Collaborative technology is continuing to evolve — fostering innovation, connecting experts and creating relationships, between companies and their customers.

Public policy-makers and voters need sound, relevant data when making decisions, yet accessing information can be difficult, and often costly. But a national trend to use technology and innovative public and private funding is beginning to change all that.

The next big upgrade to your corporate systems department may be something you will use but never see — "cloud computing," the next step in the evolution of SaaS technology. As with SaaS, cloud-computing customers tap into computing resources off-site and hosted by another company.

Collaboration is not a new concept, and companies have no trouble imagining the gains to be had from collaborating within the firm, with suppliers and with customers: creativity, productivity, profits. The technology tools already exist to make it happen. But how do you get started?

Collaborative technology can advance business through innovation if it can be managed, translated and used creatively.

Self-service technologies, which automate routine interactions between companies and customers, are a source of convenience and efficiency to both parties — until something goes wrong and the customer cannot make the system work.

Banner Health System saved $5 million and saw misdiagnosis claims from patient lawsuits drop 58 percent in just a year thanks to an insightful collaboration between hospitals and doctors determined to change the status quo.

The Millennial generation — usually defined as people currently under age 30 — is demanding major changes throughout the wired workplace.

The ubiquitous Microsoft Office suite claims an impressive 95 percent market share. Yet since 2000, a free suite of software that includes spreadsheet and word processing programs similar to Excel and Word has evolved.

Tools to facilitate the full range of business processes proliferated over the past decade. Some firms base entire business models or product lines on such tools, while other traditional companies are looking for tools as a means to improve operational efficiency or processes.