With the lockdown condition that followed the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, work from home came by as a norm for several companies. The switchover to the environment was not easy, but the companies tried out a range of new mobile apps for simplifying the situation. They also came to discover, in several cases, that the apps that they currently use in the office would deliver additional functionalities for them.
As per a few of the top companies, working from home is a trend to stay. A range of top MNCs plans to reopen offices sometime in 2021 when the COVID-19 becomes less intense. Facebook is among the top organizations that have permitted their employees to permanently work from home. Similarly, a few of the organizations call their employees three days a week to the office, such that social distancing norms become easier to maintain. For the remainder of the time, the employees work from home.
Let us take a look at a few of the top apps that simplify work from home through the current times.
1. Google Meet
Meet was launched by Google in 2017, as an app focused on enterprises. It was seen as an alternative to Hangouts. In the times of lockdown, video chat services came to be in high demand, for work and home purposes alike. While the pandemic lasted, Google Meet discovered a 30-fold growth. They’d host 100 million meeting participants every day.
When employees worked from home, teams used Google Meet to stay connected with their team members. Usage of Google Meet peaked on nearly all days. A few of the features of Google Meet peaked more than others. One of them is DIRT, short for Disaster and Incidents Response Tests. During times of lockdown, there were cases wherein 10,000 employees were using DIRT simultaneously.
The scope of DIRT increased, by default. It was more frequently used for handling global-level events than ever before. This required Google engineers to stay on their toes to ensure that DIRT delivered a top performance.
In April 2020, Google Meet added in new features such as gallery view such that it does not lose the winning edge to Zoom, its closest competitor. The lockdown experience has strengthened Google Meet and puts them in a better position to manage challenges.
2. Skype
Skype is primarily based on the idea of video conferencing with clients and partners. Skype has been popular for some time now. The brand is nowadays better placed to ensure that its services are reliable, and businesses are deriving the maximum value from the fact. While the lockdown lasted, businesses derived the maximum value from Skype.
Skype delivers a range of advantages for businesses. It saves money on calls and further facilitates video conferencing. A user can go for the arrangement that meets his requirements in the finest of ways at the best prices in the industry. Additional ways of connecting with your team such as IMs further ensure that Skype delivers matchless connectivity for a business. All modes of communication can be consolidated over a centralized hub for communication. It keeps your team on the same page.
Another prime feature of Skype which is useful for businesses is screen sharing. Sharing ideas and troubleshooting is simplified, both over web and mobile. Skype further becomes more advantageous as a mobile solution and keeps the information seamless for an account, irrespective of the device where it is accessed for. Skype is an app further recognized for its ease of use.
Businesses prefer Skype because face-to-face meetings can be conducted from anywhere. This delivers essence to meetings and presentations and is a more effective means of communication over voice interaction.
3. Asana
Asana is software for project management and has an app as well. Using Asana, teams are empowered to bring ease to task management. Assigned tasks can be managed over boards that are list-based. Tracking the boards for the progress made is also simple. The tasks which need to use the feature make use of Kanban-based boards.
The list-based boards come by as structured, to-do lists. Kanban-based boards, alternately, come by as a deck of cards, wherein each task is associated with one task. A team can move the tasks across columns for signifying their progress. There is a range of ways in which a team can manage Kanban-based boards. They can define as many columns as they like. Just as an instance, one may have three columns, named To Do, Under Progress, and Done. Tasks are managed under these columns.
Attachments may be made to tasks, and they may be assigned to each team member. Asana’s calendar section allows one to track dates for deadlines.
4. Slack
Slack is an app for team communication and enables one to handle all team communication through direct messages. DMs may be sent to individuals or groups. They may be sent over specialized channels, both public and private. Slack streamlines team communication, and comes to be even handier when a team works remotely. A prime advantage of using Slack is that it minimizes response time.
Slack enables features for setting a work status. Your team members can easily identify if you’re on a lunch break or running an errand. Furthermore, one can share attachments or make video calls with groups or individuals.
5. Nozbe
Nozbe is software for time, task, and project management. It is intended towards helping teams streamline their joint schedules. A tool such as Nozbe simplifies work from home and keeps a user organized. It involves jotting down tasks in a to-do list. When one gets assigned to the tasks, one associates them with projects and prioritizes them. Nozbe is an app for task management and features an interface that is simple and easy to use. The focus on a quicker and more efficient execution of tasks is easier to maintain.
Norzbe allows one to set and work over repeating tasks and execute work based upon work templates. The tasks can be scheduled over a calendar.
Among the prime features of Nozbe is that it allows one to view his team’s to-dos over the app’s calendar section.
