First things first. Consider showing up in person at the Tuesday, Dec 8th, 2009 Meetup for discussion and demonstrations of some of the best web collaboration tools. Get details and signup here (it’s free).
http://businessnetwork.meetup.com/53/calendar/10667036/
There are a LOT of new web collaboration tools to choose from. Which ones are better for Project Management or Sales teams or Product development teams or………you name it.
The answer is of course, it depends. Some tools are very full featured and offer many different functions while others specialize in one core area. Making the decision is not always easy. Factors to consider include cost, server/hosting platform, and specific functionalities such as: mail, calendar, shared contacts, shared files, IM server, issue tracking, and web conferencing.
Searching the web for comparisons and ratings on these tool will turn up a lot of results, such as this Wikipedia page – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_collaborative_software, but we’d like to learn what collaboration tools people in Bend are currently using. How well do you like them, and would you recommend them?
Please take a few moments and list any tools that you’re using now as comments on the blog post. We’ll summarize the feedback results at the Dec 8 Meetup!
Skype instant messaging, screen sharing, video calling and audio calling is such a great tool when I collaborate with people on projects. I am coaching a client, who is a first time manager of a pretty complex, short-fused effort to assimilate another company that is being acquired. I don’t have to be in his presence to work with him on developing the WBS and other elements of the project plan.
My list, in no particular order:
Google Calendar
Google Docs
Trac (for software teams)
… and, yeah, Skype is on there.
I know Matt Abrams is a big fan of Adobe Connect.
I’m semi-curious about WebEx. I’ve actually never had much use for them, but I’d be curious to hear why people use them over whatever other options are available.
Oh, oh, oh, and Google Wave, of course! (Is anyone actually using it for real work? Seems like it’s still very much a “curiousity” for most people.)
I’ve tried quite a few, here’s what I use on a regular basis:
1. Basecamp (Free. Project Management by 37Signals)
2. Dimdim (Free version of Webex)
3. Pivotal Tracker (agile development)
4. Skype
5. Google Docs
6. Jive Clearspace / SBS
I’ve just started using Outlook 2010 with Business Contact Manager 2010, which actually isn’t too bad.. has projects, templates, and other nice CRM features.
I’m interested to know what folks are using to effectively manage status across multiple active projects, and what works well for lightweight CRM/opportunity tracking/content management.
RHUB is one of my favorite collaboration tools. I use it for web conferencing in my office, and I’m able to share my desktop with coworkers in other states.
Tools I currently use in random order are:
1) Skype and Gtalk for communication among colleagues and employees.
2) http://www.Bubbl.us for a free brainstorming collaboration tool.
3) TeamViewer for a free solution to take over employee desktops.
4) Integrated Gmail 2.5.1 Addon for Firefox (allows for RSS and GCalender integration right in your gmail account)
5) Goto Meeting (Monthly Paid Membership) -Allows me to host large webinars and training sessions. -Draw backs are currently a limit to only 1,000 people online at the same time and twice now recordings by them have been too damaged to use. (Use screenflow or camtasia as a backup).
Things I am hoping to learn about in this meet-up:
1) A software that allows me to easily track bugs and code progress. (So I can monitor my coders progress and easily keep track of bugs coming in and time it is taking to be fixed.)
2) With multiple softwares being developed at the same time it would be great to find a software that helped me manage time frames, which employees are on particular tasks, contact info, etc.
3) Looking for a cheap method to allow possibly 100+ callers to be on the same line. Skype currently seems to have a limit of 25 on a conference call.
Will be my first meet up! Looking forward to seeing some new faces!
Michael R Roberts