The lockdown period has forced many industries to work remotely in this era of self-isolation. The period has witnessed largescale changes in operations and workflows in offices that have significantly impacted the way teams and personnel function with each other.

While there are mixed opinions floating around the nature of working from home, its importance has nevertheless increased manifold. People from various industries are trying to adapt to this technology and way of working. Remote working also brings a challenge not only to teams but managers as well. Building a strategy for successful team management is the need of the hour.

Remote working does have certain benefits as well. It brings along with it certain advantages like the comfort of working from home, absence of the need to travel, and better time management for personal life. However, when it comes to having a streamlined workflow, remote work is a double-edged sword. One has to have the right mindset and the right tools to be successful at remote working. Let’s have a look at some of the favorite tools that have made many teams successful over the years by adopting remote work:

Best Communication Tools:

Efficient communication is key to having a successful workforce and with the right communication tools and strategies, projects can be managed in a much more streamlined fashion.

Slack: Slack is one of the most popular chat platforms out there and is used by quite a lot of companies for efficient communication. With capabilities such as file sharing, video calling, and integrations with Google Calendar and Jira, Slack is one of the best ways to have all your communications in one place.

Mattermost: Providing multi-channel, internal communication, Mattermost is a communication and collaboration platform that is best for leading organizations as it provides cloud-based, highly scalable messaging across the web.

Google Meet: Google Meet promises uncompromised collaborations and team interactions remotely. All a user needs is a device and a stable internet connection to use Google Meet. Offering shared drive collaborations, video-first meetings, and messaging capabilities, Google Meet is a good choice for those looking for a robust communication tool.

Best Time Management Tool:

Working remotely makes time management a crucial element when it comes to efficiency. Absence of a proper office space may cause people to slack off and it is for these times that employees require time management tools:

Google Calendar: Google Calendar hands down wins the spot for the best tool employees can use to keep track of their schedules and to plan things according to a certain timeline. From team meetings to daily huddles, vacation coverages, as well as work sessions, everything can be scheduled and kept track of using Google Calendar.

Best Project Management Tool:

Management is as essential as communication and in this age of remote working. Employees need to have certain management tools that help them in performing excellently and contributing smoothly on projects to initiate a much faster workflow than before. Here are some of the best project management tools:

Jira: Jira is one of the most famous project management tools. Designed especially for those who incorporate agile development, it helps in planning, tracking, reviewing as well as collaboration over projects for companies. Owned by Atlassian, it provides an unparalleled working environment, specifically for those who value efficiency over anything.

Trello: Trello, a lightweight, web-based project management solution, originally created by Fog is another product that is owned by Atlassian. It provides a digital dashboard to its users where they can create, classify and assign projects to other team members. Collaboration with peers is easy and efficient with Trello.

Best Development Tool:

GitHub: GitHub is a popular development tool that is used for version control and for keeping a track of all the changes in files and systems. Developers and students working in the field of product development love using GitHub for it provides a landscape that offers a creation of repositories for codes. GitHub takes into consideration that one does not override someone else’s code and its ability to keep a track of the history of changes makes it a lifesaver for those who often collaborate over projects.

Best Tool for Meetings and Presentations:

In an age of remote working, meetings and presentations take up virtual space and there are certain tools that can be employed to have the same kind of atmosphere one would have in a regular office space:

Zoom: Zoom has witnessed a boom in terms of its popularity over the course of the lockdown that came in place ever since the world was struck by COVID-19. Becoming the number one app on the Play Store, ahead of giants like Whatsapp and Tiktok, Zoom offers video calling, virtual meetings, and remote presentations, all in one place. Perfect for a remote setup, the tool functions as a reliable and robust application for teleconferencing and face-timing with your peers. It has moved beyond the regular corporate atmosphere to cater to students and professors in universities as well.

Skype: A favorite among people in general, Skype is also one of the most sought after solutions for teleconferencing. Whether it’s a small startup or a big corporation, skype offers immense feasibility and ease of access in its usage while not compromising on quality. Used by corporations as well as students and people in general, skype is close in competition with zoom over the largest number of subscribers.

Best Tools for File Sharing and Note-Taking:

File sharing and taking notes in the era of remote work is easier than ever with the kind of tools that are available on the internet:

Evernote:Considered the king of note-taking apps, Evernote provides the best-in-class note-taking and documentation features that one can find. Its capabilities surpass that of its competitors.

Google Drive: One of the best cloud collaboration tools out there, with the capability of syncing multiple systems that allow users to easily share large datasets and files. Google Drive is the best collaborative file-sharing software on the internet right now.

These are some of the best remote working tools that have gained a massive following and customer base after the shutdown period began. As industries and corporations tackle the fundamental shifts that have come about with the spread of the virus, these tools offer visionaries a chance to bounce back and not just survive but thrive in the new work atmosphere that is rapidly shaping up.