FX.co ★ 15 cloud services and apps for remote work during COVID-19 pandemic

TeamViewer

While working from home, employees need remote access to certain websites, files, or resources on the desktop in order to perform their tasks quickly and productively. TeamViewer provides the means to instantly connect to the desktop and servers from anywhere in the world if you have an Internet connection.

This service gives free access to Windows, iOS, and Android devices for personal use. Businesses are encouraged to sign up for a paid subscription.

Microsoft remote desktop

Remote desktop enables users to connect to their desktop not only from Windows 10 but also from Android, iOS, and Windows devices.

Setting up remote access to the computer from a particular device takes several steps. In addition, the free remote desktop app is available for every user in the Microsoft Store, Google Play, and Mac App Store.

CleverControl

Sometimes, when working remotely, employees are easily distracted or neglect their duties. As a result, work productivity drops drastically. For this reason, employers use CleverControl, a service that can track all types of remote activities of their staff members.

It is recommended to install this cloud service on employees' work devices. CleverControl is compatible with macOS and Windows and offers a free 14-day trial period for an unlimited number of PCs.

Timely

Timely is a time tracker that effectively monitors the employees' work time at home and determines how much time they spend on certain tasks.

In order to activate Timely, you need to connect the services where the personnel works with this app. Then, Timely is integrated with these services and starts analyzing the staff members' actions and showing their results on a timeline.

Discord

Initially, the app was made for gamers who used it as a free text and voice chat. Today, users of this service are more diverse.

The service helps organize working communication within the group and between departments, especially when more than two employees are working on a single project and they need the advice from colleagues and approval of the manager, or a discussion of certain topics.

The app is available for MacOS, Windows, iOS, Android, and Linux users. Discord can also be installed on a smartphone.

Slack

With the help of Slack team messenger, you can discuss some questions regarding work, as well as share news and achievements with your colleagues.

If the company has a big team of employees, it is more convenient to discuss projects and exchange files in several chats: for the sales department, IT, marketing, customer support, and so on.

Slack is a free messenger designed for a small group of users. It can be integrated with 10 third-party apps (Google Drive, Office 365, etc.).

Zoom

Sometimes certain problems cannot be solved via messengers. To address them, employees need to organize a face-to-face conversation. Without regular feedback and motivation, employees cannot evaluate their contribution to the project or a task. As a result, it may affect the quality of the completed project.

Zoom web conferencing service allows co-workers to discuss the interim results of the team as a whole and an individual in particular. Colleagues can exchange useful tips, provide assistance if needed and find out what difficulties they have faced while solving the problem. All this is possible thanks to a special feature of the service that allows recording and playing online meetings. Moreover, employees can also organize a chat or share files there.

Bonusly

This is another app aimed at motivating employees and creating an engaging environment while working remotely. Bonusly awards a fixed number of points to each user on a monthly basis.

During this period, the employee transfers these points to colleagues for helping them complete the project, solve complex tasks, and provide some recommendations and a piece of advice. At the end of the month, employees can exchange their collected points for corporate gifts, time off, and any other bonuses that are established by the company's management.

Windows Defender

When the personnel works remotely, there is a high probability of leakage of corporate information by accident. This is one of the greatest challenges that companies are facing.

As employers are unable to ensure security for all work devices, employees need instruction on ways of how to protect their work and home devices from cyber-attacks and viruses.

Antivirus protection built into Windows will help employees keep their computers safe. This service protects computers from malware and viruses in real-time and it is free for download. The scan results are displayed in the threat log.

Norton 360

Norton 360 is a paid multi-functional program for corporate data security, one of the leading programs on the Russian market.

This antivirus software protects the company from real-time threats, provides the tools necessary for password management, makes file backups in the "cloud" for the PC, as well as prevents data loss due to device theft or hard disk failure. Besides, it monitors connections between the protected device and other computers and blocks unauthorized access.

Google Drive

The main advantage of Google Drive is that users can simultaneously share files and edit them.

It also has additional features such as scanning documents using the Google Drive app on Android, uploading files to your computer automatically and synchronizing them, commenting on folders and files with adding a detailed description to them, editing documents in PDF format, etc.

More information on additional features of the service can be found on the official Google website.

Box

Box is a cloud storage service, one of the first services that started providing fixed-size server space to business clients. It works through a standard network protocol FTP and offers 10 GB of free cloud storage space for the company.

If you exchange small files (up to 256 MB), this service is quite convenient. You can test the storage capabilities on Box official website after registration.

Dropbox

Like Google Drive, Dropbox enables users to store all their files in one secure cloud and gives access to these files from any device.

Additional features of the service, such as notifications about the latest changes in documents, the ability to work with files in a team from different computers, tools for improving productivity in the workplace, data synchronization and a built-in calendar for scheduling work, ensure the effective work of the staff members while they are working from home.

Bitrix24

High-performance work requires the transparency of work processes. Employees should be aware of how the project is developing and how they can contribute to it. However, all the chats, messengers, mail, and other means of communication takes too much time. Besides, some questions remain unclear and staff members simply do not know what to do.

Bitrix24 integrates and simplifies communication within the company by compiling a list of specific expectations from employees while they are working remotely. Then, employers and the personnel discuss tasks, set a deadline, track the stages of task completion, and leave feedback. Notably, this app is free if it is downloaded from the official website.

Asana

With the help of Asana app, employers can create and assign tasks, group them into common projects, and communicate with the performers of each task in a live chat.

Tasks should be completed in accordance with the deadline. Employees can attach files from Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive in a chat with colleagues, and keep a personal to-do list. As a result, employers are able to evaluate the efficiency of work.