Looking to move beyond email in 2019? Hoping to bring your employees together in ways you didn’t know possible? If you are interested in improving communication within your team—big or small—collaboration is key!
But which collaboration tool is right for your business? Slack may be the toast of the town, but can it solve your team’s particular challenges? Or do you prefer a platform that focuses on organization over communication? We’ve put together some of the best online collaboration tools for 2019. Have a look and see if any of these options work for you.
Slack
The popular kid in class
Slack is definitely one of the most popular collaboration tools, with millions of unique accounts around the world. It is a messaging app that provides users with one singular platform for all of their communication needs, offering real-time messaging, file sharing, archiving, and search functions. It is built for modern teams so that you can have all your communication in one location that is immediately searchable and instantly accessible from any device.
Slack allows for the transmitting of direct messages, files, and videos to individual team members or a group of employees—organize these conversations into different channels (like for specific projects, IT support or general administrative messaging for the office, etc.) Use video calling to talk to colleagues regarding projects instead of typing everything into a direct message box.
Slack is one of the most extensively integrated platforms available, blending and working with almost every leading software out there and, as such, it is the communication and collaboration platform of choice by countless teams from top global companies. If that is not enough, Slack even offers a free version, however, limited features and functions are the norm.
Platforms: Web, Windows, iOS, Android
Features: Drag-and-drop files, on-desktop notifications, group projects, screen sharing
Video calls: Yes
Audio calls: Yes
Integrations: Dropbox, Google Docs, Box
Free trial: Free version available
Heycollab
Collaborate, comment, share and find everything in one place!
Despite being relatively new to the game, this innovative and insightful tool leaps head and shoulders above competitors like Slack, checking off multiple organization and collaboration functions, but it is most closely aligned with keeping team members connected via a sleek messaging interface.
Heycollab helps increase productivity by allowing team members to create a public or private workspace—essentially, a group chat where instant messaging, project collaboration and file/media storage all occur in one convenient hub of activity. It even simplifies the daunting feedback process by giving you the ability to add comments directly to designs.
No matter where your team members are, Heycollab manages to bring everyone together and keeps everything moving forward. Track all of your assigned tasks and see which users are working on what projects.
Heycollab was recently named by Forbes Magazine as “the best technology conference on the planet.”
Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS and Android;
Features: Team messaging, task boards, collaboration, virtual workspace, project management
Integrations: Yes
Free trial: 60-day free trial available—no credit card required!
Flock
All of your work—in one place.
Flock is another application that is very similar to Slack but arguably offers a greater range of comprehensive communication tools, such as polls, reminders and note sharing. Flock offers private and open-channel messaging—for 1:1 or group conversations, as well as audio and video call conferencing and additional sharing and notification features to ensure that your team stays informed, wherever they are located.
While Flock is free to use, there are a few restrictions: searches are limited to 10,000 messages, and there is a storage limit of 5GB. For those willing to add a Pro plan, you can expect unlimited searches, an additional 5GB of storage per user, and admin controls; an Enterprise plan ads 20GB of storage per user and access to a dedicated support team.
Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
Features: File sharing, group chats, screen sharing
Video calls: Yes
Audio calls: Yes
Integrations: Yes
Free trial: Free version available
Asana
The work management platform that teams use in order to stay focused on everything needed to grow business.
Making waves in the communication field since 2008, Asana is certainly a popular and reliable option for office collaboration.
Since the beginning, Asana has been designed with connectivity in mind, offering companies the ability to track the projects of employees while allowing teams to divide work amongst members, resulting in seamless communication and raising the likelihood of error-free results.
Create to-do lists, set reminders for upcoming deadlines and send requests to colleagues—all in one platform. Asana alerts you of upcoming deadlines while monitoring tasks and project progress with interactive dashboards. Organize your current projects while pulling up and referencing past work easily.
New platform updates for 2019 include:
Team Calendar Project Limit Increase—Asana has updated its calendar function in order to accommodate teams with more than 200 projects on the go.
Sorting and Filtering Capabilities—they have also added the capability to sort and filter tasks on Asana boards in order to help teams manage workflows.
Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
Features: To-do lists, project templates, dashboards, screen sharing
Video calls: Yes
Audio calls: Yes
Integrations: Slack, Dropbox, Github
Free trial: Yes
Podio
A Simple Project Management and Collaboration Software
Podio can be described as a cloud-based collaboration service, offering a user-friendly web-based platform that is customizable for creating seamless communication among team members.
With Podio, communication is closely monitored and organized—whether you require an urgent message from a team member or you simply wish to share updated project information, Podio compiles all of your shared conversations in one place.
Podio is also equipped with quality mobile apps for when you’re out of the office and need to use your smartphone or tablet. It offers a free trial, as well as various tiered pricing plans, including basic, premium and enterprise.
Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
Features: File sharing, project tracking, automated workflows, data visualization
Audio calls: Yes
Video calls: Yes
Integrations: Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, Campaign Monitor
Free trial: Free Trial Available
Ryver
A user-friendly free-for-all
Ryver is a highly effective software platform that is changing the way businesses communicate internally. Ryver combines the efficiency of messaging with the clarity of threaded conversation into one impressive package, enabling companies to become faster and more flexible in how their teams collaborate and communicate.
Control who can see the comments you post, and join the teams that are most relevant to you. All company-wide posts are displayed in a sleek, newsfeed format that allows you to bookmark and revisit posts you wish to return to later.
Ryver is a completely free product—and for a free product, it sure comes with a host of great offers, like unlimited users and unlimited archived messaging.
Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
Features: Easy-to-use newsfeed, filters, file sharing, screen sharing
Video calls: Yes
Audio calls: Yes
Integrations: Dropbox, Gmail, Box, Basecamp, Yammer
Free trial: Free product
Trello
Keeping your projects together
Trello is a project management platform designed to assist individuals and teams working together in order to maximize efficiency and organization. Available on the web, mobile apps and, most recently, smart watches, Trello lets you build and work on projects by using boards or lists which can be sorted by category or team. Create to-do lists and share feedback with all team members at the touch of a button.
Trello offers safeguarding with key security features, like the ability to restrict membership invitations, remove former employees and project members from an account, and control which users can create private or public boards.
Furthermore, Trello boasts a number of integrations with apps such as Evernote, GitHub, Salesforce, Google Hangouts, and Slack. Downloading the app is free, however, you can unlock greater access and more features by subscribing to various premium options, like Trello Gold and Trello Enterprise.
Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
Features: Create boards and lists, flexible project management, notifications from any device
Video calls: No
Integrations: Evernote, GitHub, Google Hangouts, Slack
Free trial: Free version available