Dave Pelland has extensive experience covering the business use of technology, networking and communications tools by companies of all sizes. Dave's editorial and corporate experience includes more than 10 years editing an electronic technology and communications industry newsletter for a global professional services firm. |
Choosing the Best Collaboration Tools for Your Small BusinessRemote work and a need to increase productivity and organizational agility are among the factors prompting small businesses to adapt cloud-based collaboration tools. While the specifics vary from tool to tool, online collaboration helps small business teams exchange ideas, manage tasks and projects, and serve customers more efficiently and securely. And because collaboration tools store data and team updates in the cloud, team members can access data from nearly anywhere. Collaboration in the Cloud The broad category of online collaboration includes several capabilities, with many platforms offering a combination of tools to help teams work together and exchange updates. Some of the most valuable capabilities for small business users include:
The benefits of cloud-based collaboration tools for small businesses include:
Evaluating Tools If you are considering adopting or expanding your use of online collaboration tools, a good place to start is the productivity tools you are already using. For example, your word processing, spreadsheets and presentation tools may have online components that allow you to create and share work remotely without investing in additional software. It’s also important to understand your needs and which features you are most likely to take advantage of. If your primary focus is communicating with team members, contractors and customers remotely, a messaging or video conferencing tool could be your best bet. Other tools are based around project management and file-sharing capabilities, so understanding what features you are most interested in will help dictate which tools you try or adopt first. Popular collaboration tools include Monday.com, Asana, Slack, Trello and others. Read other technology articles |