The COVID-19 lockdown changed the way many kiwis need to work. Remote working is often now a necessity, rather than a luxury, as government officials encourage flexible working where possible. To find success with flexible working, it’s important your business has the right communication tools and technology set up, so that your team can easily stay connected to suppliers, customers.

See below a few cloud-based collaboration tools, that make it easy for remote teams to work together:

Conference and collaboration tools

Business collaboration tools can drive productivity between your team and assist with essential social connection. Check out these video/audio conferencing tools to keep your teams in contact.

One Business - Find out more about One Business here
An all-in-one communication tool like One Business can help your team collaborate from wherever they are working. It’s an easy to use cloud-based solution that offers a number of collaboration tools including video conferencing, that can be used across mobiles, desktops and tablets

• Video and audio conferencing
• Screen sharing
• Instant messaging
• File share
• Auto attendant (a virtual receptionist)
• Plus a professional suite of calling features

Microsoft Teams - Teams is available to Office 365 account holders via browser, desktop and mobile app.
This is the hub for team collaboration in Office 365 (more on that later) that integrates the people, content, and tools your team needs to be more engaged and effective.

• Host audio, video, or web conferences with anyone.
• Share your screen
• Record a meeting
• Instant message

Working online

Make business-critical documents accessible on any device using the cloud so your team can access them from anywhere. This helps with collaboration across your business and is crucial for remote working.

Office 365
Office 365, by Microsoft, is maybe the most famous suite of office collaboration and productivity applications. It’s more than just Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. It provides email, online storage, and teamwork solutions (Teams) you can access from anywhere.

• Access via web, IOS or Android app
• Document management
• Secure

Google Drive
Google Drive lets you store, access, and share your files in one secure place. Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides can import, export, or edit Microsoft Office files.

• Flexible storage options
• File sharing
• Free version available
• Hundreds of integrated apps

Mass communication tools

Bulk text or email tools are great for reaching out to your customers or team, whatever the size.

Ready Messenger - Discover more about Ready Messenger here
Vodafone Ready Messenger makes it easy to get in touch with people via text immediately and efficiently. It simplifies communication by letting you schedule, personalise and track text messages across a wide ranging or targeted group.

• Customisable
• Secure
• Cloud-based
• Simple real-time reporting

MultiTXT - Discover more about MultiTXT here
MultiTXT lets you send text messages reliably even if your corporate network is down. It’s perfect for keeping your staff and customers informed in case of an emergency.

• A dedicated channel for urgent communications.
• Can be run by multiple people at different locations
• Split your send groups across regions, units or your entire team.

MailChimp
You probably know MailChimp as an email automation tool. However, it also allows you to promote your business across social media and more. It makes it easy to build, launch, and measure campaigns. Here are just some of the features Mailchimp offers.

• Email automation
• Segmentation and groups
• Social sharing
• Reports and analytics