tools and an effective collaboration process dawns upon you.   But it’s too late, the delay has already caused a ruckus, and your opponents are already a step ahead.   Now, Let’s flip the scenario: You’re organizing a similar mission with a war-torn nation. You need to have a collaboration with the masses. There are a thousand people who need to exchange information with each other - actively, remotely, and frequently - without having to worry about security breaches.   And you are already prepared for that!   You have a dedicated application that supports defense collaboration services and allows an unprecedented level of communication and real-time collaboration. You have an end-to-end encrypted tool that offers solutions ranging from instant calling, messaging, video conferencing, workflow sharing, creating virtual workplaces, managing action logs, exchanging risk registers, and tracking the progress (through insights and analytics) till the very end.   Which scenario would you rather be in? The first is when where you’re likely to compromise the security of your organization and hamper the workflow.   Or   The second, where you have got complete control of real-time data sharing, anytime/anywhere productivity, and cross-agency collaboration.   The answer is so obvious. I am ashamed I even asked that question!   This brings us to a fact: Collaboration tools  are the need-of-the hour for military, defense, and security-conscious government organizations - not only because of the exciting range of features that make them do more in less but also because they are a perfect solution to data and security challenges as well.” For instance, Microsoft Office for military personnel offers a variety of features to promote military collaboration in a secure environment.”   Let’s look at the role these applications can play in changing the dimension of modern collaboration among defense forces while meeting today’s security and mobility issues:   Top 5 Defence Organisation requirements that only a dedicated collaboration tool can fulfill: I. Reliable Communication: There’s no denying the importance of communication for the smooth running of any organization. One cannot imagine operating a business without a source of communication. It is vital for any business owner, and when it comes to military forces, it is indispensable.   Real-time communication or miscommunication between the members can make or break a mission. From the alerts carrying orders to the interaction with field personnel to audio/video links to an enemy or strategist, real-time communication can change the game for them.   Despite Communication being the most critical factor, Military force leaders and organizations find it challenging to provide their team members with appropriate collaboration and communication services. Because of the differing characteristics and needs of these organizations, they cannot communicate with a standard industry template.   Military teams need special tools that can handle military messaging without compromising security and data sensitivity issues. Military messaging tools help information flow within teams for electronic communication across different systems and between nations. These tools ensure messaging data is compliant with international standards and encrypted to reduce the chances of security breaches.    1. Mobility  Commanders and Leaders: Access information anytime, anyplace, and through different devices, and work from remote areas without the need for a conventional office premise. Staff and Analysts: Seamlessly collaborate with the commanders, headquarters, and staff from the upper or lower hierarchical structure. Infantry Soldiers: Communicate anytime, from anywhere, and exchange alerts  Administrative Staff and Field Personnel: Deliver field-related communications and real-time data to mobile personnel.   2. Virtual Meetings: Commanders and Leaders: Force leaders and commanders require constant access to real-time data/information and frequent interaction with team members to make an informed decision. Staff and Analysts: Staffs and analysts working at different levels rely on video conferences to coordinate and engage in an automated translation of responsibilities. Infantry Soldiers: Join conferences and meetings hosted by their leaders from remote locations.  Administrative Staff and Field Personnel: Partakes in role-specific training sessions, which reduces the need for instructors to travel.   II. Real-Time Collaboration to Support Mission Objectives: The top priority for Military and Defense personnel is to support the mission objectives by staying informed and making informed decisions.   Such organizations and their associates need to grasp the situational context, understand the scenario quickly, respond rapidly, and pass the decisions to others. The situation can either be a regular conflict, a threat to the nation’s safety, or a major disaster, but the approach is usually the same.   Not only do these organizations generate and analyze huge amounts of data but they also communicate speedily with experts and counterparts to aid resolution of the problem or project at hand.   Equally important is the need to achieve goals from anywhere, at any time, and through encrypted, highly-secure platforms. Here’s how a security-dedicated collaboration tool can ensure reliable collaboration across different roles and hierarchical structures of a Military organization:   Secure Collaboration Commanders and Leaders: Agencies working for Defense and Military forces do not work individually. One decision originating from Department A could affect the dimension in Department Z. With a thorough collaboration between leaders, such errors can be avoided.  Staff and Analysts: Team members working at different levels can work simultaneously on a single project, share documents, and make edit suggestions from anywhere and on any device.  Administrative Staff and Field Personnel: Have access to a role-based portal and get real-time information. Finding Experts Commanders and Leaders: Find the expert for making a rapid and quick decision, and get questions from the staff and field personnel and give an immediate answer. Staff and Analysts: Reduce the decision-making time by reaching the experts through real-time exchange of data and media and other sensitive files. Infantry Soldiers: Find the expert for resolving an immediate issue. Administrative Staff and Field Personnel: Find the seniors for resolving an issue related to logistics and equipment.   III. Business Intelligence: Insights and analytics features can enable defense and security & mission-conscious organizations to mitigate threats on time and enable a rapid decision-making protocol.   Insights generated from real-time data can enable such organizations to take up-to-the-hour actions and up-to-the-minute strategies. It also helps get an accurate view of the impending situation, understand the status and capacity of allied forces, and plan according to their exact locations.   Here’s how Microsoft Office for the military, a security-dedicated collaboration tool can ensure Insights & Analytics sharing across different roles and hierarchical structures of a Military organization:   Commanders and Leaders: Create a real-time view of tactical data and share it across the command structure in a highly secure portal. Get insights into economic and political data. Staff and Analysts: Analyse received information and share operational, intelligence, and logistical insights to make more informed decisions. Infantry Soldiers: Understand the strategy and be a part of the planning process. Administrative Staff and Field Personnel: Use the dashboard for visualizing the level of supplies needed for forces, and make better and more informed logistics and purchasing decisions.   IV. Security and Compliance: One of the most important factors to be considered while choosing a ‘Defence team collaboration application’ is data security and privacy. This is something a regular chat application cannot provide.   Robust instant messaging capabilities like DISA DCS provide security and compliance with the ability to share content and provide collaboration, and playback capabilities. Through DCS web conferencing, users can communicate securely using voice and video and have the ability to share documents, PowerPoint slides, photographs, and spreadsheets in different formats.  The Solution addresses security concerns unique to defense agencies within a private and dedicated cloud environment. A security-dedicated collaboration tool allows encrypted data sharing across different roles and hierarchical structures of a Military organization: Commanders and Leaders: Make sure that sensitive and confidential data is protected over the cloud and across devices. Staff and Analysts: Securely receive confidential information, and reports, and update it via extranet and intranet applications to help other members be better informed and control the decisions. Infantry Soldiers: Make secure connections with other military sources and agents or cloud resources Administrative Staff and Field Personnel: Securely exchange field reports and their analyses to the Commanders and leaders.   V. Tech-Enabled Platform: Defense organization is in dire need of a tech-enabled communication and collaboration platform which simplifies task management reduces cost, improves services, and simultaneously provides transparency to work across different departments and agencies.   To achieve Military missions, maintain collaboration at sea, and support defense goals in today’s fast-changing world, defense agencies and all their partners must work together, securely, and over a tech-enabled platform. Today’s high-tech collaboration tools offer all of these features at lightning speed and across multiple devices while also delivering the highest levels of security standards. Some of the features only a tech-enabled tool can provide are:      Live-Location Tracking: With live-location tracking, team leaders and members can always create up-to-the-minute strategies and take up-to-the-hour actions.   Real-Time Desktop/Screen Sharing: Faster and real-time collaboration. Defense forces can share the contents of their screen with another or multiple devices, and show colleagues or vendors presentations, media, documents, or videos on their devices, without having to send any files to them. This is a lifesaver for defense and military teams because there are a lot of confidential files that cannot be sent over and only be shown to the teams.  Large Storage for unhindered communication: Since the teams are massive and have a hundred topics to communicate about, a collaboration tool offering large storage is appropriate for unhindered communication.  Crystal-Clear Audio Calling and Messaging: Technologies like AI are being included in collaboration tools to make communication easier and simpler than ever. Confidential Chat: Understanding the need for privacy for an organization, software vendors are focused on providing a confidential, end-to-end encrypted platform for the confidential and data-sensitive exchange of information.    Troop Messenger provides collaboration solutions that meet military objectives: Today various platforms offer users to communicate virtually and create a workspace for team members working remotely. On these platforms, workers/employers can chat online, prepare presentations, create documents, hold conferences, and make calls - all through one interface.   Finding a Suitable office chat application for business is easy because they are sufficient options to choose from. But when it comes to choosing communication and collaboration for a military/defense team, the toughest part is finding a tool that is dedicated to meeting military objectives i.e. it meets the unique challenge of protecting critical data without compromising with real-time defense collaboration features.   With Troop Messenger, defense forces can get both Security and Feature level Benefits.   Security-Level Benefits offered by Troop Messenger:   Data encryption while at rest and transit Mitigation of data theft risk ‘Burnout Window’ for a confidential chat Multi-layered admin privileges Multi-layered data security   Feature-Level Benefits offered by Troop Messenger:    Designed for private networks Live-Location tracking Multi-factor authentication access (FingerPrint and Passcode) Real-time defense collaboration services Surveillance features for close monitoring of communication  Efficient with low latency satellite communication   11 - Ways to elaborate defense scenarios with Troop Messenger (In real-time): Troop-Messenger, as a leading Military collaboration tool is dedicated to elaborating Military communications with features tailor-made for hierarchical collaboration, critical conversations, informed investigations, and training and development.   This team communication app for defense communications has been designed considering all aspects of productivity and collaboration challenges faced by commanders, soldiers, and military organizations around the world.   Here’s how defense scenarios can be elaborated with Troop Messenger, in real-time:      1.   Hierarchical communication & collaboration: Users can communicate and report to higher authorities of different cadres right within a single interface.    2.   Video Conferences with desktop screen sharing: Real-time meetings with options like screen sharing and integration of third-party applications.    3.  Dedicated War Rooms: React promptly and find help from experts during a sudden and major outbreak. Create a shared workspace for understanding the redefined priorities.    4.  Training and Development: Train junior cadres and receive training online through chat groups, shared workspace, and conferences.    5.  Informed Investigations: Real-time access to prompt decisions on all the investigations you’ve been handling.      6.  Real-Time Location Tracking: Live track your troops on a mission with Troop Messenger, get to know their location, and send/receive prompt updates.    7.  Secure & Encrypted File Sharing: Army-Safe, highly-secured, multi-factor encrypted file sharing.    8.  Designed to fit All Network Types: Troop Messenger is designed to fit networks of all types, including low and medium bandwidth.    9.  Compliance Benefits: Being security-conscious, TM ensures complete I. Reliable Communication: security of entire shared and stored data with its GDPR compliance.   10.  Data Ownership: Admins are the owner of all data and message exchanges and are responsible for managing data space with collaborative or single-point ownership.    11.   Hide and Seek Features: Enable and Disable features depending on the need of the minute and consider what you feel secure/insecure about.      The Future Looks Promising! Continuously evolving technology has changed the way businesses function and interact. Collaboration tools have made enormous changes for business, and now with dedicated platforms like Troop Messenger, there’s more scope to increase the productivity of your organization in real time.   This change is most likely to allow military forces and defense teams to create workspaces that allow faster interactions around projects and have meaningful descriptors in a more secure way.   Troop-Messenger is dedicated to elaborating defense communications with features tailor-made for hierarchical collaboration, critical conversations, informed investigations, and training and development.

Albeit knowing the risk, being a highly regulated Government body, do you still risk hosting your sensitive data over the public cloud? It must be a thinkable idea for small and medium-sized businesses to migrate or host their information over SaaS-based applications or on cloud servers. But, the amount of damage that is irrevocable could go unthinkable and unimaginable for data-sensitive enterprises like Governments, Defence Agencies, Medical, Banking, and Large businesses.   Even though self-hosting is considered to be a traditional form of the delivery model while acquiring software or applications, this model is still a big favorite to many large enterprises and Governments where protection of data sensitivity holds a strong foothold in these highly regulated entities with this kind of on-premise solutions. Though Self-Hosting   needs downloading and installation seemed to be a big responsibility has more operating costs is little heavy needs resources to maintain your servers includes application maintenance and up-gradation costs Data ownership, data privacy, customization, and controlled databases, are a few key takeaways of the self-hosting delivery model to be not missed out at all. Table of Contents What is self-hosting? What resources do you need to self-host applications? Why self-hosted delivery model best suit Governments and Big enterprises? Quick Shots to Why? A quick look at Pros and Cons Conclusion: How Troop Messenger helps lock the back door? What is self-hosting? You don’t want any third parties to intrude on your environment? Want to have full-level access and control over your highly confidential and sensitive information? There you go, we say you are on the right page with the right information around you.....   To be precise.....   Self-Hosting is the method of locally hosting and managing software or applications on your own servers and databases. These on-premise chat applications help you store data on your servers instead of renting on SaaS providers. What resources do you need to self-host applications?   For large teams and those who do want to use the application for a higher duration, then considering self-hosted delivery would be an ideal choice. Therefore, let’s see what pre-requites we need to host applications on our private cloud.   Hardware requirements include your server space. Though you can host them on a wide range of can Benefit servers such as Azure, Self-hosting, Digital Ocean, Rack Space, Salesforce, IBM, Oracle, Alibaba, etc, ideally most would go with Google Cloud and AWS. A good DevOps team is essential to go around with the process of docker installation and its maintenance. An installation Guide from the service provider is what you need to follow while hosting the application. And as far as the databases are concerned, it all depends on what databases the application or software has been developed on. Based on this you need to have a database selection. My SQL goes well with the Self-Hosting delivery model.   There are a good number of software applications available in the market that extends both the delivery models; the SaaS version and Self-Hosting. Say, for instance, take Troop Messenger, a rapidly expanding business collaboration application. It has varied delivery models like SaaS, Self-hosting or on-premise applications, Chat APIs, and custom apps. The Troop Messenger’s SaaS and Self-Hosting versions both have the same features in it. It all depends on the size, form, and security requirements of the firms that finally opt. Why self-hosted delivery model best suit Governments and Big enterprises? Are we not responsible for protecting our personal data? Along the same lines, Is it commendable if Governments react slowly if there is any data breach in the country’s national security? Certainly not!   It is noticeable that 50% of the world’s population went online, correspondingly there could be an inadvertent chance of data breach from the hackers if it is stored on the public cloud or server. This could result expensive for Governments and big enterprises.   To achieve the highest degree of security, they surely need to adopt the delivery model of Self-Hosting to avoid eavesdropping. Quick Shots to Why?   Enterprises are worried about the vulnerabilities that exist in the cloud. Hesitant to completely migrate to public servers. Large team-sizes High stakes of migration from local server to public cloud and vice versa. Customizations are allowed Maintenance in a controlled environment   Keeping the above findings in view, most of the Governments Ministries/Departments and Large Enterprises such as telecommunications industries, finance firms, E-commerce portals, manufacturing plants, etc., opt to secure their information on their local servers with self-hosting. A quick look at Pros and Cons Pros: Cloud   Ideal for small teams Cost-effective Pay as you use Application Maintenance staff is not required 24/7 support with technical assistance Automated Software Updates   Pros: Self-Hosting   Ideal for large teams/groups the deal for data-sensitive entities such as Governments, Defence, Large enterprises, and NGOs Your data on your own servers Unlimited Storage Scalable to all the users Within your intra-networks Can access source code 100% data-breach proof Have your own domain name   Cons: Cloud   Restricted storage No access to source code Risk of data theft No access is allowed to your data the moment you cancel the subscription Data is not stored forever   Cons: Self-hosted   Tedious deployment process Hidden infrastructure costs You need a proxy server, databases, and maintenance staff Manual software/application upgrades Instability due to customization   Conclusion: How Troop Messenger helps lock the back door?   “There should be only one main door to your data and its access”, this is the practice that Troop Messenger believes in. To substantiate this concept, Troop Messenger has introduced a robust enterprise security delivery model; self-hosting. The self-hosted Troop Messenger allows you to have access to its full-feature stack like in its SaaS model, to let you collaborate with bigger and larger teams of concurrent users.   Interestingly, it has a few functional features such as a private chat window for confidential conversations(Burnout), sending text and files to multiple users/groups in just one go(Fork out), advanced search to filter images, files, videos, contacts, location, and links, unread messages filter, etc., which you don’t find in any of its counterparts.   Operate Troop Messenger within your on-premise infrastructure for complete data access and control. Redefine data security with it.

You need a self-hosted server to host your enterprise work conversations!   Indeed, self-hosted messenger the only way you bring your teams together to exchange work ideas and discuss more work.   Making your teams rely on personal chat applications at your workplace is no fun when you seriously look for productive outcomes from them you must provide self-hosting chat applications. Instead, give them the best self-hosted chat software like Troop Messenger, Flock, Rocket Chat, Mattermost, etc., to stay informed and monitor all the work routines and updates.   These days, business entities, corporates, startups, SMEs, large enterprises, etc., are bombarded with many collaboration tool options. And, most of the tools are available in the variants of SaaS and Self-Hosting.     Data is crucial for every industry, but enterprise risk management is a true high priority for large enterprises and Governments. That being said, an instant messaging solution that delivers on-premise chat is recommended for such kind of data-specific industries. Let us have a look at the following business collaboration tools that offer chat room software and safeguard the internal communication needs of these entities.   Best Self-Hosted Chat Software 1. Troop Messenger 2. MirrorFly 3. Wickr 4. Element.io 5. Rocket chat 6. Mattermost 7. Zulip 8. Matrix.org 9. Lets Chat 10. nextcloud 11. Wire 12. Jitsi 13. Tox Chat   1. Troop Messenger     Data-sensitive and regulated industries such as Governments, Defense, Large Enterprises, Manufacturing, Pharma, etc., need a secured chat platform, unlike web-based chat software for their internal office communication to collaborate without compromising on the data they exchange. Troop GRIT is the self-hosted chat server backed up by the chat engine of Troop Messenger. This self-hosted messenger gives them 100% control of the application as they can route the conversations across their networks and databases.   You can get a customized version of hosted messaging to suit the operations of your ecosystem. As this self-hosted chat software supports Air-Gapped Networks, you can be assured of not having any third-party intrusion to access your standard or critical data.   The Deployment suite for Linux and Windows help you with detailed instruction to set it up on your on-premise servers with detailed documentation. This on-premise chat application guides you on the prerequisites for operating systems, databases, and server specifications. This self-hosting chat application will help you on; how to install docker, register, and configure SSL certificate and firewall policies.   Besides providing all the standard and productive features of SaaS, Troop Messenger, the self-managed office chat messenger, comes with Trumpet, File Deck, TM-Monitor (with Lawful Interception), UNITs, User Authorization, etc., as advanced features. End-to-end encryption, Multi-factor authentication, LDAP/SSO, and Role-Based access controls are the exclusive features for user security.   Pros   Comprehensive File Management System-File Deck End-to-End Encryption Great customer support Feature-access controls Trial License Guest User-Orange Member Impressive UI with immersive UX       Pricing   This self-hosted chat app offers pretty affordable pricing to its clients. It starts from $5+; however, the service providers can customize it to you as per your organization's ecosystem and needs.   2. MirrorFly     MirrorFly is an in-app communication provider that is popularly known for its feature-rich video, voice, and chat SDKs. This self-hosted chat software offers a wide range of team communication features, including real-time group chat, HQ audio, and HD video calls, file sharing, moderation, presence indicators, push notifications, and user analytics. Businesses of any scale and size can build their white-label web and mobile apps with its 150+ customizable features and deploy apps on their own premise.   When it comes to protecting user data and privacy, MirrorFly ensures that team conversations are protected end-to-end with built-in security protocols like AES-256 and SSL, along with industry-grade privacy regulations. Above this, users can flexibly deploy their apps on their own premises or on MirrorFly’s dedicated cloud servers, for maximum security, performance, and server maintenance.   Pros   Provides fully customizable video, voice, and chat features MirrorFly Chat SDKs are available for a lifetime FREE access Offers complete white-label solution Let developers hire a complete dedicated team for full integration support Provides End-to-End security encryption   Cons   MirrorFly currently does not support the recording of ongoing video sessions Do not provide options to create meeting agendas   Pricing   MirrorFly adapts a twin pricing model - SaaS and SaaP solutions, tailor-made to suit different business needs. The self-hosting solution permits users 100% customization just for a one-time license cost. On the other hand, the cloud-based pricing model comes with 3 monthly plans - Easy (completely FREE), Essentials (starting at $399), and Premium (starting at $999).   3. Wickr     Wickr, an encrypted messaging app, has been acquired by Amazon and is now part of the Amazon Web Services-AWS team. It supports the deployment models of Federated SaaS and On-Premise. This self-hosted messenger is made to serve its customers and partners with its modern collaboration features such as messaging, voice-video calling, file sharing, and others.     Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the rise of the hybrid work environment has skyrocketed and, the exchange of organizational data between different networks could be a big security threat. With an on-premise chat server like Wickr, all the messages, calls, and files that travel across various devices will be rightly encapsulated and secured.   Pros   This self-hosted chat server provides the client-side E2E encryption Easy to set-up You can get started with its free plan Centralized messaging archived capability   Cons   Limited features in the free plan and the paid plans seem to be expensive. The code is available on Github, but it’s not open-source   Pricing   Wickr offers a free plan for individuals and small teams with up to 10 registered users. The other paid plan includes Silver at $4.99/user/month, Gold at $9.99/user/month, and Platinum at $25.00/user/month.   4. Element.io     Element.io is been built on Matrix and it is considered the best open-source chat server. It offers personal messaging and enterprise collaboration to provide independent and secure communication. It allows users to bring their WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram chats into its personal messaging variant, Element One. This open-source enterprise collaboration tool provides end-to-end encryption for your messages along with unlimited audio and video.   The primary advantage of the self-hosted messenger is, that you can be the owner of your data, which means you can store your messages on your end. Enterprises can choose between "hosted by us" in the Element cloud or on-premise deployment models to securely run their work conversations. This self-hosted chat platform provides you with different kinds of rooms, such as private, internal, and public.   Pros   Fully managed to host with integrations and bridging facilities Made for personal messaging, enterprise collaboration, and communities too Open-source software and shares the code with everyone Cost-Effective   Cons   Its desktop app from the SaaS edition should be a little more intuitive Occasional bugs in its mobile app, but they are manageable   Pricing   To get started with Element, the pricing model starts from $ 3 per user/per month. The other products, such as Element One and Element Enterprise are charged $5 per month for one user and $4 per monthly active user, respectively. It also helps you bridge your existing communication at $0.50 per remote monthly active user.   5. Rocket.Chat     Rocket.Chat is famously known for its open-source team communication. The two delivery models that are available with this tool are; SaaS and Self-Managed. Large Enterprises can hugely benefit from this hosted chat service as it extends high security to message exchanges with two-factor authentication, E2E encryption, SSO, and OAuth providers. An exclusive feature of real-time translation in this free chat software for businesses translates its UI to over 50 languages making users feel native. The self-managed version allows users to download the docker image and install the application on their servers.   Pros   It has an unlimited free plan It supports endless customizations that include; Integrations, Plugins, Themes, and Powerful APIs Easy-to-implement data importers Scale as per your needs   Open source group chat   Cons   Lack of in-depth documentation Need better support and sales system   Pricing   Rocket Chat provides different pricing structures for Self-Managed and Cloud. For Self-Managed, it has come up with the pricing plans of Community @ Free, Pro @ $3/per user/month, and Enterprise @ Tiered pricing. The Bronze, Silver, and Gold pricing plans of the Cloud/SaaS delivery model come at $2/user/month, $4/user/month, and tiered pricing respectively.   6. Mattermost     Mattermost is the best open-source chat software that introduces itself as a ‘High Trust Messaging for the Enterprise, and it is true. An exceptional self-hosted open-source messaging platform that extends secure communication across industries of all forms and sizes. This private chat software can be deployed on a private cloud within the premises of local servers. Organizations that are highly privacy-conscious believe Mattermost as their flexible partner for all internal instant communications. The tool is popular on GitHub, and it provides an extensive level of documentation that helps in docker installation.   Pros   Build custom workflows Enables Dev Ops workflows Enterprise-grade scalability and security Supports Migration   Cons   Tedious deployment process No in-app voice-video call feature. Need to integrate.   Pricing   Mattermost comes with two delivery models; cloud and self-hosted. Large Enterprises who are looking for self-hosting can go with a server download that supports both Linux Install and Docker installation. Moving forward, it extends the free 30-day trial of Enterprise Edition(E20). And, the other plans E10 and E20 are priced at $3.25 per user/month and $8.50 per user/month when billed annually.    7. Zulip     Catching up on only important conversations and ignoring irrelevant ones, is what Zulip says. Open-source software was built by hundreds of developers across the globe. The self-hosted delivery model specifically designed for Large Entities provides an excellent production installation guide that lets users deploy it on their networks. Besides its 90 native integrations, this self-hosted corporate messenger supports more integrations from Hubot, Zapier, and IFTTT. This self-hosted chat app provides excellent user documentation ranging from product installation guides to stream management.   Pros   It has high-quality developer-friendly code. Build your integrations with its APIs Unique threading approach Open-source team chat Supports migration   Cons   Steep learning curve Minimalistic features   Pricing   Zulip Cloud and Zulip On-Premise are two different pricing models that it offers. The former comes with Free and Standard Plans at unlimited and $6.67/user/month respectively, and the latter comes with the plans of Community Support as Free and Open source forever. The Enterprise pricing variant of the same varies with the support required. Users need to contact their sales team.   8. Matrix.org     Besides a messaging protocol, Matrix is known as a decentralized conversation store. It replicates the sent message over all the servers where user participation is active. An exceptional self-hosted delivery model that provides strong end-to-end encryption via the Olm and Megolm cryptographic ratchets. This self-hosted instant messenger helps to build your apps, chat rooms, direct chats, and chatbots, with simple RESTful HTTP/JSON APIs.    Pros   Each server has full-level control over users' data. Open specification of Matrix standard No single point of control or failure Supports Bridging   Cons   Not available on the cloud    Pricing   Matrix.org never charges. It's completely free. Its free servers are open to all for public registrations.   9. Lets Chat     Yours is a small team and want to have full-scale control over your team collaboration. Then Let's Chat is the right self-hosted tool exclusively made for small teams. It runs on Node.js and MongoDB and is deployed easily on your local servers. It supports Docker and Vagrant platform installations. This self-hosted chat server has some interesting features; private/password-protected rooms, Image embeds, transcripts/chat history, and more.   Pros   Supports LDAP/Kerberos Authentication Supports BYOS (Bring your own server) It has multiple chat rooms It is Hubot-friendly   Cons   Not available over the cloud It doesn’t support any integrations.   Pricing   It’s free(MIT Licensed)   10. Nextcloud     The self-hosted collaboration tool built for protecting user data through multiple layers of security offers a wide range of products like Nextcloud Files, Nextcloud Talk, Nextcloud Groupware, Nextcloud at home, and industry solutions. Nextcloud says, ‘control is key to data’. To ensure this, it implements the authentication mechanisms of SAML, Kerberos, and LDAP. It’s an open-source application with code available on GitHub for developers.   Pros   It has two variants; Nextcloud at home and Nextcloud at Enterprise. Adhere to the compliances of HIPPA and GDPR Enterprise support Direct access to core Nextcloud Engineering.   Cons   Has fewer issues with deployment on shared hosting No detailed manual installation guides.    Pricing   Nextcloud offers three pricing plans; Basic, Standard, and Premium. The annual pricing for Basic, Standard, and Premium for 50 users is priced at 1900 euros, 3400 euros, and 4900 euros respectively.   11. Wire     Modernize the way you collaborate, is what Wire says. It offers uncompromised end-to-end security to protect users' communication and data. Wire adheres to the compliances of ISO, CCPA, GDPR, and SOX. It allows the new users or the migrators to adopt it with different deployment options. Cloud, private, and on-premises are three deployment choices available to the users. This self-hosted instant messenger is 100% open-source and its source code is available on GitHub.   Pros   It is independently audited It provides forward and backward secrecy Simple privacy policy No phone number is required, register with an email ID   Cons   The learning curve is steep Occasionally slow   Pricing   The highly secured team collaboration platform comes in three pricing plans; Wire Pro, Wire Enterprise, and Wire Enterprise Technology. All three plans are charged at 4 euros per user/per month, 8 Euros per user/per month when billed biennially. The users need to contact their team to understand the Wire Enterprise Technology pricing.     12. Jitsi     Jitsi is a 100% free multi-platform open-source video conferencing tool that looks good and sounds fantastic. Users/developers worldwide can use Jitsi or build their own apps using its tools. This self-hosted live chat has two projects; jitsi Video Bridge, and jitsi Meet. Both are open-source and WebRTC compatible which allows users to develop high-quality and scalable video conferences.   Pros   Jitsi Desktop allows calls, chat, conferencing, file transfer, and more It is an open-source community It encodes/decodes the audio/video flows Recording and live streaming for Jitsi Meet   Cons   Rare issues with the connections   Pricing   It is 100% free.    13. Tox Chat     Another instant messaging application for large corporations and governments. TOX is a free, easy-to-use messaging tool that comes without advertising. It's a people-made tool, that is highly encrypted and distributed. The other features of Tox include; voice, video, screen sharing, file sharing, and groups   Pros   A simple and secure messaging tool Encrypted voice calls   Cons   Your IP is visible to others   Pricing   No corporate interests and no hidden agendas, it's free.   Conclusion   At the end of the day, it is all about how you safeguard your organization's data. Choose a highly secured on-premise collaboration tool that has no access to any third-party vendors.   These platforms offer various features and customization options, allowing businesses to choose the best solution for secure, self-hosted team communication. Whether you’re a small team or a large enterprise, these options provide control over your internal communication while ensuring the highest levels of security. Self-hosted instant messaging apps, such as Troop Messenger and other secure team messaging platforms, ensure that businesses maintain data privacy and comply with industry-specific regulations. With the flexibility to adapt to your team's unique needs, these platforms enable efficient communication while safeguarding sensitive information. A self-hosted chat server provides businesses with full control over their communication infrastructure, making it the best self-hosted chat server solution for data security. Choosing a self-hosted chat app allows companies to tailor their chat self-hosted systems to their specific needs, ensuring robust communication while protecting sensitive data.   FAQs   1.Is there a Free Self-Hosted Chat Server Option Available?   Yes, free self-hosted chat servers are available, often as open-source solutions. However, to access advanced features or receive dedicated support, upgrading to a paid version or subscription.   2.Is There a Self-Hosted Chat Server Available on GitHub?   Several self-hosted chat server solutions are available on GitHub, with notable options including Troop Messenger, Rocket.Chat, Zulip, and Matrix Synapse. These platforms provide open-source code, enabling customization and deployment to meet specific needs.   3.Is There a Free Self-Hosted Chat Server Available?   Free self-hosted chat servers are available, it's crucial to factor in additional costs such as hosting, maintenance, and upgrades to guarantee optimal performance and reliability.   4.Why Should we Choose a Self-Hosted Messenger for Better Team Communication?   A self-hosted messenger provides enhanced security, control, and customization for organizations that require private and secure communication. Unlike cloud-based messaging platforms, a self-hosted solution ensures that all data remains within the company’s infrastructure, reducing the risk of external breaches.   5.What is a self hosted chat server?   A self-hosted chat server is a privately deployed messaging platform that runs on an organization's own servers or infrastructure, rather than relying on third-party cloud services. This ensures greater security, data privacy, and control over communication.   6.How does a self hosted chat server differ from other chat services?   A self-hosted chat server differs from cloud-based or third-party chat services in terms of data ownership, security, control, and customization. While traditional chat services store data on external cloud servers, a self-hosted solution runs on an organization's private infrastructure, offering greater security and flexibility.   7.What are the advantages of using a self hosted chat server?   A self-hosted chat server offers organizations greater security, control, and customization compared to cloud-based messaging solutions. By hosting the chat system on private infrastructure, businesses can ensure data privacy and compliance while tailoring the platform to their specific needs.   8. Can anyone set up and use a self hosted chat server?   Anyone with the technical expertise and necessary infrastructure can set up and use a self-hosted chat server. Typically, organizations with IT teams or system administrators manage such deployments to ensure security, scalability, and maintenance.   9.Can a self hosted chat server be customized to fit my needs?   Yes, most self-hosted chat servers are highly customizable, allowing businesses to tailor features, branding, and functionality to meet their specific requirements.   10.What are some popular software options for self hosting a chat server?   Several self-hosted chat server solutions are available such as Troop Messenger, Rocket.Chat, Mattermost, Zulip, and Matrix Synapse. These platforms offer varying features to suit different needs.     11.Are there any specific technical requirements for hosting a chat server?   Yes, hosting a chat server requires server hardware or cloud hosting, a stable internet connection, adequate storage, and expertise in server management.   12.What is a self-hosted instant messaging app?   A self-hosted instant messaging app is a chat and communication platform that runs on an organization's own servers or private cloud, rather than relying on third-party cloud providers. This allows businesses, government agencies, and enterprises to have full control over data, security, and customization.   13.Is Troop Messenger scalable for both small teams and large enterprises?   Yes, Troop Messenger is highly scalable, for small teams and large enterprises by offering flexible deployment options and advanced features.   14.Can Troop Messenger integrate with existing tools and workflows?   Yes, Troop Messenger offers seamless integration with various tools and workflows to enhance productivity and collaboration. It supports integrations with third-party applications, APIs, and custom plugins, allowing businesses to connect their communication system with existing software.              

Music in the workplace is seen as one of the most important aspects of Workplace. Without it, work can be a bit dull and monotonous. While entertainment is mainly the purpose of music, recent studies and research attest that music impacts many things in one’s work, including focus and productivity.   Benefits of Music  For many years now, music has been seen to offer numerous benefits to people who listen and utilize music. Aside from stirring emotions and memories, music can enhance mental performances and even cognitive functions. And this is probably one of the main reasons why parents send their kids to music lessons as young as possible.   There also studies today that state that music can help heal certain conditions. And this is why music is now used in therapies, hence, the so-called music therapy.   It is important to note that music is therapeutic in nature. So, it is only logical why music is linked with many healing properties and wonders. But, in terms of mental performances, both experts and scholars are certain that music can help people become more productive. This is why organizations should encourage employees to listen to curated playlists on Spotify for instance. To enable employees to access these playlists, companies can create a dynamic QR Code using an online QR Code generator that links to a Spotify playlist which can be updated as needed.   How Listening Music Can Help You Be More Productive          If you aren’t convinced yet, or you haven’t experienced the wonders of music in terms of your productivity, here are some points that you may ponder on as to how listening to music may help:   Ambient Noise May Be the Creative Sweet Spot According to studies, ambient noise helps people become more creative. It is found that music at this level allows the mind to produce its “creative juices.” The way it works is through the processing difficulty. Based on studies, it shows that music at the ambient noise level helps the brain in increasing its processing ability. This is what you will need in order to promote abstract processing. As a result, you become a lot more creative.   Repetitive Task Are Made More Pleasurable Repetitive tasks are some of the reasons why people get tired or lazy easily. Aside from its monotonous nature, the task becomes boring, which negatively impacts productivity. But, thanks to music, experts learned that listening to music makes repetitive tasks more pleasurable.   The conclusion has been presented by Daniel Levitin, who happens to be a neuroscientist and the author of the popular book titled, This Is Your Brain OnMusic. A study was also conducted before which showed the same angles. It focused on surgeons and doctors who take on repetitive surgeries. And with music, it made the whole experience a lot more pleasurable and fulfilling.   Acts as a Motivational Factor Another reason why music helps people become more productive is because it acts as a motivational factor. Based on general reception, it seemingly appears that almost everyone can relate to this point. This is also probably the basis why people tend to prefer to listen to music when they feel low and stressed. As it happens, it boosts one’s motivation and determination to do tasks and perform activities. And the more motivated you feel, the more you become productive.   Helps Improve Cognitive Ability Whether you simply listen to music or utilize it like those individuals who take guitar lessons and piano lessons, it is found that these activities can improve cognitive functions and abilities. For some reason, music has the ability to improve brain functions in totality.   Accordingly, when one’s ability is improved, such as a better thinking process, faster analysis, greater comprehension, productivity easily follows through.   Improves Abstract Reasoning In relation to improving cognitive functions and ability, music is also found to improve abstract reasoning and logical thinking. This is why music is encouraged to young ones, especially those who are intending to improve their academic performances in math and science.   There is also a study linking music with creating abstraction. In the study, it is explained how abstraction is different from abstract reasoning. Even so, music is still seen as a great training ground for both entities.   It is worth noting that people who have better abstract reasoning and have better abilities to work with abstracts are great in solving and analyzing complex problems. Accordingly, when certain tasks get even more challenging, productivity can be widely observed as it will not induce any struggle that may hamper one’s ability to accomplish the task at hand.   Type of Music For Productivity It has been already established how music can help you with your focus and productivity. While it is preferred and recommended to utilize and work with your favourite music or tracks, studies and research suggest that there are those types of music that are more beneficial in improving productivity. These are the following   Classical Music Classical music is said to help every individuals’ concern about mental performance and cognitive functions. But, in terms of productivity, classical music is also found to be very effective. Some of the best tracks under this genre that are great for improving productivity include: III. Rondo-allegro – Piero Barbareschi Piano Concerto in B-Flat Major – Ewa Kupiec Brandenburg Concertos – Bach Four Seasons – Vivaldi   Ambient Soundtracks Ambient soundtracks have a special point given above as to how this type of music can help you with your productivity. But, if you are looking for specific tracks and materials, here are some of the best ambient sounds you may want to try: Rain or Forest sounds Night, Cricket, and Swamp Sounds Water Sounds Office and Traffic Sounds   Epic Music Epic music is one of the most underrated genres. As it happens, only a few people are familiar with this. But, epic music is simply the type that evokes certain moods. While it features elements of classical music, it’s pretty different as it tells a story in its course. We Stand In Silence – Twelve Titans Music Arrival To Earth – Steve Jablonsky Neon Paradise – Ivan Torrent   Final Thoughts All in all, here are the points as to how music can help you become more productive. Although these things are pretty theoretical, you can try it on your own with the tracks given in this piece. If you’re feeling too tired to go on with your tasks, try listening to the sample tracks and see it for yourself.