10 tools for remote work that you can't miss
If you already work or have started to work remotely, I believe that you are aware that there are many tools that you need for your daily management in the ICT world. Whether you are in a managerial position (managing areas, accounts or projects) or an operational one (as a member of the team developer), you will need to communicate with the rest of your team.
In this article I tell you about the tools that gave us the best result and with which we achieved a high degree of efficiency.
Before starting, I tell you that at MyTaskPanel Consulting we prioritize simplicity and practicality in the use of any tool we have chosen. I also confess that we know and test a wide suite of tools; We consider the ones listed here the most suitable for achieving optimal remote administration of IT projects.
There are companies that are inclined to use the Microsoft Teams suite, others that prefer Atlassian. We chose Google, since it offers you practically everything you need. If you have contracted the Google business tools suite, you can manage the permissions to each tool from the Google Suite console.
To reserve important dates: Google Calendar
When you have to set times for meetings or appointments that you must remember, I recommend that you use Google Calendar. Just select the day and time you need to book, enter a place if necessary, place an alert to remind you of the date and complete with a comment in the description. In case you want to share the appointment with another person, you can add their email in the guests section.
To produce documents in different formats: Google Docs and Google Sheets
If you have information to exchange with your team and you need to organize it as clearly and concisely as possible, you can choose between Google Docs (documents) or Google Sheets (spreadsheets). The first one is used to create texts as you do in Word or similar programs and allows you to edit them as many times as you need and grant permissions for others to modify them. Regarding the second, you should know that it has a great utility to put together spreadsheets with graphs and charts of different sizes and colors, functionalities similar to those of an Excel. In this case, you can also grant permissions to edit.
To create shapes and diagrams for documents: Google Drawings
With this Google tool, you can create normal or flow charts and design diagrams, then add them to other documents or easily insert them into a website. In addition, you have the ability to comment on a shape or text box and send an email notification adding a user to a comment. In the end, each of your drawings will be automatically saved and stored, so you can access them anywhere and from any device.
To exchange opinions or organize a creative meeting: Google Jamboard
When you are part of a team in which there must be mutual collaboration, I suggest you use Jamboard. Create a digital whiteboard, drawing with various pens and colors, to record your ideas. Then edit it from any device and share it with others. The other participants can collaborate at the time they prefer, from the place where they are. Everyone with permission has the ability to add sticky notes to exchange opinions, insert photos and stickers, and highlight objects with the laser pointer.
To share documents with your team: Google Drive
Once you have completed the documents you want to share with the rest of your team, you can sort them into different folders within Google Drive. From this tool, exchange how many times you need files or folders with your teammates, whether or not they are connected to the Internet. Give them permissions so that they can view the documents and, if necessary, so that they can modify them.
To talk through video conference: Google Meet
From the Google Calendar option, you can add the link to have a video conference through Google Meet. This tool allows you to send a notification to the other person and, if necessary, share the link so that they can access it easily and quickly. It is one of the video conferencing tools that work best today. You can invite an unlimited number of attendees and, as a moderator, share the screen and enable or disable the audio of the rest of the attendees.
To communicate through instant messaging: Slack
In this case, although Hangouts would have been the option that would follow our line of recommendations, we opted for Slack, due to the fact that independent chat channels can be administered for each project or topic that you want to manage with an independent and particular team. Although we use Hangouts for quick chats with our closest team, communications regarding ongoing projects are done by Slack. As it is a market standard, we also often invite customers to participate in certain channels and workspaces. Finally, I can add that it is very easy to integrate with external tools (such as Google Drive or Google Calendar).
To manage your projects: MyTaskPanel
If you need to manage several projects with a remote team, without losing control of any detail, you can do it in the most simple and intuitive way with MyTaskPanel. This is a new tool that will allow you to create a project in three simple steps. By locating the Projects in different Accounts and having the possibility of having more than one workspace, you will have organized the management visualizing due dates, priorities, efforts, labels and those responsible for each task. It doesn’t matter if you have a small team or are part of a more complex organization, MyTaskPanel will help you control your most demanding projects, both with Scrum for development projects and with Kanban for maintenance stages.
As a project source code repository: GitLab
Depending on the project, we also use Jira, Github or Teams. However, whenever we can choose, we opt for Gitlab. It is a private repository with a good response and easy to configure. It also integrates easily with countless development IDEs, both in Windows and Linux.
To keep track of times and timestamp: TimeSheet
With this mobile application, record your work hours and add breaks, expenses and notes in the easiest way. You can export this data to an Excel document and easily backup or restore to your SD card, Dropbox or Drive. Use the summaries and statistics provided by TimeSheet to improve your work experience. If you want to use this tool on multiple devices and on your desktop, activate real-time synchronization. Track your work hours even better with the TimeSheet web app.
Although these are not the only tools that we use in our daily operations (I have omitted, for example, mail and other applications that I did not think necessary to mention), we consider that they are the most outstanding to take into account when teleworking effectively and comfort.