Top 10 Online Small Business Collaboration Tools
This post is part of our ReadWriteStart channel, which is a resource and guide for first-time entrepreneurs and startups. The channel is sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark. To sign up for BizSpark, click here.
With the growing number of online services, it's becoming more economical for small business to rely on web-based tools rather than expensive enterprise software. Not too long ago we brought you 5 Web Apps To Keep Your Startup Organized, and now the website Business Pundit has released their top 10 list of online collaboration tools for small businesses.
Call it Web 2.0, or Enterprise 2.0; the fact of the matter is that online services just make more sense for businesses on a budget. Because these software platforms are web-based, users can use any computer to access them at work, at home or even on the road. They eliminate the need for expensive software and fewer IT employees are required for setup, updates and patches to systems.
Considering these benefits of online tools, Business Pundit's list of collaborative services is an excellent resource for startups and small businesses looking to save some cash while still getting things done as efficiently as possible.
Topping their list is OfficeMedium, a service we profiled last fall which provides a wide variety of collaborative features wrapped up in an elegantly designed interface. With live chat, user profiles, polls and calendars, OfficeMedium is a social collaboration network for your company.
While the service is relatively inexpensive with monthly costs of just $6 per person and $1 per gigabyte of storage, you may be disappointed by a lack of mobile application and developer API if your company is constantly on-the-go.
Coming in just behind OfficeMedium is Basecamp, a service that we use daily here at ReadWriteWeb and which made our top 5 list of organization apps for startups. While the two services are more or less functionally comparable, Business Pundit puts Basecamp in second place due to its less-than-thrilling (though customizable) interface design and a few functionality gripes. For the mobile business, Basecamp's API has allowed for over a dozen mobile applications, which could be a feature that makes it the #1 choice.
Rounding out the rest of the top 5 are CubeTree, WizeHive and SocialText - three powerful web applications which were deprived of the top spot by a few lacking features, design problems and ease-of-use issues. The remainder of the top 10 includes CentralDesktop, Onehub, PBWorks, Zoho Projects and Socialcast.
What do you think? Is there a better business collaboration tool out there that was left off of Business Pundit's list? Or would you rank one of these apps higher than another? Let us know your thoughts below in the comments.
Photo by Flickr user wonderferret.
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yeah, web 2.0 are taking over whole world
Better is very relevant but sometimes companies just want it their way, with http://www.comindwork.com you can customize almost anything, even create your own custom workflows
Thanks for the great post.
Those missing features will be making their way into the software soon so stay tuned.
Hi,
Most of the solution proposed here are incomplete. Have you tried Feng Office (ex: opengoo)
We use it in our organisation and it can easyly compete with Office Medium. feng office provide an email client+projetc, calendar, dashbord...
Moreover, fengoffice (ex: opengoo) is opensource & free,
So, if you really want to save you money...
I am really surprised that you don't propose any open source solution at all.
Sorry I forgt the link
http://www.fengoffice.com/web/index2.php
For those of you managing client projects, Mavenlink is the new kid on the block and we think we've got a better solution for keeping your work organized, having conversations with your clients, and tracking deliverables than anything else out there today. If you're tired of re-sending important files or managing disparate audiences via email, our workspace is just the cure.
We're trying to be the most responsive company in this space and we're getting some great feedback. We continually release new features, so let us know what you'd like to see!
Roger
@mavenroger
http://www.mavenlink.com
PS It works for businesses managing lots of consultants/freelancers too - that's how we use it internally!
Great post, Mike! I'm also a fan of Teambox.com, which is a lot simpler and - dare I say it - looks like a lot more fun to use than Basecamp. We've covered a ton of collaboration tools at RWW lately; I'm starting to think this is a huge trend to keep an eye on!
Nice collection of great companies here. Some others have niche products that could be very useful to starts-ups too -- such as Timebridge for time scheduling and Producteev for ToDo lists. Congrats to the good companies mentioned here.
www.yoolinkpro.com is a very effective social network / intranet 2.0 for SME.
The design of the service make it very easy to use wich is the key for collaboration.
The service is much more powerfull in structuring knowledge found on the internet than his other competitors that are more twitter-like only.
And of course it can be tried on-line.
Try HiTask.com - it is the easiest and friendliest team collaboration tool around.
And it's the cheapest too. HiTask prices start form $6 a month!
Haha! being ripped off by businesses founded on 'respect' and 'integrity"
go way back to the hippie days. YO, it's called getting taken for a ride.
And forget Gere - most of the most dishonest people I;ve met claim to
be 'spiritual", then you find out it's a pose.
I agree, some of the best con artists are rare but when you find them or they find you they are often from the older generation and masters of deception.
Great List Chris! I would like to suggest another online Business Collaboration Suite called Taroby, which has worked wonderfully well for me and my entire team, in keeping our emails, messages, tasks and business processes organized. We've also managed to keep the information overload down by about 50 percent, with the help of Taroby. It's simply a superb collaboration tool for businesses, do check it out.
I use Basecamphq and can attest for its AWESOMENESS.. helps me so much keep track of the ole employees (who all telecommute)! Good post!
I would suggest DeskAway. Its a pretty cool tool for organizing and managing work!
http://www.deskaway.com
+1 for Feng Office
Great idea for entrepreneurs.
Moobiz is also well worth checking out http://www.moobiz.com
For a solution that combines a wide range of small business collaboration and project management tools, from project proposals right through to accounting Moobiz makes running a small business really easy.
Pricing starts at £15/month.
If Google searches amount to anything, lets check rankings for HyperOffice, starting with this post's title:-
Online Small Business Collaboration Tool - #2
Online Small Business Collaboration Software - #1
Small Business Collaboration Tool - #1
business collaboration - #5
small business collaboration - #1
HyperOffice has been providing online collaboration software to small businesses since 1998, and brings the most comprehensive suite in the small business market - with collaboration, online meeting, email, and database tools integrated into a single suite.
We have a system that combines the majority of the functional areas of a small- to medium-sized businesses with Lead Management, CRM, Project Management, Time Tracking, Billing and Customer Service.
We've had great feedback so far and are currently developing a Social add-on to it which will definitely help many small businesses find new leads through social media.
Cheers,
Drew
Hi, very nice post. Another vote for DeskAway. I am using it from a couple of months and really love the tool.
It is an essential to have things like these for your business. I don't think people would give a second thought considering this one as their choice for office management.
One day I hope that our company will get to first place in the list of top ten web based applications for business.
I left my old job with two colleagues to launch a start-up to create an workplace for the future. Frustrated with workplace tools that didn’t meet all our needs we went away and designed and tested our ideas for a better tool.
Our approach is to build a powerful web application that is simple and productive to use. Based on our experiences delivering large projects with globally distributed teams we are focused on making a tool designed for working people.
Do I need this to complete my work?
Is this making my work easier?
Is this the most productive way to complete this action?
We are a small start-up and its steady going but we have in less then a year created a remarkable platform although incomplete, it provides a taste of whats to come.
We are currently running a beta trial and are actively looking to engage businesses and people who are seeking a better online platform where they don’t need to compromise whether it is on functionality or usability. If this inspires you we would love to hear from you and get your feedback and down to earth critic.
Visit us at http://www.sambajam.com, it’s the beginning and we hope to be the future online workplace for small businesses.
I would suggest GotoMeeting as a great way to communicate with clients.
I have used it for 2 years now and found it useful for presenting progress without the overhead of travelling to their office.
+2 for Feng Feng Office
I like the article and I believe these collaboration tools make a lot of sense. However, I have found that many of the tools are broad and generic. When collaborating with clients and prospects, I found that DRE Software, Inc. (www.dresoftware.com) is best for our purpose. We also use the tool to collaborate internally. I love the idea that their prices allow us to create unlimited collaborative spaces, and there is no data storage limit. Overall a great tool from a young company.
If you would like a tool to manage your small business activities and Projects, you can use this web aplication:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage and prioritize your Goals (for business but also in other areas of your life), Projects and Tasks. It has a Checklists section, for the routines and repetitive activities that any business has to do. Also, it features a Schedules section and a Calendar, for scheduling you time and activities.
Some features from GTD are also present, like Contexts and Next Actions.
And it’s available on the mobile phone too, so you can access it from anywhere.
The one thing that I am wary of is when they control my data.
As long as I can download and backup my own data, I love online services.
There are so many great online apps available today that it is difficult to pick a top 10. I would say evaluate your options to see what works best for you.
One app worth considering is Intervals, an online project management app our web design and development agency built.
Thank you for this valuable information about the most popular business collaboration tools! I think Web 2.0. is the most popular right now. Currently I 'm using ZOHO but I'd love to check out the other recommended by you.
Mel
mel@cleverwebtech.com
RWW on the ball as ever. For anyone using the fantastic Basecamp, BCtoolkit is a great reporting tool available at http://bit.ly/bn6Q4I.
I appreciate the list. There are certainly many others. We use The Business Collaboration Network by DRE Software (www.dresoftware.com) in our company. It is tailored for companies to use when collaborating with prospects, clients, and partners. DRE is committed to providing technology for companies to use in their sales and marketing efforts.