Tech companies have been educating businesses about the potential of using collaboration tools to improve project efficiencies, as well as help teams,  meet deadlines and milestones. Collaboration tools let team members keep in touch with each other from any location in the world.

There is no longer a need for boardroom meetings where all parties must be physically present. All that you need for effective business communications is an internet connection and collaboration tools to help you keep in touch with your team, from any location in the world.

Collaboration tools have a platform that offers video calling and conferencing, as well as a suite of interactive tools that allow team members to update project files and notify team members in real-time. Take your business into the information-age and check out these five collaboration tools to help you improve your team’s productivity and communications.

1. Get it for free – Ryver

Why pay for something when you can get it for free? Usually, we steer clear of free platforms because you get what you pay for. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case with Ryver. The platform offers a clean, user-friendly interface that doesn’t have the adverts flashing everywhere as you would expect from most other free tools available on the web.

Ryver is surprisingly functional, integrating with many of the tools you may be using for your project. Gmail, Dropbox, Yammer, and Basecamp all work well with Ryver, giving you one central management point that gives you a good overview of the project. Ryver works with Windows, iOS, Linux, and Windows phone. If you are a small business looking for a free collaboration tool to increase the productivity and connectivity of your team, give Ryver a try.

2. Our second choice – Slack

One of the world’s most popular collaboration tools, Slack, is our second choice for a communications and management platform that will improve your team’s productivity. Slack has all the bells and whistles associated with a premier communications tool, including integration with Dropbox and Google Docs.

There is a free trial available for download, but it is missing some of the essential features of the full version. Slack is worth the subscription fee and the millions of its loyal users around the globe would agree with that statement.

3. A mobile friendly platform –  Podia

Delegate tasks, update project status, and share files with team members, all from your mobile device with Podia. Podia was built for mobile functionality and integrates with some of the most popular productivity mobile apps such as Google Drive, Evernote, Zen desk, and Campaign Monitor.

Podia is ideal for teams that work remotely, or do not share the same office space. Podia gives your team instant connectivity with one another using video conferencing and instant messaging, as well as notification updates on all changes made to the project by team members.

4. The all-rounder – Trello

Trello is the best all-around option for a collaboration tool with full functionality for team communications and project coordination. Don’t bother signing up for the free trial as the functionality of the entire platform is not done justice in the free version. However, the full version of the software is trusted by millions of users all around the world.

Trello suits both the largest corporate projects, as well as small project management teams. The user-interface is friendly and fully customizable to your project communication needs. Trello has integration capability with Google Drive, GitHub, Slack, and Evernote; making is one of the most versatile collaboration tools you can use to enhance productivity and communications.

5. The best subscription value – Asana

Asana is an example of a user-friendly collaboration tool that has remarkable organizational functionality. Launched in 2008, Asana has a solid reputation as one of the first collaboration tools to offer real value.

Trusted by some of the world’s largest corporates such as TED, Intel, and Uber, Asana improves productivity and communications for teams, keeping everyone on track to meet deadlines. The free trial is compatible with iOS and Android and features components such as to-do-lists, project templates, and customizable dashboards.