5 Awesome Collaboration Tools

There are a lot of tools out there that you can use to collaborate with others.  Here’s a list of my favourites, none of which should be totally unheard of.

1. Dropbox-   My favourite way to share files with clients.  I’ve got folders for all of my clients and most of their documents and graphics are stored in their dropbox folder.  I also use it personally to upload photos I’ve taken from my phone, to store documents & music for my tablet and to share things (mostly photos or video) with friends and family. 
2. Google Calendar –  I use it to set appointments for clients, my clients give me access to their calendar so I can add and change appointments.  I also store information like their phone number, their PA’s name & number in the appointment just in case there is some problem later on.  It means that both the client and I can just go to the appointment and all the information we need is there.
   I also use it to make sure ALL my appointments from my personal and my work calendars are in the calendar on my phone so I have one calendar I can check for everything. 

   ** If you use Outlook as well and want to be able to see all your appointments on one calendar, grab a copy of Google Calendar Sync and it’ll take care of it for you. 

3. Google Docs - I use this mostly to make presentations, but also for documents and spreadsheets where Office is out of the question.   It also can be used for creating & editing images and allows you to create forms which it can then collate as responses are received. 
4. Skype- I don’t have a landline, so I make most of my calls via Skype.  I have it set up to display my mobile number which gives people a number to easily call back on.  I can easily download a spreadsheet of calls made during a month so I can track how much I’m spending on behalf of a client if I want to bill call charges.  I also have it loaded on my mobile phone so I can accept Skype calls when I’m out of the office.  If you do this, just beware that you may chew up your data allowance. 
5. 37Signals Suite – I’m a huge fan of the 37signals products.  I was introduced to them by a client, I recommend them to clients and I use some of them for myself.  There are very limited free versions available if you don’t have a large need (I use the free versions of Highrise & Basecamp) and there are several purchase options.  Lastly, a huge selling point for me is how helpful they are with any queries whether it’s a helpdesk enquiry or a feature request.  The individual products are:

• Basecamp – for project management
• Highrise – CRM
• Backpack – to share files
• Campfire – for collaboration

That’s the list of tools I can’t live without.  If you have another collaboration tool that you’d use instead of one of these, or for a different purpose please let me know in the comments.

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