Best Collaboration App: 4 Tools for Remote Work

There’s more to remote work than just hopping into scheduled meetings with your dispersed colleagues. Whether a team is hybrid or fully distributed, teammates can benefit from virtual communication and productivity tools.

The right collaboration app extends beyond instant messaging and video calls; it makes asynchronous and real-time digital work more efficient, coordinated, and productive. It also creates a body of knowledge and context that teammates can tap into instantly to get up to speed.

With so many professionals working remotely, choosing the best collaboration tools is key to maintaining productivity — from file sharing to project management. Read on to learn more about how a good collaboration app can transform the way you work.

What is a collaboration app?

Collaboration apps empower teams to work together efficiently regardless of their physical location. They remove barriers that might otherwise hinder productivity for remote and hybrid team members by allowing them to communicate and work on shared projects in real time.

The best team collaboration tools enable seamless communication, file sharing, and project and task management. They allow users to document feedback, deadlines, and all other project details in one unified place for a more efficient workflow.

Benefits of using a collaboration app

• Better team communication: The best remote collaboration apps make it simple to keep everyone updated through instant messages, voice, and video calls.
• Improved engagement: Stronger lines of communication help team members stay organized and foster camaraderie.
• Reduced context switching: With a well-rounded collaboration app, remote and hybrid professionals can quit bouncing between apps and digging through file folders. The most critical resources live in one place for easy reference and sharing so users can optimize their time.

Key features to look for in a collaboration app

You’ll find several platforms on the market focused on different facets of digital collaboration, so it’s a good idea to understand your team’s needs and match them to various offerings before committing to an app. Here are some key features to consider.

• User-friendliness: Your app should be easy to learn and use. If a platform is confusing or difficult to implement, teammates may avoid using it, which defeats the purpose.
• App integration: Look for a tool with app integration capabilities so your team can continue using the apps it already relies on every day. Integrating your existing tech stack with your collaboration tool eliminates context switching and provides access to all of the most important data in one shared space.
• Messaging: Your tool should offer various ways for users to message one another so they can choose which communication style works best for them and the tasks in question. Having a choice between voice calls, video conferencing, whiteboarding, instant messaging, and other communication methods makes it simpler to stay in touch and collaborate with team members.
• Channels: A tool offering different communication channels provides dedicated spaces for individual teams and project discussions. Channels bring order and clarity to teammates’ work, letting them easily share and find the information they need.
• File sharing: Your collaboration tool should let you share files, documents, photos, and videos — whether they are stored on a computer, on another device, or in the cloud — without requiring you to switch between tabs or windows. Bringing your files into the same space as your conversations means you can easily access the details and context you need to be productive and efficient.
• Workflow automation: Your team’s communication solution should allow users to build automated processes easily, even without any code knowledge. Streamlining everyday processes means your team can work faster and more intentionally.
• AI functionality: Look for a tool with built-in AI capabilities, such as enhanced search functions that help users find the projects, topics, and team members they need — fast. Slack’s AI can also provide instant summaries of conversations and threads to get teammates up to speed as quickly as possible.
• Security: Your collaboration app’s security features should include identity and device management, data protection, and information governance to ensure compliance.

Top 4 online collaboration tools for remote teams

Now that you know what features to look for, here are our top recommendations for remote and hybrid collaboration solutions. Plus, all of these apps integrate with Slack.

Around: An innovative virtual-meeting app

Around is a sleek, minimal video-conferencing app with both free and paid versions. It’s ideal for teams that use multiple apps during meetings. Users can attend pre-scheduled meetings or set up breakout rooms to join others while they work.

You can start meetings in Around with one click from anywhere within Slack. You can also send meeting notes automatically, so team members can easily catch up without digging through their email inboxes.

Trello: A project management collaboration app

Trello is an online project management tool that helps users organize workflows, processes, and tasks into “boards,” where collaborators can easily track every step and communicate accordingly.

Trello provides digital boards organized with lists. Each list might represent a single project and contain multiple task cards. These cards hold information about a specific task, deliverable, checklist, or ongoing dialogue. You can drag and drop cards to another location to reflect their status. All team members can view and update Trello, so everyone is on the same page throughout a project.

Notion: A comprehensive collaboration app

Fully remote teams must be able to access important resources and documents such as style guides and brand books. Notion — a productivity and note-taking application — functions as a company’s digital “file cabinet,” helping teams track everything they need to know in one place.

The app supports planning, organizing, and project collaboration. It can be customized for project management or work as a CRM. Notion’s built-in AI text generator helps generate, edit, rewrite, and summarize content. For remote teams, the platform offers a place to record and refer to a company’s protocol, workflow, standards, and branding, keeping everyone on the same page — literally.

Slack: An operating system for work

Slack is a comprehensive work operating system that combines all of your most essential resources into one robust platform. Slack offers a suite of features that integrate people, projects, apps, data, and AI to supercharge productivity and collaboration.

A Forrester study found that companies saw a 302% return on investment with Slack, which paid for itself in less than six months on average. Slack lets users message both internal team members and external partners to send files, track workflows, and stay organized. Collaborative features such as huddles, polls, and canvases help teammates share ideas, exchange feedback, and work together in real time. Custom emoji make it fun and easy to connect with co-workers, react to office news, and boost team engagement.

Security and privacy considerations for collaboration apps

When choosing a collaboration app, security and privacy features should be top of mind. A good solution should have the following.

• Audit logs: These can identify suspicious user behavior and system anomalies, such as unauthorized or questionable conduct, to prevent security breaches.
• Native data loss prevention (DLP) with support for third-party DLP providers: This protects sensitive data by preventing users from sharing it with people who shouldn’t have it.
• Identity and device management: This ensures only the right people and their approved devices can access your company’s information.
• Single sign-on (SSO): SSO provides teams with a single point of secure access for multiple apps. This makes it easier for IT teams to enforce password policies, such as requiring users to reset their passwords periodically.
• Domain claiming: Claiming an email domain for use only in your organization makes it harder for hackers to find your personal email and can prevent malicious attacks.

Integrating apps into your collaboration platform

App integration is the process of connecting two or more applications so they can share information and work together. Integrating your company’s existing tech stack into your collaboration platform makes your work more flexible and efficient. Data flows quickly from one app to another, and no one has to switch between tabs or programs to get things done.

Here are some apps you might integrate into your remote collaboration platform.

• Zoom: The widely used video-conferencing platform is easy to integrate with many collaboration apps. Start a Zoom call quickly and effortlessly right within your workspace.
• Asana: This project management platform helps individuals and teams orchestrate everything from small daily tasks to large projects. By integrating Asana, users can track work seamlessly within their platform without context switching.
• File-sharing tools: Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox integrations let you easily share files with teammates. Add photos, videos, and other documents to any conversation. Search channels to find the files you need and any conversations around them.

User support and training

Whether you’re new to using collaboration apps or you’re curious about how to optimize the platform you already use, consider these resources for learning and support.

• Tutorials: Most collaboration apps provide helpful tutorials, where users can learn how to find and start conversations, collaborate effectively in channels, search for information, stay organized, and run productive meetings.
• Help centers: Your app’s help center should have resources to help you navigate the platform. Here, you can learn more about getting started, adjusting your profile and preferences, connecting other tools, automating tasks, and building workspaces.
• Videos: For visual learners, videos are a good way to see exactly how to use an app’s features, step by step. Learn key aspects of the platform — like how to move a project into a channel, manage notifications, organize conversations, and search — by following along.
• Communities: Some collaboration tools have community chapters, which allow users to communicate and even meet up with others in their areas.

How to make remote team collaboration work

Conquering challenges together makes teamwork rewarding, and remote collaboration makes that teamwork even easier. Successful teams use remote collaboration solutions to remove obstacles and streamline redundant and time-consuming tasks so team members can spend more time creatively solving problems. The right tools make individuals more efficient workers and engaged teammates.

Implement a collaboration app that does more than just allow users to communicate. Look for a comprehensive work operating system that brings together everything you need to work in a unified, intuitive platform. Tools that improve communication and streamline workflows contribute to higher-functioning remote teams, fewer collaboration barriers, increased efficiency, and better business results.