A collaboration tool for remote teams is a software application used to facilitate communication, and coordination among team members who work from different places with different time zones. These tools will bridge the physical distance between your team members by providing virtual workspace that enables seamless collaboration, project management, and real-time messaging.
Table of contents
Why Remote Collaboration Tools are Important
Without a collaboration tool remote teams will send and receive projects, tasks and other information via email.
On a busy exhausting day the chances of missing important tasks is way high. Also writing perfect emails in order to avoid misunderstanding will take time for all.
Research shows that 28% of the workday is spent on email-related tasks, that is 2.5 hours per day on email. This includes reading, writing, and organizing emails. Specifically, writing emails takes up a substantial part of this time.
By onboarding collaboration tools for your remote teams you can eliminate email communication for project management.
Going one step further there are some collaboration tools that have real time messaging which will help your team to centralize information.
Key Components of Collaboration Tools for Remote Teams
A collaboration tools for remote teams need to have these features mandatorily
Real time Messaging
Project Management
Document Sharing
AI Assistants
Real Time Messaging
Remote collaboration tools typically offer real-time messaging with conversational task creation features. These tools mostly send desktop notifications or emails for all unread messages to make sure they are not missed.
Project Management
Project management is an important feature for collaboration tools for remote teams. There are plenty of tools like Jira, Slack, Asana, Trello, Swatle for project management. Analyze and find the one which suits best for your remote team.
Research shows organizations using project management tools have a 92% success rate in meeting project objectives.
Document Sharing
Some collaboration tools for remote teams provide centralized document repositories where team members can create, edit, share, and simultaneously work on files. G-suite is a best and well known document sharing platform for remote teams.
AI Assistants
Miscommunication is a primary cause of project failure in one third of projects. Writing perfectly crafted messages for better understanding will also take a lot of valuable time. Collaboration tools like Swatle have AI assistants which will rephrase your messages for better clarity.
7 Best Collaboration Tools for Your Remote Teams
We have analyzed numerous collaboration tools and identified these 7 best collaboration tools that suit remote teams.
ClickUp
ClickUp was launched in 2017, it became popular because of its task management, messaging and custom integration. ClickUp is designed to enhance collaboration and productivity of remote teams.
Key Features
Centralized Communication: Chat, comments and real time updates
Task Management: You can create, assign, and track tasks easily
Customizable workflows: ClickUp allows you to customize workflows to fit your team needs
Integrations: ClickUp integrates with 1000’s of other apps such as Teams, Slack and Jira
Reporting and analytics: ClickUp provides insights into team performance, project progress, and bottlenecks.
Pros
Customizable Workflows: You can create workflows to fit your specific needs.
Integration Capabilities: ClickUp integrates with many tools, such as Github, Google Drive, and Zendesk.
Multiple Project Views: It has views like list, board, and Gantt charts, allowing your team to manage projects easily.
Real Time Collaboration: Features like real time chat and collaborative editing on documents help your team to stay connected virtually.
Cons
Steep Learning Curve: Due to its extensive features and customization options, new users may take some time to learn.
Lacks Project Message Board: ClickUp does not have a dedicated project message board.
Customer support: ClickUp only offers support through email and chat, which can be frustrating if you need immediate assistance.
Not Ideal for Large Teams: ClickUp dashboard will become cluttered and hard to navigate with too many users.
Pricing
Free Forever: Best for solopreneurs, this plan includes 100MB of storage, unlimited tasks, collaborative docs and whiteboards.
Unlimited: $7 per user per month, this plan is ideal for small teams. It includes unlimited storage, integrations, dashboards and Gantt charts.
Business: At $12 per user per month, this plan is suited for mid-sized teams. It offers advanced features like Google SSO, advanced time tracking and workload management.
Business Plus: This plan costs $19 per user per month and is designed for multiple teams. It includes custom role permissions, priority support and more advanced features.
Enterprise: For large organizations, ClickUp offers customized pricing and includes advanced permissions, white labeling and dedicated support.
Swatle
Swatle was launched recently in 2024 and has become quite popular in a short time. Unlike other collaboration tools, Swatle includes AI assistants that help users send clear messages to reduce miscommunications and assist them in completing tasks by generating task summaries, descriptions, subtasks, and task estimation times.
Key Features
1: Conversational task creation: Swatle has a feature to convert messages into tasks.
2: AI assisted task management: A personalized AI assistant helps you plan and prioritize tasks.
3. Centralized communication: Swatle has personal and group chat features to send real time messages.
4. Gantt Charts and Timeline: Easily visualize project timelines, milestones and dependencies.
5. File Sharing and Storage: You can share project and task related documents to increase clarity.
Pros
Automated reminders: Swatle will send reminders for all important task updates and unread messages.
Portfolio management: Swatle has a portfolio management to organize all the projects.
Easy to learn: Swatle is easy to learn when compared to all the collaboration tools for remote teams.
Reporting and analytics: Swatle has a workload view to analyze your team members workflow
Customer support: You can directly contact their support team anytime to solve queries instantly
Cons
Standalone tool: Swatle don’t have integration capabilities to other applications
Team adoption: to fully utilize Swatle all team members need to consistently use the platform.
Pricing
Free forever: Suitable for teams who are exploring Swatle you can create 1 portfolio, 2 projects, 2 groups, unlimited tasks, activity log, Kanban board, calendar.
Premium plan: $6 per user per month (or $5 per user per month when billed annually). This plan has unlimited access to all their features.
Basecamp
Basecamp was launched in 2004 and it is mostly preferred by small teams, because of its features such as project dashboard, message dashboard, hill charts and pricing.
Key Features
Project Dashboards: Basecamp has a dashboard for each project, providing an overview of to-dos, messages and schedules.
Message board: Basecamp has a specific board to send and receive messages related to projects eliminating back and forth of email threads.
Campfire: It has real time group chat for quick questions and answers related to projects.
Automatic Check ins: Regularly polls your team for updates, keeping everyone on the same page
Pros
Ease of Use: Basecamp is well known for its simplicity and user friendly interface.
Built-in Communication: Basecamp has inbuilt real time messaging which makes this as one of the best collaboration tools for remote teams.
Client Specific Projects: Basecamp allows you to create projects for clients and communicate directly with clients within the platform
Flat Pricing: Basecamp offers a flat pricing model, which can be cost effective for larger teams as the price does not increase with the number of users.
Cons
Lack of Advanced Features: Basecamp lacks some advanced project management features like time tracking, task dependencies and advanced reporting.
Not Ideal for Complex Projects: Basecamp is better suited for simpler projects and will not meet the needs of teams managing highly complex projects
No Free Plan for General Users: While there is a free plan for teachers and students, general users do not have access to a free version or trail version
Asana
Asana was launched in April 2012, it is mostly used by small teams who manage small projects and tasks. Asana can be integrated with more than 200+ tools.
Key Features
Task Management: You can break down work into manageable tasks with clear assignee and due date.
Automation: You can create workflow automations to save time on repetitive tasks
Time Tracking: You can track the time spent on tasks to better budget and manage resources
Asana AI: Asana AI will generate subtasks for a primary tasks
Pros
User-Friendly Interface: Asana is commonly known for its intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface.
Collaboration Features: Asana supports team collaboration with features like task comments, notifications, and shared workspaces
Free plan: Asana offers a free plan for up to 10 members, which is great for small teams
Cons
Cost: The paid plan is expensive compared to other collaboration tools for remote teams.
Customer Service: Some users have reported that Asana's customer service could be improved
Real time messaging: Asana doesn't have real time messaging at this moment.
Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects was launched in 2006 as a web-based collaboration tool for remote teams. It became popular because of its competitive pricing and It integrates seamlessly with other Zoho applications.
Key Features
Comprehensive Features: Zoho Projects has a wide range of features such as task management, Gantt charts, time tracking and document management
Collaboration Tools: Built-in chat, forums and document sharing enhance team collaboration for remote teams.
AI Assistance: Zoho AI assistant, Zia helps you with data insights, search, and translate, reducing manual work
Pros
Affordability: Zoho Projects offers competitive pricing, including a free plan for up to three users
Customer support: Zoho projects support team provides support 24/7 via calls or meetings.
Cons
Limited Free Plan: Zoho free plan has limited features and is suitable only for small teams
Limited Third Party Integrations: While it integrates well with Zoho apps, the number of third party integrations is comparatively limited.
Bug reporting process: Zoho Projects users report issues with inconsistent screenshot uploads.
Microsoft Projects
Microsoft teams was launched in 1984, it became popular because of its native integration with Microsoft teams. When combined both it is one of the best collaboration tools for remote teams.
Microsoft projects and teams are built to enhance security of the organization. It is mostly preferred by financial institutions.
Key Features
Advanced security: Provides advanced protection against cyber threats for individuals, businesses and enterprises.
Task Management: You can create, manage and assign tasks using to do, in progress and done status badges.
Microsoft 365: Easily integrates with Microsoft 365 tools
Collaboration: File sharing, integration with Office apps, and real-time collaboration on documents.
Pros
Planning and Scheduling: Microsoft Project has Gantt charts and scheduling to view tasks better.
Familiar Interface: The interface is similar to other Microsoft Office products, which makes it easy for the users to navigate.
Cons
High cost: Microsoft projects are slightly expensive when compared to other collaboration tools for remote teams.
Not ideal for Agile Methodologies: Microsoft projects are not a best fit for teams using Agile methodologies.
Complex Setup: Onboarding and customizing Microsoft Project is time consuming and complex.
Customer support: Users felt it is hard to get a support response from Microsoft support teams.
Troopr (Jira Slack integration)
Troopr was launched in 2018, is a Jira Slack integration tool. Most organizations use Jira for project management and Slack for collaboration. Troopr will help the organizations integrate these two platforms and make it a perfect collaboration tool for remote teams.
Key Features
Conversational Ticket Creation: you can create Jira tickets directly from Slack channels
Reporting and Analysis: Troopr assists you in creating customizable reports to track the project progress
Check ins: You can conduct daily automated check ins in Slack channels
Enjo AI: Troopr has an AI assistant to instantly solve support tickets.
Pros
Eliminate manual copy pasting: You can directly create and change the status of Jira tickets from Slack.
Improves visibility: You can share your project progress directly to stakeholders in Slack channels
Deep Integrations: Integrate with Jira service management and Jira software
Customer support: They provide 24/7 customer support via calls, emails and Slack channels.
Cons
Cost: Since Jira and Slack are already paid tools, the cost of Troopr will add additional expenses.
Not suitable for small teams: Troopr is primarily preferred by enterprise teams because its features benefit large organizations more than small teams.
How to Choose The Right Collaboration Tools for Your Remote Teams
Your challenge isn't just finding the tool, but finding the right tool that aligns with your team's unique need, work style and organizational culture.
Create a simple Google form with the below questions and more questions you have in mind about collaboration and project management and circulate it to your remote team members. It helps you get a better understanding of what your team needs in order to eliminate misunderstanding and to bring better results.
On a scale of 1-10, how well do our current collaboration tools enable clear and timely communication across the team?
Approximately how much time do you spend each week managing or navigating our collaboration tools. Instead of actually doing productive work?
Are there any critical features missing in our current collaboration tools?
How intuitive and user-friendly do you find our current collaboration tools
How well do these tools support our remote work environment?
Is it time consuming to copy and paste tasks from communication tools to project management tools?
Conclusion
Choosing the right collaboration tools for remote teams is not just a technical decision. It is a strategic investment in your team's productivity and communication.
The right collaboration tool will transform how your remote team works by reducing the time spent on email, centralizing communication, and minimizing misunderstandings.
The best collaboration tool is the one that your team actually uses and finds helpful.
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