What makes a good team collaboration tool?
Good team collaboration software facilitates efficient and productive teamwork by offering user-friendly features, real-time feedback, file-sharing capabilities, secure communication options, project tracking, task assignment, deadline setting, and cross-device accessibility.
It offers all these features in a systematic manner, making them easy to use together for individual and team needs, regardless of their location.
What are the different types of teamwork & collaboration tools?
Collaboration tools play a key role in enabling efficient teamwork and communication within organizations. They come in various types, each catering to specific aspects of online collaboration.
Some of these include:
Messaging and Video conferencing – These are essential for real-time communication. They enable teams to chat, exchange files, and hold virtual meetings, fostering instant communication and quick decision-making
Project Management – Project management tools help team members organize, plan, and track the progress of their projects. They provide features for task management, scheduling, assigning responsibilities, and monitoring deadlines.
Knowledge Management – Knowledge management tools assist in capturing, organizing, and sharing information within an organization. They include features such as document storage, version control, collaborative editing, and search capabilities.
Design – Design tools allow designers to work together, share design files, provide feedback, and iterate on designs collaboratively.
In this article, we will explore different types of online collaboration tools that are perfect for remote teams.
1. Slack
Slack is one of the popular digital collaboration tools that aid team communication and productivity. The messaging app offers a variety of communication options, including direct messaging and group chats. Users can quickly exchange messages, share files, and even make voice or video calls, all within the same interface. With its integration capabilities, you can directly connect various tools and services to Slack, streamlining multiple workflows.
Pros:
- Streamlines team communication
- Offers extensive integration options
- Facilitates easy file sharing and remote collaboration
Cons:
- The constant team chat can be distracting
- Can be expensive for larger teams
- Could result in information overload
“What we like about Slack is that it allows smooth and effective communication between team members, regardless of location or time difference. Overuse of Slack can be counterproductive. The sheer volume of messages and notifications can overwhelm and distract team members, negatively impacting productivity.”
– G2
2. MS Teams
Another strong collaboration tool, Microsoft Teams, enables teams to collaborate and share files quickly. Teams make communication easy through instant messaging, audio, and video calls. Teams integrate seamlessly with other Microsoft applications, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, ensuring smooth workflow integration, especially for remote work.
Pros:
- Integrates well with all Microsoft applications
- One platform for all kinds of communication (audio/visual)
- Easy to set up
Cons:
- The software can be demanding on system requirements
- Users have complained about its poor user-interface
- Certain features and integrations may require additional paid subscriptions or licenses
– G2
“One aspect that I find could be improved in Microsoft Teams is the learning curve for new users. It may take some time for individuals who are less familiar with Microsoft Office products to navigate through the various features and settings.”
3. Tettra
Use it for: Sharing your company knowledge
Tettra is an AI-powered knowledge management system that helps you curate important company information into a knowledge base, use it to answer repetitive questions in Slack and MS Teams, and keep it up-to-date and organized with automation. Use Tettra to verify your documents, and link out to Google Docs or Notion.
Pros:
- It is easy to use and has a simple, user-friendly interface.
- It integrates with Slack, Google Drive, MS Teams, and other popular tools.
- It has a powerful context-driven search feature that lets you find any information in seconds.
- Its AI-powered knowledge base uses machine learning algorithms to recognize and tag information accurately.
- It keeps the knowledge base organized and up-to-date and helps users quickly find the necessary information.
Cons:
- It can be difficult to keep the knowledge base up-to-date.
- Not SOC-2 Compliant
- Free up to 5 users
- Scaling: $8.33 per user/month
- Professional: $16.66 per user/month
Tettra makes knowledge sharing easy by making their experience seamless and easy to use, even if you have never done any documentation before! You can get started without needing any expertise in Knowledge management and even share docs directly in communication channels like Slack to better promote your referenced information.
– G2
4. Zoom
Zoom, a highly popular online video conferencing tool, is used extensively in remote companies. It’s a user-friendly platform that supports audio and video calls, team chats, and fun interactive features like reactions to enhance virtual communication.
Pros:
- Offers high-quality audio and video conferencing ability
- Easy screen-sharing and other collaborative features
- User-friendly interface
Cons:
- Regular usage can take up significant bandwidth and system resources
- Free version comes with certain limitations
- Has experienced security and privacy concerns in the past
“Zoom is an easy-to-use video conferencing platform with clear audio and video. One common dislike about Zoom is the potential for technical issues, such as audio or video glitches, which can interrupt meetings.”
– G2
5. Notion
Notion empowers online collaboration by creating and customizing workspaces, combining notes, tasks, project management, documents, and databases in one place.
This centralized approach enables fast team collaboration, knowledge management, and project management. With real-time collaboration, commenting, and task assignment features, Notion promotes efficient communication, coordination, and accountability among team members.
- Check out Notion alternatives for knowledge sharing
Pros:
- Good way to organize information and share files
- Offers real-time editing and commenting features
- Integrates well with various content types, including notes, tasks, and databases
Cons:
- Fairly steep learning curve
- Free version comes with a lot of limitations
- Maintaining consistency and structure with complex projects can be difficult
“Notion has quite a lots of the templates that I can use. I am thinking if they could have a better search functions or make the tag or label to be more visible, it would encourage people to use it.”
– G2
6. Asana
Asana is an online platform that helps you handle your projects and work with your team. It lets you organize your project, decide which projects are most important, work together with others, and keep track of how things are going. With Asana, you can manage your entire project from beginning to end in one convenient location.
Pros:
- Intuitive user interface
- Makes project management easier by giving an umbrella view of tasks
- Free plan can suffice for smaller teams and organizations
Cons:
- You can’t assign one task to multiple people
- Can be overwhelming for new users
- Doesn’t offer 2FA
“You can automate many things and constantly be updated on what step of a project you are on. You are pretty limited with the free version as the different views you can use. The timeline view is most helpful but only available on the paid version.”
– G2
7. Monday
Monday is a versatile collaboration tool that helps with tasks like managing projects, recruiting, marketing, and customer relations. Trusted by big companies like Adobe, Coca-Cola, and L’Oreal, Monday is the solution for organizing, monitoring, and completing your team’s projects.
Pros:
- Customizable and visually appealing interface
- Strong project management features
- Offers a wide range of templates for different industries
Cons:
- Can be expensive for larger teams
- Steep learning curve
- May lack advanced features required for complex projects
“I love the unlimited options for organizing information and projects as well as the different layouts. Unfortunately for us, getting our employees to actually buy in was quite difficult. While it seems pretty straight forward to set up, we found difficulty in organizing our thoughts to best help us within the platform.”
– G2
8. Height.app
Height.app is another excellent collaboration tool designed to elevate team productivity and streamline workflows. The platforms enable teams to effectively manage tasks, projects, and goals in one centralized platform. It facilitates strong collaboration through features such as shared task lists, real-time updates, and progress tracking.
Pros:
- Offers good reporting and analytics capabilities
- Offers a user-friendly interface
- Supports integrations with popular third-party apps
Cons:
- Lacks many advanced features as some other collaboration tools
- Free version offers limited functionality
- Specific customization options may require higher-priced plans
No reviews on G2 and Capterra.
9. Guru
Guru allows teams to create a centralized knowledge base accessible to all members, ensuring easy access to critical information. The app promotes collaboration through features like real-time updates, feedback, and suggestions, enabling teams to improve their knowledge resources continuously. Guru seamlessly integrates with existing workflows, increasing productivity and empowering teams to work more efficiently.
- Compare the pros/cons of Guru with other alternatives
Pros:
- Offers a user-friendly interface
- Real-time updates that allow you to stay on top of things
- Supports integrations with other tools
Cons:
- The advanced features may require some getting used to
- May not be suitable for companies that require specific knowledge management tools
- Don’t have the best customer support
“Users may appreciate Guru’s ability to create and share knowledge bases, collaborate on documents, automate workflows, and integrate with other tools. The interface and navigation can be overwhelming for new users, and the learning curve may be steep for some individuals.”
– G2
10. Github
Besides just storing code, GitHub can be a robust collaboration tool, offering many benefits for improving business productivity. With GitHub’s features, teams can effectively handle projects, track tasks, and improve workflows. The platform promotes easy communication and teamwork through features like issue tracking, pull requests, and discussions.
Pros:
- Offers a centralized platform for communication
- Integrations and APIs allow for smoother workflow automation
- Access to a solid open-source community
Cons:
- The steep learning curve for newbies
- Limited options available on the free plan
- Not as comprehensive as other collaboration tools
“Complete documentation that allows you to ask questions about almost everything. Ease of use. Sometimes it slows down or crashes on one-off events.”
– G2
11. Trello
Trello is a user-friendly tool that uses Kanban boards to help you manage projects and tasks. With its simple card movement, you can easily organize your workflow and rearrange tasks as needed. The tool also enables you to integrate your projects with other apps and collaborate smoothly with your team.
Pros:
- Easy drag-and-drop functionality
- Comments within tasks allow for real-time feedback
- Cards within boards to highlight individual tasks
Cons:
- Lack of advanced features may be limiting for complex projects
- User interface can become cluttered and overwhelming
- Limited customer support options
“Ease of use – incredibly simple user interface with intuitive and easy to understand features. After a board becomes filled with cards and lists it becomes incredibly slow, to the point of being unusable.”
– G2
12. Google Docs
With Google Docs’ cloud-based platform, team members can simultaneously work on the same document, making real-time changes and providing instant feedback. The app offers great collaboration features like commenting, suggesting edits, and revision history, ensuring clear communication and a streamlined workflow. Google Docs also allows for easy sharing and access control, allowing teams to collaborate efficiently.
- Review top Google Docs alternatives for knowledge management
Pros:
- Provides real-time collaboration
- Offers cloud-based saving and version history
- Offers easy sharing and access control
Cons:
- Limited offline editing functionality
- Limited advanced formatting options
- Large documents can slow down performance
“Google Workspace offers a comprehensive suite of features for organisations, making it a reliable solution. While it is challenging to identify any significant issues with the platform, there is room for improvement in customer support services.”
– G2
13. Dropbox Paper
With Dropbox Paper, teams can easily create, edit, and collaborate on documents in real time. It offers seamless integration with other Dropbox services, making storing and accessing files effortless. The platform promotes clear communication through features like comments, notifications, and task assignments, enabling smooth collaboration and progress tracking.
Pros:
- Clean and intuitive interface
- Real-time editing and integration with Dropbox
- Offers mobile apps for on-the-go collaboration
Cons:
- Lacks advanced formatting options
- Lacks customization options compared to other collaboration tools
- Free version has limitations on storage space
“I love how easy it is to collaborate on documents with team members. The one thing I dislike about Dropbox Paper is that some of its competitors are more user friendly.”
– G2
14. Figma
With Figma’s cloud-based platform, teams can collaborate in real time, making simultaneous edits and providing instant feedback. The platform offers robust design and prototyping features, making creating interactive and high-fidelity prototypes easy. With its robust version control and commenting capabilities, Figma facilitates effective communication and streamlines the design process, making it an indispensable tool for collaborative design teams.
Pros:
- Offers real-time collaboration
- Provides strong design and prototyping capabilities
- Supports seamless handoff to developers
Cons:
- Complex designs can sometimes lead to performance issues
- Collaborating can be challenging with many users
- No offline editing capabilities
“I love its simplicity, and the web first approach; the free version of the software includes all the necessary functions as well, which is not usually the case with other design software.”
– G2
15. Miro
Miro is an online tool allowing teams to collaborate and work together, regardless of location. Miro offers a virtual whiteboard experience, enabling teams to brainstorm, ideate, and plan projects collaboratively. The platform provides various interactive templates and tools, facilitating efficient communication and idea sharing.
Pros:
- Offers a visually engaging and intuitive interface
- Provides a wide range of interactive templates
- Integrates well with popular video conferencing platforms
Cons:
- Pricing can be costly for larger teams
- Learning curve can be steep for new users
- Users have encountered occasional lags or performance issues
“With its user-friendly interface, Miro is a collaboration and presentation tool that is accessible to anyone, allowing for seamless adoption and usage. Navigating through a board on Miro without a mouse can be challenging, especially when it comes to tasks like scaling or moving to another section.”
– G2
How do I choose the best collaboration tools for my business?
Choosing the best digital collaboration tools for your business can feel overwhelming. There are many options, and most offer more or less similar features. But choosing one that works for your team is crucial for effective collaboration and communication.
To make the right choice, consider the following factors:
- Determine the type of collaboration, such as real-time team communication or project management.
- Assess the devices and operating systems your team uses to ensure compatibility and seamless access.
- Compare the features of different tools, including user-friendliness, advanced analytics, and integration capabilities.
- Make a decision based on tools that are easy to use and provide the necessary features for your team’s requirements.
- Implementing the right collaboration tools will enhance your team’s productivity and efficiency, ultimately benefiting your business’s outcomes.
- How does your team work? Hybrid, in-office, or remote? Remote collaboration will need a different set of of software.
Once you have considered all the factors above, narrow down your choice to the software apps that are easy to use and provide all the features your team needs. The right collaboration tools will help your team work more effectively and efficiently, leading to better outcomes for your business.