There are a bewildering number of corporate solutions that are cloud-based and help boost productivity. Web conferencing, file storage, chat, and project management are just a few of these. In each case, you pay a separate fee, have a different interface, added security issues, and need to train users on a new interface.

Bolste is a new company that offers a business operating system that promises companies they can save time and money by using this one platform. By leveraging the single Bolste platform – instead of four or more solutions – the company says businesses can save 20 percent or more time.

The company is yet another organization targeting email – hoping to wean us off this aging platform to something workgroups will find more effective. Competitors include Slack – which can be extended via APIs as well as Facebook (News - Alert) – looking to grow its reach as an enterprise platform.

Some of the features of the platform include Bolsters, which are collaboration workspaces, customization of the look and feel of the solution to match corporate branding, activity streams that function like dashboards, AES-256 bit security, and live document collaboration.

Like Basecamp or Facebook, there is an activity stream in Bolste, allowing people to edit and delete as needed. There is also a to-do list, which allows basic project management – like assigning jobs to members and using a calendar for deadlines. An integrated word processor allows co-editing, exporting, and revising. Cloud storage is similar to Dropbox (News - Alert), box or OneDrive.

Other features allow member control, notes for memo writing, chat – hello Slack, Insights to allow management of usage and activity, mobile apps, and more.

If you want to duplicate the functionality offered by Bolste you’d have to purchase individual subscriptions to cloud-based services and then integrate them through APIs. Bolste offers an easier and more streamlined alternative.

The downside is solutions that typically combine features from once-standalone solutions tend not to be as full-featured. Having a singular focus allows companies to become best in breed. This doesn’t mean that for 80-90 percent of the market an integrated solution won’t make the most sense. After all, who uses all the advanced features of Excel, Word, or other cloud-based solutions such as Salesforce?

The company is just starting out, and it will be interesting to see how the market responds to a single cloud-based application that blends some of most important business needs under one virtual roof.