Best Collaboration Tools

Remote software development refers to the practice where the development environment is hosted externally (rather than on servers on local intranet), facilitating way for members of the development team to connect remotely and perform their development activities.

One of the prominent trends in software development is incremental shift from monolithic applications to microservices based architecture. This migrates many applications to distributed systems. Faster adoption of cloud technologies is also encouraging setup of remote/distributed development teams. Restricted movement during covid-19 pandemic accelerated this transition.

To obtain the desired productivity from a remote development team, every business must invest in remote work environment tools. It helps to overcome any obstacles related to time management and active collaboration. In this article, we will explore some tools which not only boosts collaboration and productivity of remote development teams but also makes project management efficient.

Jira – The ultimate project management tool for planning, tracking, and shipping software projects

It is a popular project management software which offers collaborative tools, scrum and Kanban boards, roadmaps, insights via reports and dashboards, bug tracking, workflow customization, drag and drop automation and integration with a large number of applications to assist your team’s remote development journey and taking their productivity to next level. It is free for small teams up-to 10 users. The paid plan for Jira starts at %7.50 per user on monthly basis.

GitHub – a go-to platform for remote software development

If you are in tech space, there is a thin chance that you have not heard about GitHub. It is most popular remote tool among software developers as it offers version control, collaboration and other features to very large teams and open-source organizations across the globe. As of writing of this article, GitHub has 83+ million developers, 4+ million organizations, and 200+ million repositories on its platform. Almost 90% of Fortune 500 companies use GitHub for their software projects. Its basic feature set is free for individuals and organizations while advanced Team collaboration plan start at $44 per user on yearly plan.

Basecamp– A real time project management and collaboration platform

Basecamp is a popular project management and collaboration solution. It helps to improve communication, time management skills, accountability, and productivity among team members. It offers features like group chats, message boards, to-do lists, scheduling, file sharing and integrations with many other applications. As of this writing, it is offered 100% free for up-to three users for a period of 12 months and business plan costs $11 per month per user.

Zoom– A popular cloud-based video conferencing platform

Zoom was one of the most talked about applications during covid-19 pandemic due to huge rise in its customer base across the globe. The USP of this video conferencing service is its integration with Google Calendar and seamless communication experience over a variety of devices including computers, mobile phones, tablets etc regardless of the physical location. It also enables users to record meetings which is great for documentation or training purposes. Its basic plan is free for usage while premium ones start from around $149.90 per user per year.

Webex – Leading enterprise solution for online communication from Cisco

Webex is a cloud based collaborating tool which can be used for calls, video conferencing, messaging, polling, online events among teams of all sizes regardless of their physical location. It enhances the collaborative capabilities of distributed teams. Its “Call Me” feature is popular among corporate users due to the ease with which even people naïve to conferencing platforms can join meeting without any hassle. As of this writing, Webex offers a free basic plan for meetings up to 40 minutes with one host and up-to 99 attendees. Its business plan starts from $270 per user on yearly basis.

Asana – web/app-based work management platform

Asana is a popular web and mobile based work management platform which can serve as a go-to solution for a team’s remote work requirements. Its USP lies in support for agile project management via sprint planning, scrum, Kanban boards, bug tracking, product launches etc. It supports integrations with 200+ third party applications. Automation of routine work processes, multiple project views and robust chat and file sharing collaboration adds to its appeal for remote development teams. It is available free of cost on basic plan while premium one starts from $10.99 per user per month.

Slack – collaboration tool connecting users to information

A list of remote collaboration tools will be incomplete without mentioning slack. This tool offers real-time messaging and calling capabilities. The USP of slack are channels which are organised spaces for various teams at work. The organised flow of information via channels makes sure it reaches the intended audience in time and everyone can be on same page. It is highly flexible and can be configured depending on business use case. Workflows can help in automating repetitive tasks so users can get answers or approvals at a faster pace. It is available as a free tier with basic features while premium plans start at less than $7 per month.

Google Workspace – Formerly known as G Suite

Collaboration is the lifeline of a remote team irrespective of the functional area. Google’s workspace helps you with email messaging, real time chats, file sharing and storage or online editing of documents by multiple users. USP of Google workspaces is minimal learning curve and high user friendliness. As of this writing Google Workspace is available free for a 14-day trial and business plans starts at $6 per user on monthly basis.

Trello – Project management tool for remote teams

If you are looking for a project management tool with minimal learning curve, then Trello can be your best match. It is a web-based, Kanban-style list making application which helps a team to see their prioritized task list along with the status. Though its collaboration capabilities are not as advanced as of others mentioned above in list but still can fit bill of teams which seek simplicity. It is available as a free plan up-to 10 boards per workspace while the premium offering starts at $5 per user on monthly basis.

Todoist– a tool designed to organize your work and life

Task management features of Todoist can help a team to keep its members focused and organized on what needs to be completed next. As suggested by its name Todoist works like a to-do list but adds convenience factor as compared to old-fashioned pen and paper style. With its language recognition feature, you can add new tasks on the fly, integrate with calendar and setup filters to view most essential tasks. It is available as a free plan for up to five projects for beginners while the premium offering starts at $4 per user on monthly basis.