Are you accessing the productivity app revolution?
The work revolution in the 1990s when word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and email applications were popularized was huge. Suddenly, people had the ability to significantly improve their productivity. This was given a further boost by the standardisation that took place at that time, often using Microsoft standards. This was part of the first generation of digitizing the workspace (home and office) and was very much individual focused.
Since then software has continued to ‘eat the world’, the internet has transformed everything and we have an ever-growing list of apps and smart devices to meet our daily needs. What may have crept up upon you without really noticing is the latest chapter of the digital revolution focused upon workplace productivity. This time it is more focused upon teams rather than individuals.
The latest revolution
There really is quite a lot going on. Rather than replacing the toolset from the 1990s, it is augmenting it. To make the point, example apps have been quoted below though, of course, there are alternative ones.
Communication
- WhatsApp – text messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other media
- GoToMeeting – video conferencing
- Doodle – scheduling meetings
Digital workspaces
- Workplace by Facebook – communication and group spaces
- Slack – a chat room designed to replace email as the primary method of communication and sharing
- Confluence – shared and open workspace
Document management
- Dropbox – file storage
- Google Docs – designed to allow teams to edit files at the same time and save all their changes automatically
Note taking
- Evernote – note taking, organizing, task lists and archiving
Presentations
- Tableau – data visualization
- Visme – presentations, infographics and reports
Feedback
- Qualtrics – gather feedback from all your stakeholders
Project management
- JIRA – issue tracking product that allows bug tracking and agile project management
- ASANA – designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work
- Monday.com – platform for managing tasks, including tracking projects, deadlines, and team collaboration
- Trello – task lists
The collaboration space, served by the above mentioned apps, is growing and there is more to come. Microsoft introduced MS Teams in 2017 which is integrated into their Office 365 product and hence has a potentially huge footprint. In addition, some of the collaboration app companies, such as Slack, have gone public with substantial initial public offerings. A clear sign that the action is heating up.
What do these apps have in common? They are cloud based (think carefully about data privacy), mobile ready, simple and intuitive to use and promote collaboration. They are available on a subscription basis and have minimal incremental costs for their software company owners. In other words, they have good profit margins.
If you are setting up a new organization, or modernizing an existing one it still makes sense to invest in the work productivity apps originating from the 1990s i.e. word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, project planning and email. However, the days are long gone where that is sufficient. To maximise productivity it is essential to embrace the latest productivity apps.
Of course, it is worth remembering that any software tool is of only limited use if the underlying organization culture does not resonate with the purpose of the software. If you have a non-collaborative culture, implementing this new generation of software tools will not, by itself, overcome this challenge.
The current productivity app revolution will not be the last. Before long practical use of artificial intelligence infused apps will appear on the scene. This will offer a further boost. For now though, it is likely that you can gain a lot of advantage from maximizing the current generation of apps.
