Digital collaboration tools are the future.
With over 75% of the workforce expected to work remotely by the year 2020, more and more companies are looking for ways to help their teams stay in touch from afar.
So what exactly is a digital collaboration tool? It’s any app that allows people to communicate, share information, and accomplish tasks. There are hundreds of different kinds of tools out there, but some popular examples include Slack, Trello, Asana, and Google Drive.
As you begin your journey toward finding the perfect digital tool for your team, keep in mind that every company is different. Successfully implementing a new tool means considering your team’s needs as well as the culture you’ve established.
Digital Collaboration Tools
On average, how many emails do you exchange with co-workers everyday? And how much time does it normally take to brief your team on goals or progress? If your answers make you cringe, you should consider updating your collaboration tools.
Team collaboration software is on the rise. From communication to project management, technology offers an abundance of options. More online collaboration tools spring up every year, while existing ones are constantly improving their features and functionality. Some companies grow and thrive through holacracy, a collaborative management structure.
Here’s a list of 15 of the best collaboration tools that can support your team’s needs:
Communicate with your team
People can’t collaborate if they don’t communicate. From instant messaging to video conferencing tools (the best alternative to face-to-face meetings), there are many options for team collaboration tools:
- Flowdock
Flowdock is a group and private chat platform. Its most interesting feature is its team inbox which aggregates notifications from other channels, like Twitter, Asana and customer support tools. - GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is an online video conferencing software that allows users to schedule meetings and share screens. It’s one of the most popular video tools with millions of users. - Slack
Slack is a popular and well-crafted platform offering instant messaging, file transfers and powerful message search. It has many features and dozens of integrations with other tools like Trello and Intercom. - WebEx
Cisco’s WebEx provides personalized video meeting rooms where users can to host and join meetings. People can use WebEx for team collaboration, webinars, training and customer support.
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Manage projects and tasks
Project management tools are critical. Who can coordinate effectively when they can’t monitor task progress or keep track of objectives?
- Asana
One of the most well-known project management tools, Asana allows users to assign tasks to other members, add followers to projects and monitor deadlines. It’s very useful as a to-do list or calendar for strategic planning. - Dapulse
Dapulse is a collaboration tool that helps you communicate, set objectives and assign tasks. Its big advantage: it has a great visual design so it’s easy to understand and work with. - ProofHub
ProofHub is a work management tool that offers a comprehensive suite of collaboration and project management functions. On this platform, you can organize files, plan and monitor projects and discuss with colleagues and stakeholders. ProofHub also lets you review and approve files through an online proofing tool. - Redbooth
Redbooth is an easy-to-use project management tool. Its platform allows users to plan and collaborate through many functions from video conferencing to creating Gantt charts. - Trello
Trello has an intriguing interface that resembles solitaire (you can even drag task cards across columns, just like you would playing cards). It’s easy to learn and works well for monitoring projects and assigning tasks. Trello also makes using Agile, Scrum and other project management frameworks easy. - Wimi
Wimi offers users their own ‘unified workspaces’ where teams can manage projects and share files and calendars. You can control access in each workspace with a rights-based system. Wimi Drive, their file syncing software, helps you make the most out of cloud technology. - Milanote
Milanote is one of the qualified tools that can be used for serving numerous purposes including blogging. Using this tool, you can organize creative projects and place them into excellent visual boards. It will provide you a feel like you’re working on the wall in a creative studio. Milanote would be a great fit too for designers who work remotely.
Related: Recruiting tools and techniques for modern HR teams
Create together
A task isn’t always one person’s responsibility. Sometimes team members need to create together. These are the best collaboration tools:
- Codingteam
Coders can easily collaborate when writing their code through platforms like Codingteam. It offers a free ‘software forge’ that encourages visibility and collective code building. - Igloo
Igloo is a company intranet that allows people to communicate and get work done. Its wiki allows colleagues to share information and ideas. - Google Docs
Google needs no introduction. Google’s collaboration tools include its Docs and Sheets services, which are designed to allow teams to edit files at the same time and save all their changes automatically. - Quip
Quip started off as a mobile app and released a desktop version later. Teams can import and work live on different file types. Edits are saved automatically and its chat, comment and checklist features make collaboration easy.
How do I choose?
Companies should choose software that meets their individual needs. Here are some criteria that you can use to identify the best service for your team:
Prefer multiple features
Some tools offer excellent service but are only focused on one aspect of team collaboration. Give some thought to how efficient this really is. Teams may end up spending time changing between complementary software. It’s better to look for a tool that’s feature-rich and allows people to use it in many different ways.
Look for ease of use
This is obviously one of the most important criteria. If a service works but takes a lot of time to get used to, it won’t help teams (especially fast-growing teams.) Request a demo and keep an eye out for an intuitive interface and simple navigation.
Pay attention to privacy options
Collaborating with teams doesn’t mean all conversations and files should be public. Sometimes, you’ll want team members to have private conversations or work on sensitive projects. Make sure you look at privacy options before you choose a service.
Opt for cloud
Cloud-based technology has many advantages. It can solve your version control headaches by allowing you to see recent edits and activity. All information is stored online so everyone can be on the same page, no matter where they are.
Ask for integrations and compatibility
Remember that it’s better to use a tool with multiple features? Well, not always. Occasionally, you discover a tool that does one thing perfectly. Integrations are key. Look for tools that seamlessly integrate with other apps or software. Compatibility is also important. For example, your tools should support all the file types your team normally uses.
best collaboration tools
The best online collaboration software makes it simple and easy for teams to work together on a wide range of general and specialized tasks.
Collaboration is the new normal in the workplace, with employees no longer expected to work cut off from one another. This focus on collaboration should mean improved efficiency and increased productivity, but can only be achieved if you have the best tools in the first place.
These tools could offer everything from cloud document storage for managing daily tasks, to video conferencing for online meetings, and all work just as well on mobile devices as well as desktops and laptops.
Above all, everything should be clear, easy to understand, simply to use and reduce misunderstanding. Every employee should be empowered to be able to speak to the right person, wherever they are in the company, to address the same problem. And then solve that problem within an acceptable workflow.
The days of collaborative working are here, so in order to make the most out of your team, here’s our pick of the best online collaboration tools currently available.
We’ve also featured the best task management apps.
Website screenshot for Microsoft 365
(Image credit: Microsoft)
- Microsoft 365
Share and edit documents, now with messaging
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Familiar software
+Collaborative editing
+Teams provides UC
+Cost-effective bundling
Microsoft Office may not be the first platform you think of when it comes to collaboration, but this now runs at the heart of the Microsoft 365 cloud-based office suite.
This is important because Microsoft Office remains the most used and therefore important office suite out there, and while there are competitors such as OpenOffice and Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) they still haven’t caught up to the same level of functionality and ease of use.
Therefore as Microsoft Office is likely to be at the heart of many businesses, the move to Microsoft 365 offers a number of advantages, not least the ability for teams to collaborate directly on the same set of documents. This could be anything from work shifts in an Excel spreadsheet, to a presentation in PowerPoint, to client reports written in Word.
Added to this is that Microsoft Teams now comes bundled with a number of Microsoft 365 packages, allowing for Unified Communications integrated with the traditional office software.
What makes Microsoft 365 more attractive is that as a cloud-hosted platform it can be used not just with Windows, but also Mac, Android, and iOS.
Overall, Microsoft 365 doesn’t simply offer a great office suite, but one that is also firmly designed for collaboration and sharing with teams.
Read our full Microsoft 365 review.
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Website screenshot for Slack
(Image credit: Slack)
- Slack
A collaboration tool which needs no introduction
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Excellent interface
+Impressive free version
REASONS TO AVOID
-Some might want more depth in security
Slack is without doubt a mighty collaboration tool, with millions of users around the globe. It’s an incredibly smart platform, and you can get it on mobile and desktop devices. It allows for the sending of direct messages (DMs) and files to a single person or a group of employees, and there’s the ability to organise conversations into different channels (perhaps for specific projects, one for technical support, general chat, and so forth).
The app also supports video calling. You can use the feature to talk to your colleagues about projects and work in-depth, without having to type everything into a DM. While this isn’t a replacement for cloud storage services, you are able to drag, drop and share files with your colleagues directly within Slack. It’s also compatible with services such as Google Drive, Dropbox and Box.
To round things off, Slack even has a free version, although unsurprisingly it has limitations (in terms of the number of messages stored, overall storage space and so forth).
Conclusion
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