COVID-19 has taken control of every aspect of 2020, from social events to just going into the office. Companies have needed to quickly adapt to this new way to work and invest in platforms and software that make it easier. Cloud and collaboration platforms have seen a dramatic rise during this period, with the most notable being unified communications and video conferencing software. It’s crucial to have the right applications and tools in place for your organization to communicate during this lockdown. We’ve put together a list with 10 platforms that can help businesses work better. Here are some reasons to adopt these platforms for you and your coworkers.
Home Trends for Working
When we entered lockdown, all of us were concerned about how we would work away from our office. We were concerned about the lack of productivity and communication. The last few months have shown that employees are happier working at home and will put more effort into their work day.
HubSpot data shows that remote work is not going away anytime soon. According to them, 77% of remote workers report being more productive working remotely. 23% of workers claim that they work longer hours at home than on-site.
In 2021, remote working has revolutionized the way that the global workforce works. Employees are asking companies if they would like to continue working remotely when normalcy returns. It doesn’t matter what happens over the next few months; remote working will be here for good.
Many business trends have emerged from working remotely – and this is not TikTok. Here are the top business trends for this year.
Cloud communications
Cloud communications, also known as hosted technology or cloud computing, are rapidly becoming the norm in organizations and residential areas. This is not only remote work, but also a result of a shift in legacy technology, such as the switch to ISDN networks by 2025. This switch-off has seen an increase in VoIP services (a.k.a. cloud-based phone system) take-up. VoIP uses the internet to transmit voice calls instead of traditional copper lines. Companies can keep their communications in the cloud to stay connected to their business infrastructure and their coworkers while they are working from other places.
Unified communications
Unified communications have seen a rapid growth during COVID-19. UCaaS (unified communication as a service), has been adopted by many organizations as a way to combine calls, chat and video in one place. Slack and Microsoft Teams are great examples. Companies of all sizes have found it beneficial to have software that covers all aspects of business communication in one technology.
Video conferencing solutions
Video conference services are more than just face-to-face interaction, especially during COVID-19. These systems have been beneficial to companies, but they also allow friends and family to communicate with one another while isolating. The software allows users to share their screens, chat by text, exchange files and write whiteboards. It also lets them broadcast meetings. The most popular are Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. However, these systems are primarily voice-based, such as 3CX. They also include video in their portfolios, for example 3CX.
Task-based platforms
Task management tools saw a significant increase in popularity this year, despite not being able to properly see colleagues. These platforms allow employees and teams to use their time efficiently, track progress, and organize to-do lists. Many people have found that Trello and Jira help them be more productive, focused, and accountable for meeting their deadlines and work.
10 platforms that make it easier for businesses to work together
Chat, calling and collaboration
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is the most popular collaboration and communications platform in 2021. Skype for Business will be discontinued next year. The most convenient and obvious move to make is to switch over to Teams. Microsoft Teams lets you chat, email and run audio and video conferences, as well as share files and other information all from one location. It offers a variety of Microsoft apps and tools, including Excel, Word PowerPoint, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
Teams’ ability to convert into a business telephone system via Direct Route is the way it is changing business communications. Although Teams is most commonly used for internal communications, it can also be used to make phone calls when you add your voice to the platform. Direct routing routes Teams to the traditional telephone network, allowing you to make both internal and external calls. Converting Teams to your business’s phone system creates a true unified communications platform.
Slack
Slack allows you to communicate instantly with your colleagues and is ideal for remote work and real-time communication. It works in the same way as Teams and allows you to easily communicate with your colleagues and organize your chats by topic and channel. Slack offers great team management tools and allows you to plan launches, review contracts, and assign tasks to colleagues. You can also integrate activity from other platforms like Trello into Slack.
3CX
3CX is a software-based telephone system that can be used with a variety of hardware and browser-based extensions as well as mobile apps. 3CX allows companies to access their contacts and make calls. It also makes it easy for them to organize meetings using its browser extension. The CRM integration is a popular feature of 3CX, which has proven to be extremely useful for sales teams. 3CX can connect to most CRMs so calls are automatically recorded against contacts. It is very useful to have a clear view on your prospects and customers’ activity. 3CX’s ability to immediately log interactions, requests and opportunities is invaluable.
Management of tasks and projects
Trello
Trello allows you to create a dashboard which organizes your tasks and projects. Each task can be assigned to a card and labeled with dates. You can quickly see the current status of each card, the person working on it, and what’s being done. Trello has been a great tool for many teams to keep track of each other’s work and the entire calendar. Trello is especially useful for marketing teams, and has been praised as one of the most effective marketing tools.
Jira
Jira, a tool for software developers and support staff, is designed to help them manage their projects and develop software. Jira is similar to Trello. It allows you to track and assign issues, and even solve them. Jira is compatible with the developer tools that you already use. It allows you to see the workflows as well as reports, so that you can monitor your team’s progress and fix any problems.
Sales Engagement
Salesloft
Salesloft helps sales teams find revenue-enhancing opportunities and close deals. It integrates with top CRM systems, email tracking, and calls in one platform. Salesloft was recently implemented during lockdown. We found the adoption process and support to be extremely helpful. It was easy to use and organize while we were away and it has allowed our partners and sales teams to be more involved with the data and selling process.
Social Media
Social media was stronger than ever before lockdown. But LinkedIn really shines. It allows those who have lost jobs to find new opportunities, and professionals to stay connected with their peers and industry.
File sharing
SharePoint
Another Microsoft product is SharePoint, a web-based collaboration platform that focuses on document management, storage, and sharing. It is crucial to stay connected to your business infrastructure throughout this period. We are not talking only about communications. Access to company documents and files is vital when you are away from your office. A shared space such as SharePoint can help you save time, is secure, and is easy to use. SharePoint encourages collaboration by allowing you and others to share files, data, and resources.
Dropbox
Dropbox allows you to store all of your files in one location. Dropbox offers a large amount of storage space that can be used to store any file size. It also allows you to quickly and easily send files. Dropbox syncs your files and folders to other Dropbox servers, computers, and devices to ensure that the same files are always up-to-date on all devices.
Google Drive
Google Drive is similar to other file sharing platforms. It allows users to share, synchronize, and store files across multiple servers and devices. Google Drive is a Google product and has access to Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Slides. Google Drive is free and stores all content. It works across all platforms so that you can use it on any device, including mobiles, tablets, computers, and smartphones. Google Drive allows you to open the same file as multiple people simultaneously.
Summary
These are our top 10 platforms to help businesses do better when remote working. These platforms allow employees to work remotely and do their jobs well. You must invest in systems that will support your business during this time. If you haven’t started using these platforms for the first lockdown, it is important to do so.
