Advanced Use Cases

(Experimental) Cross-Subsidiary and External Collaboration

Connect organizations, partners, and teams in one transparent environment — without losing control of data or governance.

1. The Business Challenge

Large enterprises rarely operate as a single unit. They consist of subsidiaries, departments, contractors, and clients — each with its own systems, rules, and communication channels.

In this distributed environment, collaboration becomes a daily struggle:

• Each subsidiary or partner uses different tools, causing information silos.
• Projects require coordination across multiple legal entities, each with separate security constraints.
• External collaboration risks data leaks, shadow IT, or untraceable decisions.
• Governance and audit requirements make it difficult to allow access without losing control.

The result: fragmented visibility, duplicated work, and constant friction between business agility and IT security.

2. How KanBo Solves It

KanBo unifies internal and external collaboration by creating a shared work environment that respects organizational boundaries.
It enables subsidiaries, partners, and clients to collaborate securely in the same KanBo Spaces — without moving or exposing data outside your infrastructure.

Collaboration Type	KanBo Mechanism	Example
Internal Multi-Subsidiary	Sub-organizations in Resource Module	“Subsidiary Europe”, “Subsidiary Asia”, “Subsidiary North America”
Cross-Entity Projects	Shared or Bound Spaces	“Global Product Launch 2026”
External Partner Collaboration	Guest / Visitor Roles	External supplier, consultant, or client
Secure Document Sharing	Automatic sharing links	Files accessible to guests without internal credentials

KanBo combines transparency for collaboration with control for governance — a balance rarely achieved in enterprise systems.

3. KanBo’s Unique Value (USP)

Unlike generic task tools or open cloud platforms, KanBo is built for governed collaboration inside enterprise or government environments.
It provides flexibility to collaborate externally — while maintaining complete data sovereignty and compliance with internal IT policies.

Core Differentiators

1. Unified Infrastructure, Segmented Access
   Subsidiaries, departments, and external users coexist in the same environment, but access is controlled at Space and Card levels.
2. No Data Ever Leaves Your Tenant
   Even cloud deployments are hosted on your organization’s infrastructure — not on KanBo servers.
3. Visitor Role Architecture
   External users see only what they are explicitly invited to — with visual indication of their limited status.
4. Automated Document Sharing
   Internal documents are automatically converted to secure view-only links for guests, maintaining Microsoft ecosystem compliance.
5. Granular Audit and Traceability
   Every action, comment, and document change is logged for transparency and compliance.
6. Integration with Microsoft Teams Shared Channels
   KanBo Spaces can bind to shared Teams channels — creating synchronized access for mixed internal/external collaboration groups.

KanBo gives enterprises a collaboration platform that scales across borders and boundaries — without compromising data protection.

4. Example: Global Project with Internal and External Partners

Scenario: A multinational manufacturer coordinating a global innovation project with three subsidiaries and two external suppliers.

Objective:

Create a secure, transparent collaboration environment connecting internal R&D teams, regional subsidiaries, and external engineering partners.

Step 1 – Structure the Environment

• Workspace: Global Innovation Program 2026.
• Spaces:
  • Product Design – Subsidiary Europe
  • Testing & Validation – Subsidiary Asia
  • Supply Chain Integration – External Partners

Each Space is linked to relevant teams and managed under its own subsidiary structure.

Step 2 – Define Participants

• Internal users belong to their respective subsidiaries.
• External supplier users are added as Visitors to the Supply Chain Integration Space only.
• All users work in the same KanBo environment — with access control automatically enforced.

Step 3 – Manage Work and Communication

• Each supplier task is represented by a Card, assigned jointly to internal and external users.
• Documents are stored in SharePoint but linked via secure, automatically generated sharing links visible only to participants.
• Discussion threads and progress updates remain inside KanBo — ensuring full traceability.

Step 4 – Governance and Oversight

• Executives use Portfolio Views to see combined progress across subsidiaries.
• Compliance teams can audit all external interactions directly from KanBo’s Activity Stream.
• No manual reporting is required — data and accountability are embedded in the workflow.

5. Metrics and Collaboration Insights

Metric	Description	Derived From
Cross-Subsidiary Activity Index	Number of Cards involving multiple subsidiaries	Card Relations & User Metadata
External Collaboration Count	Cards with Visitors assigned	Card Assignments
Access Scope Audit	Visibility levels per Space	Access Logs
Response Time	Average time from comment to reply	Activity Stream
Document Share Count	Number of automatically generated links for external users	Document Attachments

These metrics provide quantitative visibility into collaboration health and security.

6. Organizational Benefits

Challenge	KanBo Solution
Fragmented project tools per subsidiary	Unified Spaces across entities
High risk of data leakage	Controlled access and automatic link security
Limited visibility for executives	Central portfolio and activity dashSpaces
Slow collaboration due to IT restrictions	Guest access without policy violations
Difficult audit trails	Complete traceability within Activity Streams

KanBo provides cross-organizational alignment without sacrificing control.

7. Practical Setup Guide

Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Define Subsidiaries
   In the Resource Module, create entities for each organizational unit or regional company.
2. Assign Subsidiary Managers
   Each manager can see and manage only the resources of their subsidiary.
3. Create a Shared Workspace
   Example: Strategic Program – Global Expansion.
   Add Spaces for each collaboration stream.
4. Add Internal and External Users
   • Internal users: linked via Azure AD.
   • External users: added as Visitors with explicit access to selected Spaces.
5. Activate Secure Document Handling
   Configure automatic generation of sharing links for external users (read-only or limited access).
6. Monitor Activity and Access
   Use KanBo’s audit features to track engagement and ensure compliance.
7. Scale and Replicate
   Create templates for shared collaboration Spaces to reuse across projects or partners.

8. Why Enterprises Choose KanBo for Cross-Entity Collaboration

1. One Secure Platform: All subsidiaries and partners work in your controlled environment.
2. Role-Based Visibility: Everyone sees only what’s relevant to their work.
3. Compliance by Design: Meets internal security and legal standards without exceptions.
4. Zero Data Duplication: Files remain in your tenant; guests access via secure links.
5. Consistent User Experience: Internal and external users work with the same intuitive interface.
6. Scalable Collaboration Model: Works for two partners or two hundred.

KanBo enables governed openness — collaboration with freedom, protected by structure.

9. Example Workspace Snapshot (Conceptual)

Level	Example	Responsible
Workspace	Global Innovation Program 2026	Program Director
Space	Supply Chain Integration (Shared)	Supplier Manager
Card	Prototype Components – Supplier BETA	External Partner (Visitor)
Linked Documents	Shared link to testing spec – read-only	Auto-generated

All collaboration occurs in context — visible, auditable, and safe.

10. Summary

KanBo bridges the gap between internal structure and external collaboration.
It empowers enterprises to work seamlessly across subsidiaries and partners — while preserving security, transparency, and compliance.

With KanBo, every collaboration stays open, controlled, and under your governance.