Unlock the Power of Collaboration

Identifying the right software tools to keep your team on track

Rachel Burger

Software is pretty awesome.

But it’s by no means perfect.

(Toilet water!)

Some Statistics

• 57% of projects fail due to a breakdown in communication, however, only 26% say effective team communication is the key to project success.

• Of businesses that adopted project management software over the past two years, 52% saw a significant improvement in communication across the team.

What are we talking about today?

● Chat software● Project management

software● Communication

software

Chat software

Pricing, flexibility for small, medium, and enterprise businesses, cloud based, and “wow” factor.

1. Chat software: Slack

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

1. Chat software: Slack

Pros• Lots of integrations• Cheap• Intuitive• Great for private

discussions and keeping conversations organized

Cons• Lacks a few important

collaboration tools, like a calendar function

• Relies heavily on integrations

• No task management

2. Chat software: Fleep

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

2. Chat software: Fleep

Pros• Send chats to anyone• Cheap• Meant for cross-team

collaboration• Best used for start up

businesses

Cons• Still very much so in

development• Bugs on phone apps

3. Chat software: Moxtra

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

3. Chat software: Moxtra

Pros• So many awesome

features• Great mobile apps• Integrates with the Apple

watch

Cons• Pricey as consumers scale

up• Can be difficult to pick up

4. Chat software: Rocket.Chat

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

4. Chat software: Rocket.Chat

Pros• Free and open source• Audio and video

conferencing• Open API

Cons• Support is slow• Not widely adopted

5. Chat software: HipChat

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

5. Chat software: HipChat

Pros• Atlassian product

(JIRA/Confluence)• “Pros: emoticons. Cons:

not enough emoticons.”• Open API• Great for tech teams

Cons• Different user levels can be

confusing• Server known to go down

regularly

Want to learn more?

Chat software isn’t the only option

But be wary of software that promises it can do everything.

Project Management Software

Email integration, collaboration tools like chat, file sharing, and QA management

1. PM software: LiquidPlanner

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

1. Project management software: LiquidPlanner

Pros• Lots of integrations• Strong reporting features• Open API• Great for tech teams

Cons• Pricey• Learning curve• Task-based

communication

2. PM software: Atlassian Jira + Confluence

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

2. Project management software: Confluence

Pros• Lots of integrations for

developing software• Widely used• Great for tech teams• Easy to set up and use

Cons• Pricey• Have to pay for certain

upgrades (like calendar)• Doesn’t do much without

other attached products

3. PM software: Wrike

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

3. Project management software: Wrike

Pros• Great for individual use• Free version available• Easy to set up and use• Provides documentation

for API

Cons• Not great for traditional

PM• Can get pricey quickly• Not good for people with

snappy deadlines (like media companies)

4. PM software: Asana

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

4. Project management software: Asana

Pros• Free version available• Easy to set up and use• Gorgeous layout• Feature heavy

Cons• Must be used online• Not great for designers or

people with image-heavy projects

• Learning curve

5. PM software: Pivotal Tracker

● Pricing● Who was it made for?● What are its biggest

standout features?

5. Project management software: Pivotal Tracker

Pros• Excellent for Agile

management and software development

• Great for QA• Healthy number of

integrations• Intuitive column layout

Cons• Better for larger teams• Not great for use outside

of development• Learning curve

More project management software?

Basecamp and Celoxis are also standout options.

Collaboration software

Contract and contact management, task management, version control, and chat

1. Collaboration software: Samepage

● Pricing● What are its biggest

standout features?

1. Collaboration software: Samepage

Pros• Great for non profits• High-quality media

management• Reasonably priced• Can replace everything

from Asana to Trello

Cons• Memory heavy• Learning curve• Permissions levels are

manual

2. Collaboration software: XWiki

● Pricing● What are its biggest

standout features?

2. Collaboration software: XWiki

Pros• Free and open source• Excellent document

management• Great place to store

company procedures• Best for small to mid-sized

companies• Strong support

Cons• Requires some coding

knowledge• If used on the intranet,

you’ll have to adapt to XWiki (instead of the other way around)

• Lengthy set up phase

3. Collaboration software: Blazedesk

● Pricing● What are its biggest

standout features?

3. Collaboration software: Blazedesk

Pros• Made for start-ups and

entrepreneurs • Combines CRM, PM, and

invoicing software into one• Integrates with social

media and email management software

Cons• Their site needs work• Requires internet access• Strong learning curve

4. Collaboration software: eXo Platform

● Pricing● What are its biggest

standout features?

4. Collaboration software: eXo Platform

Pros• Ridiculously easy to use• Great for in-house social

posts, forums, and chats• Can act as a Slack

alternative• Open source

Cons• Search function needs

work• Limited cloud storage• Customization is difficult

5. Collaboration software: Bitrix24

● Pricing● What are its biggest

standout features?

5. Collaboration software: Bitrix 24

Pros• Incredible free version• No limit on search history,

completely free video conferencing, and free screen sharing

• Great for any size company• Outstanding document

management

Cons• No ability to export chat

history• Striking difference in price

when upgraded• No phone support