Mobile working is increasingly becoming the flagship of successful digitization. The right selection and set-up of tools and resources is a major challenge for every company. It is now about much more than just video conferencing. There are now many specialized software tools for distributed teams that support everything from communication and task management to data exchange, security and data protection. It is therefore all the more worthwhile to identify potentials for your own company and to make a selection of well interconnected tools.

Here are the most important tools that we, as a digital and primarily distributed team, recommend and, above all, use ourselves. With the complete package of these tools, every company can start mobile and at the same time digitize and optimize its processes in the long term.

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Sawayo

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Mobile work in particular is accompanied by new challenges for company management. Instruction, posting and welfare obligations must be met here just as before, except that some processes are made incomparably more difficult by the distance. This is where compliance software like Sawayo provides the necessary support. The tool comes with an integrated employee app via which documents can be distributed internally and confirmed with a signature in an audit-proof manner. For example, the posting of important laws can be implemented easily and digitally. In addition, Sawayo offers a completely digital time recording including absence planning and deadline management for important documents. A very useful tool - for company owners as well as distributed teams.

💰 Price: 14-day trial period, then from 0.80ct per employee

⚖ Data protection: Sawayo is encrypted during transmission and "at-rest" as well as DSGVO compliant. Learn more

Our tip: With the "Read & Sign" function, documents can be sent to any number of employees at the same time in order to have them confirmed by signature. For example, we only manage all instruction documents and the corresponding signature lists digitally.

Website: https://www.sawayo.de

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Slack

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Is an internal company chat program that ensures communication between team members. Slack replaces to a large extent the company-internal e-mails and relies on fast, uncomplicated agreements in the team or in individual conversations. A big advantage of the tool are the countless integrations that make digital collaboration even easier. In addition, Slack comes with a built-in video conferencing system, which, however, only really shows its strengths in the payment plan.

💰 Price: Free of charge up to 10,000 messages, then with restrictions or 6.25€ per employee and month

Data protection: Slack is ISO 27001 certified and DSGVO compliant, but not end-to-end encrypted. Learn more

💡Our tip: Use Slack apps! The tool unfolds a huge added value as soon as integrations and programs are integrated that are already part of the daily work routine in the company. For example, we can be informed directly via Slack when a new user has registered on our platform. 

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Website: https://slack.com

Alternatives: Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts Chat

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Asana

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Especially in distributed teams, it is often difficult to track who is working on what and whether someone needs help. Project management software like Asana offers the solution to this problem. With this tool, projects and responsibilities can be centrally recorded and maintained, progress can be tracked and priorities can be set. What makes Asana special for us is its flexibility. The software is adaptable to any use case and still manages to provide good usability for the simple user.

Price: Free of charge for up to 15 employees, €10.99 per employee per month for 16 or more employees.

Data protection: Asana is SOC-2 certified and DSGVO compliant. Learn more

💡Our tip: The Asana templates can take a lot of work off and are already almost perfect for most use cases.

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Website: https://asana.com

Alternatives: MeisterTask, awork, Monday

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Google Workspace (formerly GSuite)

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Google Workspace offers an all-round carefree package for the digital processes of a company. Via Gmail, the integrated email program, emails are sent with a company extension ( e.g. @sawayo.de). At the same time, files and documents can be managed, stored and even collaboratively edited with Google Drive, the integrated cloud service. In addition, there is a video conferencing system (called Meet - formerly Google Hangout) which integrates perfectly with email and calendar. But it's not just the tight integration of the individual programs that makes Google Workspace the perfect tool for digital collaboration. Also the easy handling and especially the cross-device usability (smartphone, tablet, PC) make it the optimal support for mobile work.

💰 Price: 4,68€ per employee and month (14 days trial period)

⚖ Data protection: Google Workspace is SOC-2, SOC-3 and ISO/IEC 27001 certified as well as DSGVO compliant. Learn more

💡Our tip: Using the "Share" function in Google Documents, you can even collaborate on a document with external partners. Completely location-independent and even free of charge.

Website: https://workspace.google.com

Alternative: Office 365 Business

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Miro

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Particularly with distributed teams, there are often difficulties when it comes to the topic of collaboration. Developing ideas together is difficult when you're sitting miles apart. This is where Miro comes into play, a collaborative real-time whiteboard tool. It can be used to graphically implement countless meeting content in a simple way. The template library ranges from simple brainstorming to business model canvas to strategic process mapping. Miro manages to combine professional work with a playful component, making it simply fun to use. Additionally, there are a variety of integrations with programs like Slack, Google Workspace, and Asana.

💰 Price: Free to use 3 boards with infinite employees, then $8 per employee per month.

⚖ Data protection: Miro is SOC-2 and SOC-3 certified as well as DSGVO compliant. Learn more

Our tip: It is worth taking a look at the templates if only to be inspired by a series of strategic questions that may also be relevant to your own company. 

Website: https://miro.com

Alternative: Conceptboard

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1Password

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A big issue with digital software is always security. The biggest security gap with online tools is the password. Many employees always use the same one, or one that is far too short and easy to remember. Additionally, a recent study shows that nearly 70% of workers share passwords with their colleagues. It can be tempting to send them via email or messaging service - but doing so puts the company's security at risk and, especially in the home office, creates numerous risks to sensitive data. To get ahead of this problem, we use 1Password. With this tool, secure passwords are generated (according to company-specific specifications), organized and clearly stored. Passwords can be securely shared within the team and access rights can be removed at any time. And the best thing is: as simple as it sounds, the tool is also easy to use.

💰 Price: 3,29€ per employee and month

Data protection: 1Password is very secure end-to-end (encrypted with 256-bit AES) and DSGVO compliant. Learn more

Our tip: With 1Password, you can store and securely distribute not only passwords, but also credit cards, Wi-Fi passwords and notes. Especially if, for example, a credit card is to be used by several employees, 1Password helps enormously.

Website: https://1password.com

Alternatives: Keeper, LastPass, Dashlane

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