If you’re new to managing employees that are working from home, you may not be aware of all of the tools and platforms that successfully distributed and remote teams use to keep their projects flowing smoothly.
This curated list of applications and software services covers these key considerations:
Working from home has unique cybersecurity risks that must be mitigated to keep your organization’s data secure from theft or loss. Solutions for securing remote workers include password managers and identity managers to keep credentials safe, threat detection to alert administrators to suspicious activity, and USB restriction software to prevent data loss caused by unauthorized file transfers and potentially dangerous USB devices.
Company | Description | |
---|---|---|
1 | AccessPatrol | USB Restriction & Data Loss Prevention |
2 | Dashlane | Password Manager |
3 | Visibility | Endpoint Device & Software Tracking |
4 | Azure Active Directory | Enterprise Identity Management Service |
5 | Falcon Overwatch | Advanced Threat Detection (ATD) |
6 | KeePass | Free password manager |
7 | Malwarebytes | Enterprise Antivirus |
Remote workers have been found to be typically more productive than their in-house counterparts, with a 2019 survey from FlexJobs reporting that 65% of respondents were more productive working from home rather than the office. Factors such as lack of distractions from coworkers, increased work-life balance, and lack of commuting stress all contribute to added productivity for employees that work from home.
That said, employees that are not used to remote working may find themselves distracted by their families, personal tasks, and unproductive websites. Productivity in remote workers can also be affected by feeling socially disconnected from their coworkers – fortunately, there are solutions to address these productivity hurdles!
Company | Description | |
---|---|---|
1 | BrowseReporter | Employee Monitor – Reports for Application, Bandwidth, & Internet Usage |
2 | StatusHero | Employee & Project Insights Platform |
3 | Chimp or Champ | Anonymous Mood Monitor – Employee Feedback Sharing |
4 | YAPA | Free minimalistic desktop Pomodoro timer |
5 | Monday | Project planning on the cloud |
6 | Hubstaff | Time tracking and online timesheets |
7 | Toggl | Online timer with a timesheet calculator |
Employees that are used to collaborating in-person may feel uncertain about how they will continue to collaborate effectively while working from home. Fortunately, collaboration options such as video conferencing, team chat, and project management platforms can help to keep project teams connected by facilitating communication and the tracking of project deliverables.
Company | Description | |
---|---|---|
1 | Zoom Meetings | Video Conferencing & Virtual Meetings |
2 | Slack | Team Chat |
3 | Discord | All-in-one voice, video and text chat |
4 | Gmelius | Email Collaboration Tool |
5 | Telegram | Speedy and secure messaging app available on desktops and phones |
6 | AWW App | Instant Virtual Whiteboard |
7 | Draw.io | Google’s free online diagram mockup software |
8 | Trello | Project Management Tool |
9 | Calendly | Meeting Scheduler |
10 | Loom | Easy and free screen recorder |
11 | OBS Studios | Free screen recording and live streaming software |
12 | Wundamail | Email-based team check-in tool to help managers stay in touch with their staff |
If you need your remote employees to have access to the organization’s internal network or you need your IT administrators to remotely access your employee’s machines for troubleshooting, you will need tools to support those functions.
Remote Access Environments and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) provide employees with secured access to the organization’s internal network and Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) providers offer remote access and monitoring options to keep IT support available for employees that are working from home.
Company | Description | |
---|---|---|
1 | Hamachi VPN | Virtual Private Network (VPN) |
2 | Nord VPN | Virtual Private Network (VPN) |
3 | AnyConnect | Virtual Private Network (VPN) & Remote Access Environment |
4 | Atera | Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) |
5 | Zoho Assist | Remote Access for Tech Support |
6 | Team Viewer | Secure remote access and support |
7 | UltraVNC | Free remote control software |
8 | phoenixNAP | Dedicated Server Hosting |
Collaborative file sharing platforms allow remote employees to easily share project files with each other, providing a critical resource for working collaboratively. File sharing platforms typically offer options for coworkers and managers to make comments directly on project assets, readily providing options for gathering necessary feedback.
File sharing platforms also often provide granular control over file access permissions, allowing you to host files on the cloud for convenient access without providing enfettered access to every user that is integrated into the platform.
Company | Description | |
---|---|---|
1 | Google Drive | File Sharing – General |
2 | Dropbox | File Sharing – General |
3 | Box | File Sharing – Emphasis on Security & Compliance |
4 | Peer Link | File Service for Multi-site |
5 | ShareFile | A fast way to share files with coworkers securely |
6 | ShareX | Capture and upload screenshots with one click |
7 | FilePizza | Free peer-to-peer file transfers in your browser |
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