Young casually dressed employees at work in coworking office. Corporate team working on laptops and taking notes in shared room, brainstorming about new project, teamwork and collaboration concept.
The Corporate World has never been more closely connected than it is in today’s age.
Technology has made it easier for businesses to collaborate with their separate branches and other companies alike.
Better yet, you can line your business up with software and applications that are designed specifically for that purpose. Their in-app features are to help you streamline communication in a way that wasn’t possible before now.
However, with so many options out there, it can be hard to tell which one is the right fit.
Here are the best applications and software for collaborative work among different departments, office branches, or other businesses.
1. Sharepoint
For those of you that already have Microsoft Office in your systems, Sharepoint is a tremendous platform to use.
It perfectly integrates with the Microsoft software and is the perfect solution for all of your data storage, document organization, and collaboration needs.
In fact, it’s highly praised for how easily different employees can share files as well as update the project up to the second. It has amazing security features to ensure your data and documents are only available to those you intend for them to be.
The software itself has a simplistic layout that’s easy to navigate and features that are simple to catch on to.
Your workforce won’t have to spend a lot of time figuring out how to use Sharepoint features during the initial onboarding process. However, if they do, then you can point them to this Sharepoint guide for more directions.
2. Slack
Don’t let the name fool you, this application tool serves a purpose for your workforce that will streamline communication across the board.
It grants your business a space that’s as perfect for widespread messages to the entire company as it is for sending direct messages.
Better yet, your slack groups can be separated into different departments or project teams to make sure the information is getting in front of the right people.
It can be used as an app on the phone, laptops, desktops, tablets, or even on the internet if need be. Your employees will be able to access it from anywhere, which will ensure everyone’s always on the same page.
The free version of Slack can give you great insight into all of its capabilities. But you’ll want to upgrade soon enough so that you don’t run into storage space problems at a critical time.
If anyone has any questions on how to use the software, they can send a message to the automated Slackbot feature and it will give you an answer almost instantaneously.
Overall, this application allows for everyone to be provided with updates and information up to the very second you send it out. It’s as the great Sir Francis Bacon once said: “knowledge is power”.
3. Zoho Projects
Those of you out there that are big proponents of cloud project organization (and why wouldn’t you be?) will love what Zoho Projects can offer.
It boasts the perfect balance of a simplistic layout with several key features that will help create more seamless communication between team members.
It’s easy to set up and integrate into your current office infrastructure, and the user-friendly layout will prevent a significant learning curve. Not to mention the budget-friendly price of $12 per user per month for their Standard Edition.
The main knock that users have had for Zoho Projects is that it isn’t the best software to use for bigger project teams. The “per user” price tends to stack up.
Not to mention that most of it are features are designed with a small business in mind.
All in all, this is a high-quality asset to any small business looking for a platform to streamline communication and project management.
4. Asana
If you’re in the market for a platform that’s stood the test of time and is lauded as the best for organization and project/time tracking… look no further. Asana has got your back!
This software has been an industry-leader since 2008 and has made additions (when need be) to improve upon itself.
It’s an incredible asset for companies that want to track all the work and time that each employee places into a specific project. Much easier to instruct and inform than software that doesn’t keep track of the workload by each individual.
Not only can you track the project, but you can also get out ahead of it by creating things like to-do lists and project tasks for each employee to complete.
That feature alone will prevent major setbacks that can eat away at the time taken to complete a team project.
Each member of the project team can also post comments to all the other members, which you’ll be able to track on your end. You can then chime in on their comments as needed.
Overall, Asana grants you the opportunity to streamline your workforce’s project completion time, up efficiency, and play a larger role without micromanaging. What company wouldn’t want that kind of collaborative software on their side?
Promote Collaborative Work Through These Tremendous Platforms
If you’re looking for the most return on investment for software to streamline collaborative work, you can’t go wrong with any of the four listed above.
Remember that finding the right platform is all about filtering out those that don’t offer the features you need. Consider things such as data storage, communication features, organization, and simplicity in the software you integrate.
Be sure to read our other articles that pertain to both this topic and other topics that are just like it.