Fostering an inclusive and supportive workplace culture is critical to maximizing your employees’ potential. With so many digital business tools at our disposal, more firms are utilizing these technologies to improve their collaborative cultures, resulting in increased productivity, efficiency, and overall morale. Harnessing the power of technology has never been easier than in today’s digital environment.
What Precisely Are Digital Business Tools?
Digital business tools are apps, software programmes, and platforms that enable enterprises (both remote and local) to collaborate more successfully together.
The 2020 office mass exodus did not produce digital business tools. In fact, we’ve been utilizing them for years to connect with clients through video, collaborate on shared documents, and chat. Online collaboration solutions include messaging apps, project management software, video conferencing platforms, and social media schedulers.
There Are Four Major Categories Of Digital Business Tools
There are numerous remote collaboration solutions available, and you don’t need them all. The four major categories of digital business tools are represented by the five tools we described. Together, they can improve your overall remote cooperation and efficiency! When creating your own collaboration toolkit, make sure to include at least one tool from each of the following categories.
1. Tools For Communication And Messaging
A communication tool is required if you wish to interact via email, direct messaging, voice calls, or all of the above. Tools that combine numerous communication techniques are advantageous because they allow you to contact your team when and where it counts.
2. Tools For Video Conferences
Video conferencing systems provide face-to-face contact, which is typically lacking in remote workforces. You not only receive wonderful facetime via video, but you can also effortlessly monitor your teammates’ displays for efficient presentations and tutorials.
3. Tools For Task And Project Management
Without a mechanism to organize and track their work, your team may feel disconnected and ineffectual. Thus, project management systems enable a collaborative, transparent environment in which the entire team can be held accountable.
4. Tools For Cloud Storage And File Share
Last but not least, you require a shared storage space for information. Cloud storage platforms provide employees with the information they require at the time they require it. Otherwise, information can be lost during asynchronous file transfers, causing projects to stall.
Top 10+ Digital Business Tools
1. Trello
Trello is a popular alternative for increasing workplace productivity and collaboration. With so many companies turning to remote work this year, the demand for digital business tools like Trello has never been greater.
Trello is a productivity tool that makes everything easier and more visible for everyone in our company. It’s similar to an online corkboard where everyone can see if activities have already been completed. In these changing times, we must be more adaptable, and we must take advantage of all digital platforms to make our work-life more productive and efficient.”
2. Slack
Slack is a must-have for remote teams of all sizes. This messaging and collaboration tool can work in tandem with your other tools to keep you connected, organized, and on schedule. Slack integrates direct messaging, group messaging, voice and video calls, and topic-specific channels into a single platform.
Slack is one of the most excellent digital business tools for communicating with remote teams. To stay streamlined, join the channels that are important to you and mute the ones that aren’t. This is a tool that you will undoubtedly use on a daily basis.
Slack’s Main Characteristics
- Change your status to let team members know when you’ll be available.
- There are both free and scalable premium options available.
- Over 2000 integrations with different programmes and other digital business tools are available.
- Channels for file and document sharing
- Apps for the web, desktop, and mobile
3. CultureIQ
Building a positive collaborative culture is widely acknowledged to be the lifeblood of most firms.
CultureIQ provides your staff with in-depth surveys to convey their feelings about the organization, as well as tools to analyze the results—everything from high-level data to individual, anonymous remarks. According to CultureIQ, 30% of corporate employees do not believe their accomplishments at work are recognized, and 60% consider internal communication to be their company’s weakest link.”
Using tools like Culture IQ is an excellent approach to gaining valuable insights from employees. This information can be used to make essential changes, understand the needs of your employees, and improve your company culture.
4. Hive
Hive is a project management application designed for remote collaboration. It’s practically impossible to keep on track and see project timeframes without a project management tool. Hive allows you to visualize and interact on projects at any stage. Assign tasks, monitor progress, and see timeframes throughout your organization.
Hive’s Key Characteristics
- Calendar, and other project views are available.
- There are both free and scalable premium options available.
- Comment on and respond to other participants in the programme.
- More than 1,000 programme and other digital business tools integrations
- Analytics that are automated to track progress and plan future projects
- Apps for the web, desktop, and mobile
5. Charlie
Charlie is a free web platform that is extremely simple to use. It allows team members to learn more about one another while also telling them when someone is not present that day or how close they are to meet their deadlines. This was a problem a few months ago when employees were continually being questioned how long and how far they had gone, but since using the programme, everyone is able to track the progress of other team members, which has helped reduce workplace friction.
Employees must feel safe and comfortable in their job environment in order to experience great collaborative culture and perform at their best. Using a platform like Charlie is a novel technique to ensure open communication among staff.
6. Microsoft Teams
While Microsoft Teams has been used by various organisations in the past, more and more businesses are seeing the value that it can provide to their day-to-day operations this year.
It is more than just a conference tool; you can create separate zones for different projects or groups of individuals, and you can exchange gifs in the conversation as well. Threads can be created to keep topics organized. What more could you want than something adaptable and simple that also allows you to get a lot of work done?”
Microsoft Teams enables the development of group conversations to guarantee that projects are neither independent nor difficult to manage with a large number of other employees. It allows you to design an internet strategy for offline purchases.
7. Zoom
Zoom is maybe the most well-known and widely used video conferencing tool on the market. “Zooming” has become synonymous with video calling, just as “band-aid” has become synonymous with bandages in general. Zoom has maintained its position as a dependable, multi-purpose video conferencing solution with a rich set of capabilities.
Zoom’s Main Characteristics Are As Follows:
- Monthly meetings are unlimited.
- Options for chatting and messaging
- Capabilities for breakout rooms
- There are both free and scalable premium options available.
- Desktop, tablet, and smartphone screen sharing
8. Codingteam
Coders can easily collaborate when writing code using platforms such as Codingteam. It provides a free’software forge’ that promotes visibility and collaborative code development.
9. Igloo
Igloo is a workplace intranet that allows employees to communicate and complete tasks. Colleagues can share information and ideas on its wiki.
10. Google Docs
Google is self-explanatory. Google’s collaboration capabilities include the Docs and Sheets services, which are meant to allow teams to edit files at the same time while automatically saving all changes.
How Do I Pick The Finest Digital Business Tools For My Company?
Companies should select software that is tailored to their specific requirements. Here are some criteria to consider while selecting the finest service for your team:
1. Prefer A Variety Of Features
Some technologies provide good service but are limited to a single area of team cooperation. Consider how effective this is in practise. Teams may find themselves spending time switching between complementary software. It is preferable to look for a tool that is feature-rich and can be used in a variety of ways.
2. Consider Usability.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most crucial factors. It won’t help teams if a service works but takes a long time to become acclimated to (especially fast-growing teams.) Request a demo and look for an easy-to-use UI and clear navigation.
3. Consider Your Privacy Options.
Working with teams does not imply that all talks and files should be made public. You may want team members to conduct private talks or collaborate on sensitive tasks at times. Before you choose a service, consider your privacy options.
4. Choose Cloud Integration
Cloud computing has numerous advantages. It can alleviate your version control woes by displaying recent edits and activity. All information is maintained online so that everyone, no matter where they are, is on the same page.
5. Inquire about integrations and compatibility.
Remember that using a tool with various functions is preferable? No, not always. Every now and then, you come across a tool that does one thing exceptionally well. Integrations are critical. Look for tools that work well with other apps or software. Compatibility is also essential. For example, your tools should handle all of the file types that your team typically employs.
