When I buy a new iPhone, I have a routine. I start by following the usual setup steps and then I download a set of essential apps that my team and I simply can’t work without. There are five of them; some of them we’ve used for years, and some we’ve only discovered recently, but these five must-have apps make our work much faster, smoother and more productive.
1. Zula
Zula is a mobile solution for team communication — moving from fragmented threads to a seamless stream of focused conversation. Zula offers all the tools a team needs for ongoing interaction: instantly joining a conversation, discussing ideas, sharing content, taking a poll, and connecting over a conference call.
2. Dropbox for Business
Dropbox for Business is a premium version of the popular cloud-based file hosting service refitted for businesses. The basic functionality is the same; users upload files to Dropbox where they are stored, synced across devices, and can be shared with others. The key differences are in team permissions and sharing control, convenient access to both your business and personal accounts, and unlimited storage. Self-service features like unlimited deletion recovery and device unlinking let team members handle common tasks without bothering IT. When your team is required to collaborate on shared documents, Dropbox for Business gives you the tools to work efficiently, track your changes, and keep a versioned backup.
3. Weekdone
Weekdone is a great tool to keep an eye on how your team is doing. This award winning startup is clear, easy-to-use, and thanks to the graphs, you always know what co-workers do. It provides a weekly employee progress report, daily internal communication for teams, and quarterly goal-setting and objectives. Being able to track the company’s and employees’ happiness level is like a cherry on top of this simple tool dubbed Weekdone.
4. Slack
Slack is an app that consolidates all your team’s digital communication into one place. It is often described as an “email killer,” as it effectively eliminates the need for intra-office email. Slack allows for 1:1 private messaging as well as group conversations, which can be segmented into channels. Slack also integrates with existing software that your team is probably already using, such as Dropbox, Google Drive and MailChimp.
5. Basecamp
With over 9,000,000 current users, Basecamp is considered the most popular cloud-based project management software system of all time. It uses a simple, visual interface to help individuals and team’s manage their shared and personal projects and tasks. Basecamp’s dashboard provides an overview of all your discussions, to-dos, files, text documents, and events in a single glance. Image Credit: Nancy Young
