By Prakash Narayan-
(Prakash Narayan is chief technology officer at 3K Technologies)
John Naisbitt, author of the book Megatrends and public speaker in the area of future studies, once said, “Whenever a new technology is introduced into society, there must be a counterbalancing human response – that is, high touch – or the technology is rejected… We must learn to balance the material wonders of technology with the spiritual demands of our human nature”.
Resilience of simple tools in a hybrid world
We live in a world dominated by digital tools. You scroll the little phone screen on your way to work, you work on the medium laptop screen, and when you get home at the end of the day, you have a big TV screen. So, while we are caught up living life screen to screen, we appreciate the moments when we are not behind a screen. When it comes to work, the whiteboard is one of the few enduring tools that offer a truly hands-on, non-digital experience. Some might also say that whiteboards stimulate all your senses: the sound of popping the marker lid, the smell of the ink, the feel of pressing the marker against the surface. For all these reasons, it can be said that the whiteboard is the ultimate tool for ideation. It is no wonder that despite there being multiple digital alternatives, whiteboards continue to grow at 5.1% CAGR in 2024 and expected to hit a market of $469m by 2031. (Source: Proficient Market Insights)
For remote workers, traditional whiteboards can be a source of frustration, as they create a barrier to fully participating in collaborative sessions. While those physically present in a meeting room can easily interact with the whiteboard, remote team members often struggle to see content clearly or contribute in real time. This lack of inclusivity can disrupt the flow of brainstorming and collaboration, leading to communication gaps and inefficiencies in hybrid work environments. Most solutions that are offered to this issue are all about how we can make the whiteboard digital. I want to introduce you to the concept of hybrid whiteboarding.
The role of data in the digital age
One of the primary reasons for the shift towards digital tools is the ability to collect and analyze data. In today’s data-driven world, organizations prioritize tools that can generate actionable insights. Data is not just a byproduct, but a valuable asset that drives the transformation of how we live, work, and interact. Organizations that are attempting to adopt this digital blueprint find physical whiteboards to be a limitation. This has led to migrating to digital tools that provide better mechanisms to track.
The rise of digital boards and their limitations
In today’s age, hybrid work models have become the norm, with 90% of organizations (Source: McKinsey) adopting a blend of in-office and remote work. This shift has increased the demand for collaborations tools that bridge the gap between physical and virtual environments. Digital boards were introduced with the promise of enhancing traditional whiteboards by digitizing handwriting and enabling remote collaboration. However, data shows that the utilization rates are often under 1%.
Several factors contribute to this low adoption:
• Steep Learning Curve: Digital boards come with a range of features that can be overwhelming, particularly for less tech-savvy users. The time and effort required to learn these tools often outweigh their perceived benefits.
• Overcomplication: While digital boards are packed with features, they often lack the simplicity of physical whiteboards. Tasks that are straightforward on a physical board, like changing marker colors, can require multiple steps on a digital board, thus disrupting the creative flow.
• Unnatural Feel and Responsiveness: Digital boards lack the tactile feedback and immediacy of traditional whiteboards. The delayed response and absence of natural writing sensations make them feel disconnected and less engaging.
Despite significant investments in digital solutions, many companies continue to rely on traditional whiteboards as they offer straightforward, reliable, and effective use in spontaneous brainstorming sessions. This trend is evident even in tech-savvy companies; for example, Google’s Jamboard is set to be discontinued by the end of 2024, and photos from offices at X (formerly Twitter) and Google show physical whiteboards in heavy use.
Why do people gravitate towards physical whiteboards?
Using a whiteboard offers a dynamic and interactive experience, whether it is for brainstorming, teaching, or problem-solving. The very act of writing on a large, open surface allows ideas to flow freely, providing a visual space where thoughts can be organized, connected, and reworked in real time. Whiteboards foster collaboration, as multiple people can easily contribute, erase, or build upon each other’s input. The tactile nature of using markers to sketch out plans or illustrate concepts engages both the mind and body, enhancing creativity and focus. The simplicity of a whiteboard makes it accessible, allowing complex ideas to be broken down visually, while its erasable nature encourages iteration and experimentation.
Let us also talk about the mental state of being completely present and fully immersed in a task – aka flow. Dr Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says that when you are in this flow state, you have high self-esteem, low anxiety, and complete concentration. What causes anxiety in a meeting room is having to make decisions. When you have to choose between 64 different colors or if you should choose template 1 or template 135, you quickly reach decision paralysis, and before you even get a chance to express your idea, you’ve lost the thought completely. The biggest killer of meeting effectiveness is idea decay; if your time to express yourself is too long, you will lose your train of thought. This is why analog whiteboards are being wheeled in front of digital boards. People want simplicity and speed when they ideate, not distractions.
Hybrid whiteboards
As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest issues with hybrid meetings is meeting equity. That is, everyone should have the same opportunity to communicate and contribute regardless of location. When team members huddle around a whiteboard, remote participants get locked out of the conversation. From this, hybrid whiteboarding was born; you can mount a new camera to the whiteboard (Logitech Scribe, Jabra Panacast, etc.) or use software (JIBB) and use your camera device to project the whiteboard inside the video meetings with high clarity for the remote participants.
While current hardware solutions address some challenges of hybrid whiteboarding, they still leave gaps, particularly in areas like participant inclusivity, data security, and the complete digitization of whiteboard content. These issues range from how remote participants can contribute as fully as those in the office to the secure storage and easy retrieval of whiteboard data, ensuring that all physical whiteboard interactions are captured and effectively translated into digital formats. Addressing these gaps is critical to developing truly collaborative and secure hybrid whiteboarding solutions.
Platforms like JIBB have begun tackling these challenges by incorporating advanced AI technologies. AI not only facilitates the digitization of whiteboard content but also enhances the security measures needed to protect this data.
As we navigate the complexities of hybrid work, the future of whiteboarding lies in a blend of physical and digital tools. The key to successful collaboration is not merely adopting the latest technology but enhancing existing tools to make them more powerful and inclusive. To truly support hybrid teams, platforms need to be tool-agnostic, seamlessly integrating both digital and analog tools. This approach ensures that users can work with whatever medium suits their needs, without being restricted to one format or the other.
By leveraging AI, these platforms can empower tools to adapt to human habits, enhancing natural workflows. AI can learn from how people interact with both physical and digital whiteboards, enabling a more human-centric workflow that mirrors the way we naturally collaborate. This makes the technology more intuitive, allowing teams to focus on creativity and problem-solving rather than grappling with the complexity of the tools.
As AI technology evolves, we can anticipate even more sophisticated solutions that will address the remaining challenges more comprehensively. This ongoing advancement in AI is pivotal for enhancing the efficacy and user-friendliness of hybrid whiteboarding platforms, making them indispensable tools in the future of work.
Platforms like JIBB, which combine the simplicity of analog whiteboards with the capabilities of advanced Vision AI and Gen AI demonstrate the potential for this balanced approach. By making these tools smarter and more adaptable to user behavior, organizations can create more equitable and productive work environments where everyone, regardless of location or preferred method, can contribute meaningfully.
Ultimately, technology should adapt to human behavior, not the other way around. By doing so, we can create collaboration tools that truly meet the needs of today’s workforce. With remote and hybrid work becoming the norm, these solutions are essential in ensuring productivity, maintaining team cohesion, and enabling collaboration in a fast-paced, digital work environment.
