Graffersid Blogs

Best Tools for Seamless Communication with Remote Team

5 Tools for Seamless Communication

Myriad companies around the world have gone remote due to the COVID-19 outbreak. But, what if your team is working remotely, how would you communicate with them? How do you get project updates and how do you conduct meetings? Seems impossible, right? The best remote teams rely on communication tools to collaborate efficiently with the teams.

What are Remote Communication Tools?

When your team works in the same physical office, communication is not a problem. You can hold meetings quickly or can even have a quick discussion with your team. However, you can’t do this with the remote team, right? Actually, you can. Remote team communication tools help you collaborate effectively with distributed teams. They allow you to stay in touch and keep track of coworkers who are working from different parts of the world: Most of these tools have communication features like:

  • Live chat: Enables instant messaging over the Internet.
  • File sharing and collaboration: To coordinate over files virtually
  • Video calls: For having a face to face conversations with the team.

Here are different types of communication tools you can use:

Instant Messaging Tools:

Need an urgent response from team members? Instant messaging tools are the perfect options for sending messages in the blink of an eye. They help you instantly connect with your team for quick discussions and clarifications. Let’s have a look at some of the best instant messaging tools for remote teams:

Slack:

Slack is an extremely popular instant messaging widely used to manage the working of remote employees. It has several communication features, including, but not limited to private chats, integrations with collaboration tools like Jira and ClickUp, and Audio and Video calls. Slack Screenshot

Slack-Instant Messaging Tool

Here are some of the key features of the tool:

  • Channels:

With slack channels, conversations can be categorized into streamlined communication. As each team or project can use their own channel, you don’t have to scroll through hundreds of texts to find important messages.

  • Voice Chats and Video Calls:

Not everything can be discussed over text, right? Slack lets you quickly connect with your team members through audio or video calls. This feature is the best for impromptu conversations rather than in-depth conferences or meetings.

  • File Sharing:

Slack supports convenient file sharing from mobile devices and computers. Moreover, Slack can be easily integrated with Google Drive and Dropbox and lets you share cloud files without leaving the Slack interface.

Pricing:

The base plan of Slack is priced at $3.20/month per user. It supports unlimited messages and 10 GB of storage per member. If you want more storage options and advanced features, then you can go for their higher plans. Video Conferencing Tools: Video Conferencing Tools help you interact face-to-face with your team members. Video Conferencing can help you:

  • Explain tasks in detail
  • Host team discussions with prospects
  • Plan project roadmaps and hold reviews.

Here is one of the best video conferencing tools:

Zoom:

Zoom is a popular video conferencing tool that aids you in hosting webinars and HD calls. Zoom video call and screen sharing features, help team members conduct quick 1-on-1 check-ins and detailed meetings with team members.  

Zoom-Video Conferencing Tool Screenshot

Key Features:

  1. Full-Featured Meetings:

Zoom meetings have a myriad of features for remote teams. While they provide annotation features and basic screen sharing, you can also record meetings and search transcripts. Additionally, Zoom also has a cloud storage feature for video recordings if you don’t want to store them locally.

  1. Zoom Webinars:

With Zoom, hosting webinars is easier than ever. You can host up to 10,000 attendees and host webinars to social media like YouTube and Facebook Live. You can also use interactive features like chats and polls to keep live audiences engaged. Pricing Zoom has a free plan that supports up to 100 participants and HD video/voice call features. The paid version of the tool starts at $14.99/month per host and also includes features like cloud recording. Other than Zoom, there are also tools like Trello and Jira that help you conduct meeting with the remote team. Collaboration Tools Collaboration tools give your team virtual space through which they can work efficiently. Most collaboration tools also include project management and file-sharing features for seamless coordination between your projects. Here is a closer look at the best remote team collaboration tools available:

ProofHub

ProofHub Screenshot

ProofHub is an easy-to-use project management software that simplifies your task management and team collaboration. It lets you stay in ultimate control of your teams, tasks, projects and communications with its powerful features.

Key features

  1. Task management 

ProofHub gives you flexibility in task management. You can create simple to-do lists to add tasks with deadlines and assign them to team members or you can create custom boards for agile workflow management. You can even comment, attach files, and mention the team members.

  1. Real-time discussions

ProofHub provides a dedicated space to carry out discussions in real time. You can create discussion topics and subscribe to your team members. In addition, you also have an in-built chat feature for quick communications.

  1. Online proofing

ProofHub has a powerful online proofing feature that lets you collaborate on design files in real time. You can review files, add comments to share feedback, annotate using markup tools, and proof and approve them from one place.

Pricing

ProofHub offers a free trial, and its Ultimate Control pricing plan with unlimited users is available at $89 / per month. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, ProofHub is offering its project management software free for schools.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a project management tool that helps remote teams collaborate and communicate with ease. It can be easily integrated with tons of remote tools like Time Doctor, Slack, and GitHub. ClickUp is a top-notch solution for efficient team management. ClickUp Screenshot Key Features: Here is a better look at why ClickUp’s is an excellent collaboration tool for your remote team:

  1. Comment Sections:

Want to send quick messages to your team members without leaving your current tasks? ClickUp’s comment sections have a myriad of features for simpler and faster communication. It lets you reply to specific parts of a link or comment to another comment as reference. You can even format the task, attach files and mention other users and tasks. This increases accessibility and helps your team take action efficiently.

  1. Assigned Comments:

ClickUp lets you instantly turn the comments into tasks. You can assign these comments to any of the team member to remain them of the allotted task. Once this is done, they can simply resolve the comment. It is simple, quick and helps you instantly communicate the small tasks.

  1. Real-Time Collaboration:

ClickUp helps the remote coworkers to collaborate in real-time. The Collaboration Detection feature of the application lets you determine who else is viewing the same task as you. In addition to this, multiple team members can edit and work on the same task at the same time with Collaborative Editing Pricing The free ClickUp plan offers far greater functionality like unlimited users as compared to paid versions of Trello and Basecamp. Unlimited integrations, advanced reporting features and storage, which cost $9/month per user. Miscellaneous Tools Miscellaneous tools are remote platforms that don’t actually fit into communication category, however, they assist remote workers to collaborate with their team. This can include tools that help in the project management with the remote team amid Corona.

Loom:

A loom is a screencasting tool that lets you record your screen and share it with other team members. Loom Screenshot

What are screencasts?

Screencasts are look screenshots, but they are in video forms. They are perfect to explain to your remote team the new tasks and assignments. Instead of dictating instructions, you can send a video to your team members, showing them how to use a particular function.

Key Features:

  1. Audio, Video, and Face Recording:

Loom can take screencasts as well as record your voice and display your face. This enables you to explain the projects clearly to your team, without setting up a video conference.

  1. Universal Compatibility:

The loom is available as an app for Windows, iOS and Mac. It also has a Chrome extension that works within a browser for Android devices. This lets your entire access the tool, despite of the system you are using.

Pricing:

Loom’s free plan supports an unlimited number of videos. Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, Loom is offering an unlimited number of videos till July 1, 2020.

Zapier:

Remote teams often make use of several communication apps depending upon their needs. This makes coordinating between the apps time-consuming and complex. Zapier Screenshot Zapier is a great automation tool that boosts your existing communication platform. By integrating multiple tools together and creating automated workflows, Zapier helps you make the most of your favorite tools.

Features

Send Reminders and Tasks Zapier enables you to automate tasks and reminders for your team based on particular triggers. For example, you could receive a reminder to follow up every time someone replies to your email. This eliminates the need for you to remember these things, hence boosting your productivity in the long run.

Pricing:

Zapier’s free plan can automate 100 tasks/per month. The paid plan of Zapier includes more tasks and features starting at $24.99/month.

Top 13 Work-from-Home Tools to Manage Task 2023

With the number of COVID-19 cases rising exponentially in almost every country of the world, authorities across the globe are recommending social distancing as a preventive measure. Public places like malls, gyms, public pools, and movie theatres everything is getting shut down, along with workplaces.

Many private offices are following suit by providing work from home to employees. Sadly, managing the tasks while employees work from home is not as simple as it appears to be. You need to be super organized and arm yourself with the right set of tools. However, with the technology at your disposal, working from home is no longer an inconvenience.

Here is a list of applications that will help you manage the flow of work while employees are working from due to quarantine:

For Virtual Meetings

Following are the applications that can be used to conduct virtual meetings without any obstacles:

1. TeamViewer:

TeamViewer is a leading all-in-one solution for remote support. TeamViewer enables you to remotely access the desktop and servers from anywhere using an internet connection. TeamViewer is completely secure and can be operated on any modern smartphone.

Here are some of the features of the tool:

  • Remote Device Control
  • Cross-platform access and VPN alternative
  • iOS screen sharing
  • Mobile Device Access
  • Flexible File Sharing
  • Remote Printing

Pricing:

The Business for Single User is available at $18.18 per month. A premium subscription to the application is available $35.69 per month and a corporate subscription at $84.18 per month.

Read More: 5 Design and Development Tools to Boost the Productivity of your Remote Team

2. Microsoft Teams:

Microsoft Teams is a robust collaboration platform that combines video conferencing, instant messaging, file sharing, and project management capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft tools, making it an attractive option for organizations already using the Microsoft ecosystem. Features:

  • Video and audio conferencing with screen sharing
  • Chat-based communication with threaded conversations
  • Integration with Microsoft Office Suite
  • File storage and sharing through SharePoint
  • Project management and task assignment
  • Guest access for external collaborators

Pricing: Microsoft Teams offers the following pricing plans:

  • Free plan: Suitable for small teams and personal use with basic features.
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($5/user/month): Includes Teams, email, and cloud storage.
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard ($12.50/user/month): Offers advanced Teams features, desktop apps, and cloud services.
  • Microsoft 365 E3 ($20/user/month): Designed for enterprises, providing advanced security and compliance features.

3. Webex by Cisco:

Cisco Webex is a reliable and secure platform for virtual meetings and webinars. It provides a comprehensive set of features suitable for businesses of all sizes. Features:

  • High-quality video and audio conferencing
  • Interactive whiteboarding and screen sharing
  • Meeting recordings and transcriptions
  • Breakout sessions for smaller group discussions
  • Virtual backgrounds and filters
  • Integration with calendars and third-party applications

Pricing: Cisco Webex offers the following pricing plans:

  • Free plan: Suitable for personal use with limited features.
  • Webex Starter ($13.50/host/month):

For Work Management

1. Trello:

Trello has boards, lists, and cards, which enable you to organize and prioritize your work in a fun and flexible way. Trello makes it easy to collaborate on projects from beginning to end. You can easily dive into the details by adding attachments; due dates and more directly to Trello cards.

Here are some of the features of the tool:

  • A detailed and quick overview of front/back cards
  • In-line editing and data filters
  • Automated email notification
  • Easy, drag-and-drop editing
  • Information retrieval and backup

Pricing:

The starting pricing of Trello is $5/user and the application also comes with a free trial.

2. Asana:

Asana is again a widely popular work management platform that helps you organize your work in a way that is best for you. Asana lets you set priorities and deadlines, and follow projects and tasks through every stage. With Asana, you will be in a consistent track of the status of your work and keep everyone aligned on goals.

Here are some of the features of the tool:

  • It allows you to create tasks, subtasks, milestones, task assignees, and sections.
  • Easily know where your work stands with reporting.
  • Permission and privacy controls
  • Allow you to tie your communications based on team, projects and tasks
  • It can be easily integrated into other tools.

Pricing

The basic version of the application is free of cost, whereas the Premium version is available at $10.99 and the Business version is available at $24.99. For the Enterprise version, you can contact the sales team of the tool.

3. Monday.com:

Monday.com is a versatile work management platform that combines project management, collaboration, and automation features. It provides teams with a visual and intuitive interface to streamline workflows and boost productivity. Features:

  • Customizable dashboards and boards for the task and project management
  • Timeline and Gantt chart view for tracking progress
  • Communication and collaboration through updates and mentions
  • File sharing and integration with cloud storage platforms
  • Automation of repetitive tasks and processes
  • Reporting and analytics for performance tracking

Pricing: Monday.com offers the following pricing plans:

  • Basic plan ($8/user/month): Suitable for small teams with core features and limited users.
  • Standard plan ($10/user/month): Ideal for growing teams with advanced features and additional automations.
  • Pro plan ($16/user/month): Designed for larger teams with advanced customization options and integrations.
  • Enterprise plan (custom pricing): Tailored solutions for larger organizations with advanced security and dedicated support.

4. Wrike:

Wrike is a robust work management and collaboration tool that empowers teams to plan, organize, and execute projects efficiently. It provides a comprehensive set of features to streamline workflows and enhance team productivity. Features:

  • Task and project management with customizable workflows
  • Time tracking and resource management
  • Collaboration through real-time discussions and document sharing
  • Request forms and approvals for streamlined processes
  • Reporting and analytics for performance insights
  • Integration with popular tools and software

Pricing: Wrike offers the following pricing plans:

  • Free plan: Suitable for small teams or personal use with basic features and limited users.
  • Professional plan ($9.80/user/month): Ideal for teams looking for comprehensive project management capabilities and advanced collaboration features.
  • Business plan ($24.80/user/month): Designed for larger teams or organizations with robust work management features, customization options, and advanced security.
  • Enterprise plan (custom pricing): Tailored solutions for large-scale enterprises with advanced security, dedicated support, and additional customization options.

Document Management

  1. Quip:

Quip has completely transformed the way enterprises work together by delivering modern collaboration securely any device. Quip lets you transform processes like Mutual Close Plans, Account Planning and Case Swarms.

Here are some of the features of the tool:

  • You can Quip’s documents into offline modes, can give permissions to different users and also check the version history
  • Quip provides spreadsheets that come with collaborative editing, are mobile-ready and can be embedded into docs.
  • Slides in Quip come with real-time co-editing, connective live data and feedback polls.
  • Quip also offers 1-on-1 chat options, you are allowed to comment on anything and also have team chat rooms.

Pricing:

The Starter plan of Quip is available at $10/user/month, Enterprise plan at $25/user/month and you can request a quote for a more advanced plan.

2. Dropbox:

Dropbox lets you organize traditional files, cloud content, web shortcuts and Dropbox Paper docs all into one place. Personalized suggestions are also provided by the application which lets you find files and folders easily and you don’t have to spend much time searching.

Here are some of the features of the tool:

  • Enables to store and access files from anywhere
  • Cloud content and Microsoft office can be directly edited in Dropbox
  • Plan meetings with calendar integration
  • Use note-taking templates

Pricing:

The basic version of Dropbox is available at $9.99/month, whereas the Professional version is available at $16.58/month. There is also a Standard and Advanced version of the application available for teams.

3. Google Drive:

Google Drive is a widely used cloud-based document management tool that offers a comprehensive suite of features for file storage, organization, and collaboration. With its seamless integration with other Google Workspace applications, it has become a popular choice for individuals and businesses. Features:

  • Generous free storage space with the option to purchase additional storage
  • Online file storage and synchronization across devices
  • Document creation, editing, and collaboration in real-time
  • File sharing and permission controls
  • Integration with other Google Workspace tools like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
  • Version history and revision tracking

Pricing: Google Drive offers the following pricing plans:

  • 15 GB of free storage
  • Google One plans: Starting at $1.99/month for 100 GB, with options for higher storage capacities.

4. Microsoft OneDrive:

Microsoft OneDrive is a popular cloud-based document management tool integrated with the Microsoft 365 suite. It offers seamless file storage, sharing, and collaboration features for individuals and organizations. Features:

  • Generous storage space and synchronization across devices
  • File sharing and collaboration with real-time editing
  • Advanced security features and compliance options
  • Integration with Microsoft Office applications
  • Version control and file recovery options
  • Co-authoring and commenting features

Pricing: Microsoft OneDrive offers the following pricing plans:

  • Microsoft 365 Personal ($6.99/month or $69.99/year): 1 TB of storage and access to Microsoft Office applications.
  • Microsoft 365 Family ($9.99/month or $99.99/year): 6 TB of storage (1 TB per user) and access to Microsoft Office applications for up to six users.
  • Microsoft 365 Business (custom pricing): Tailored solutions for small to large businesses with additional security and collaboration features.

5. Evernote:

Evernote is a versatile note-taking and document management tool that helps individuals and teams capture, organize, and find information effectively. It is known for its powerful search capabilities and cross-platform availability. Features:

  • Note creation and organization with tags and notebooks
  • Web clipping and bookmarking
  • Document scanning and OCR (optical character recognition)
  • Collaboration and sharing options
  • Advanced search capabilities
  • Integration with third-party applications

Pricing: Evernote offers the following pricing plans:

  • Basic plan (free): Limited storage

How to manage tasks during work-from-home

 

What Made Zoom Dominate the Video-Conferencing Market Despite its Shortcomings?

What made Zoom the biggest player in video conferencing apps?

The above question has led a lot of businessmen, IT enthusiasts, and developers worth ponder.
Has the pandemic helped Zoom rise to be the second most downloaded app in the world? Let’s take a glance at the figures before delving any further into this topic.
If the figures are to be believed, then we are already nodding our heads in affirmation.

The world is battling a pandemic and to protect ourselves, WE among the ten million are working from home by using the Zoom app to connect with colleagues or clients.

The popular teleconferencing tool was already a dominant name in the video conferencing market, but to adapt to the current social distancing norms, it has become a household name. Now you may wonder why. Well, it can be due to the easy connecting approach with your friends, relatives, and co-workers and the second reason can be the various advantages it proffers to its users. If you are already familiar with the workings of the app, then you might know that it provides more time to interact as compared to its counterparts.

Some insights supporting the facts-

Moreover, if we have a glance at the stats, we may find that around May 15 2020, Zoom’s market capitalization witnessed an upsurge skyrocketing to exactly $48.8 billion only in the three months of lockdown. Due to its innumerable benefits such as easy to use interface, it has been used by people of all walks of life. The doctors are using it for team meetings, the offices are using it to plan important discussions or brainstorming sessions and the educators are employing the same to conduct online classes.

Therefore, the figures have increased from 10 million in December to a whopping figure of 300 million meetings in April 2020. As of July 2020, it was found out that the worth of Zoom is more than the biggest and renowned airlines. It can also be due to the airline’s operations witnessing a standstill and hold due to the current pandemic. But, no matter what, the revenues generated by Zoom alone are far more compared to the 7- biggest airlines in the world. The firm counted over 300 million daily users & the number of those paying to use the app has also increased gradually.

But now you may wonder how such software even came into existence.
Mr Yuan did not first plan to create Zoom for the general public. The Chinese-born software engineer faced doubts when he tried to pitch the investors. Some did not even believe in his innovation, and few of them felt that there was already Microsoft and Cisco providing such services. What made Zoom wired differently to make such an impact?

It also has competitors who are giant players namely, Microsoft, Google, and Jio. Speaking of Google Duo, it is currently working to increase the number of group participants to the number 32 or more. Moreover, seeing the current growth in the market, Facebook has mapped the possibilities and has invested around $5.7 billion to improve digital services across the globe. With such competitors, the Zoom team indeed has much to worry about the serving on their plate.

And, if statistics are to be believed, people prefer Zoom more than its already existing counterparts. Did you know Zoom has built-in beautification filters that can help you look more appealing and flawless in your office video meetings? To add to this, it also provides you with a plethora of background options, no matter where you are, you can always opt for Zoom.
Let’s have a look at the advantages this app has to offer to its users, all around the globe.

1. Video conferencing anytime, anywhere:

Zoom allows you to change or alter the background accordingly so you can connect with your team no matter where you are.
Moreover, it is built in a way that it works with wireless, wired and Wi-Fi networks for no hassle.
The participants can join via a link, telephonic dial-in, or even H.323/SIP room system.

2. Team management tool:

Zoom has a feature that allows you to organize meetings, and webinars, plan a meeting, and share a link with the participants so that they can be present on time, avoiding delay.
Not only this, it allows you to connect with over 40 participants over once in a not-so-paid trial.
You can interact with means of videos, chat, and share opinions or share the slides with the participants.

3. Software-based collaboration solution in their custom-designed Zoom rooms:

It is ideal for any business because it provides features such as
A Zoom room supports MP4A or MP4 recording that can offer required high-quality audio. Speaking of which, it provides its users with dynamic audio detection features that improve the standard of any virtual meeting.

4. It allows the host to one touch controls:

If you are an admin of a Zoom call or meeting, then according to your requirement or convenience you can mute your participants in just one go. Therefore it omits the chances of any other voice distribution and puts you in a feel of the virtual video meeting.
5. It offers the feature of high quality recordings-
If you don’t want to miss on any important point then you can always record the video meet for the future use. It can be done because of its HD quality MP4 as well as MP4A formats.
6. It is indeed a powerful collaboration tool-
Do you know Zoom allows a feature of white boarding? Yes, you can take notes, or even draw to make your participants understand better and share the same.
Not only this, if you need to show a presentation or explain using some stats you can always do by opting the screen sharing feature.

7. And did you know, it offers budget-friendly plans?

Zoom has everything in store for the free users as well as the buyers of its meeting plan.
If you are thinking that the meeting should have brainstorming session after your presentation, and it might take more than 40 minutes you can always choose a plan.
The plans are very reasonable priced and it allows 1 hour of video meet with 1000 participants in one go.

With such advantages, we wonder what went wrong.

Well, the journey has not been a smooth sailing one for the company. With the series of Zoom-bombing events such as the one where Zoom users found themselves less safe while operating a video conference. They claimed that the software or the app breached their privacy and shared the data to Facebook. All the apps that we use today provide us with a notification that it is end-to-end encrypted, but what about Zoom?

There was an incident where a group of uninvited users hijacked one of the Zoom meetings and thus raising questions on its overall security. With such prevalent issues surfacing and doubts popping up in the heads of their users, people are finding themselves in two minds. They are thinking to switch to the popular Internet giants, such as Microsoft and Google. But, wait, does this thought rings a bell for you?

The need of an hour is to understand the necessity, grab the opportunity and innovate! The residents of this planet are battling and adopting a new culture called the new normal. It paved the way and thus leads to the rise of video communication tools that assure us that our data is protected no matter what the cost.

If you are a business and looking for an opportunity to make a name for yourself, then this is the time. After all, success comes to those who know how to cater to the needs of their audience. But, you may be wondering if creating an app like Zoom is easy?

What all requirements do you need to have to design an app that not only befits to the user’s video conferencing needs but also provides them with a plethora of advantages that their counterparts failed to offer?

The questions or the doubts we are facing are countless. But fret not, with the right offshore development team, you can easily find answers. The right company will guide you throughout the app-making process and will fill you in with concerned responses.

Speaking of which, the preferred app development company should have a team of experts mainly-
1 Project Manager
2. 1-2 iOS Developers
3. 1-2 Android Developers
4. 1-2 UI/UX Designers
5. 1 Backend Developers
6. 2 QA Specialists
7. 6. Tech lead

Additional things to keep in mind-

The person guiding the team should have analyzed and studied the market thoroughly. And when in need, should plan the layout for all the team members to stick by. Moreover, if you have all the experienced men in the team, right tools, and a perfect map, then it may take near to about 1400- 1500 man-hours to create an app like Zoom.
Once the app is created, run quality checks. Moreover, do not forget to add your value to this app. It will be its selling point or USP. It will be the one that helps you to cover the shortcomings of the former app while providing the baffled users with something of value. If you are looking for an expert guide who will consult and provide you with the state of art app development services in India then look no further and contact us!

Hire Dedicated Remote Developers from Graffersid

Are you in need of talented remote developers for your projects? Look no further! Graffersid has a pool of highly skilled and experienced remote developers ready to take on your development tasks. Whether you require web development, mobile app development, or any other technical expertise, our team can deliver top-notch solutions tailored to your specific requirements. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to work with our dedicated and talented developers who are well-versed in the latest technologies and frameworks. Boost your development capabilities and meet your project deadlines with ease by hiring remote developers from Graffersid. Visit our website or contact us today to explore the possibilities and take your projects to new heights. Don’t wait, start building your dream team of remote developers now!

Related Posts

Hire Dedicated Remote Developers from GraffersID

Onboard dedicated remote developers to your project as quickly as in 2 days. If at any point in time, you feel the developer is not performing as per expectation, you can ask for replacement or end the contract with 0 penalties.

Get Your Free eBook!

Are you ready to dive into a world of tech insights, tips, and inspiration? Grab your copy of our exclusive eBooks – available for free download.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get in touch with us

The messages should not exceed 300 words

DMCA.com Protection Status

Looking for vetted developer / offshore development center?

Connect with GraffersID experts to hire remote developer on contractual basis.