The best digital tools to keep your business alive during the Covid-19 crisis

The world is in quite the unusual state right now. People will change their habits and so will businesses. To survive this pandemic companies need to significantly improve their use of digital tools. Those who can’t adapt will be the big losers when it is all over. To help you keep your business and achieve a competitive edge, we have gathered a few digital tools that can facilitate your digitalization. You can continue using them even after the Covid-19 and reduce your expenses.

Communication

Suddenly, everybody has realized that meetings can be done over the Internet. This trend most probably will continue so you will need good software. There are plenty of apps but we recommend these 3:

Zoom. Why Zoom? Because it is popular. People are using it so much right now. If everybody has it, it will be easier for you to convince stakeholders like clients or suppliers to use it too.

The free version allows you to group chat with up to 100 people (up to 40 minutes) and 1 on 1 with no time limits. There is a great feature for recording the videos too.

If you need to organize larger conferences, the paid version will allow you to have up to 1000 people. You can use it for paid events too, selling courses, for example.

Available for macOS, Windows 10, Android, and iOS.

Microsoft Teams. It is a great option too. The free version does not allow conference calls but it has screen sharing which can be useful. If you are willing to pay, you can organize group calls for up to 250 people and broadcast to up to 10 000 people. You can expect great integration with all of the products of Microsoft like the Office package.

Google Meet. It is another very similar solution to the Microsoft Teams. Again, for a small fee, you will have great video capabilities, and this time integration with Google’s online services. The choice between the last two might be strongly influenced by your current work practices.

Remote access apps

If you are running an important server inside your office you will most definitely need a remote access software. Here are a few great digital tools for that purpose:

TeamViewer. This program has been around for a long time. Now it is a great and safe software product. You can remotely access devices, both from another PC and form a mobile. It allows screen sharing too. A great plus is the option to wake devices up, install software remotely, and restart from distance. It is a paid app, though.

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). If you are a Windows 10 user, you will have this as a built-in feature. You can access it from the settings menu in the part Remote Desktop. It takes a bit more time to set up and it has fewer features but is great for free software. You can use this digital tool on Windows 10 and mobile.

Google Chrome Remote Desktop. This one works through the Chrome browser so it is available on all the platforms supporting Google Chrome. It is a simple and fast solution, but because it works inside the browser, it can sometimes work more slowly. It is free too.

Speaking of remote desktop, you can also think about moving to the Cloud or to a Dedicated server. This way you won’t have any problems accessing your server during crises like the current Covid-19 one. You will also get great service and performance.

More on the topic of Remote Desktop HERE

ERP

This type of software is far more than just a digital tool. It is a total control application that can really optimize the processes inside your company. We have an article with 5 free ERPs so here we will focus on just 2 of them.

ADempiere. Great, mostly free (many add-ons cost extra money). It has the most important components like CRM, SCM, Financial analysis, POS integration, and more.

Apache OFBiz. 100% open-source as most of Apache software. It is harder to get used to it but it has full functionality.

If you decide to use an ERP, you can check out our Dedicated Servers. There you can install and use the ERP with great performance and security.

Project Management

Every great leader needs a project management digital tool for their organization.

Trello. It is a small tool, very easy to use, with lots of features. You can have integration with Google Drive, Slack, Dropbox, and more. You can organize tasks, set rules and triggers, and sync them with a calendar. It is available on mobile too.

OmniPlan. An app for the lovers of Gantt charts. With this one, you can create and see processes in detail. You can modify and show them to the team. The problem with this one is that it is expensive and only available on macOS and iOS.

Online Office

We are all working online now, and there are some awesome online office suits out there. They allow online collaboration on the same document at the same time.

Microsoft Office 365. You will get the well-known Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, and Publisher. This office works in a combination with other Microsoft products, so by paying for it you will get Microsoft Teams and some online storage space for free.

G Suit (Google). This is the other big competitor, Google’s office suite. You will get a very similar experience as the Microsoft option, with a complete online office and tools for collaboration. The choice will be based mostly on personal preferences and additional needs, but both can provide everything that you need for office work.

There is already a “new normal”. We need to organize our companies and bring them to the digital age. These digital tools will help you overcome the business problems of the pandemic.