Business communication and collaboration software Troop Messenger has helped thousands of project teams provide excellent results and achieve their business goals.   Our communication platform centralizes their communication, enabling them to discuss ideas and concepts as well as collaborate on tasks efficiently.   Useful features like real-time communication allow users to quickly discuss the current status of their tasks and evaluate their performance on the spot. Troop Messenger is optimized for mobile devices, enabling users to connect seamlessly with other members of the team from their smartphone or tablet.   By unifying their communication and improving their collaboration capabilities, Troop Messenger has allowed our users to deliver results on time, within budget, and according to their clients’ expectations.   We are proud to announce that Troop Messenger has hit a major milestone. We have received a couple of awards from CompareCamp - the 2019 Rising Star and Great User Experience Awards. CompareCamp is a reliable resource for in-depth SaaS reviews for B2B and B2C software and other products, helping businesses and organizations make smart, information-driven software investments.   Earning two different distinctions from such an esteemed body is a huge win for us. We assure our users that these awards will further fuel our goal to provide them with better software as we roll out new versions in the future.

The technology-driven world has built the current era of convenience by giving simple solutions to complex problems. It has brought many super flexible and diverse forms of applications to integrate displaced things or people on a unified platform to make things happen better. Having said that, I suggest you try to improve work quality and increase productivity at your workplace by adopting smart solutions.   Make conversations real-time and dynamic with the help of instant messaging apps, instead of static and long threaded confusing emails!   Don’t just let your productive morning hours go in checking and replying to those lengthy transactional emails. instead, switch to simple and easy-to-use team collaboration applications like Slack or Flock for a swift understanding of your work and its updates.   The blog article of PGi says emails don’t provide collaboration features to coordinate work.   Though there are so many chat applications out there, now team conversations are more seamless and organized with Troop Messenger. We had performed various in-depth analyses of our competitor’s tools to give you better insights into their pros and cons with our previous comparison blogs of  Slack Alternatives, Ryver vs slack, and Microsoft Teams vs slack. However, this time we made our best efforts to make you know the highs and lows of two rivals: the most popular Flock and Slack.   Flock, a simple team messaging software, founded by tech entrepreneur Bhavin Turakhia in the year 2014 has a notable client list from across the globe including; MERU, Policy bazaar, Crisil, Avendus, Ricoh, Gini & Jony, McDonald’s, Sodexo, etc, Flock is available across all devices, so you will never miss a thing.   On the other side, the initial release of Slack happened in the year 2013, by its founder Stewart Butterfield and now the non-engineers built application has reached the top of silicon valley with its stock market debut of $20bn.    However, this time we made our best efforts to make you know the highs and lows of two rivals: the most popular Flock and Slack. Table of Contents Quick Infographic Comparison between Flock and Slack  1. Flock vs Slack: Communication 2. Flock vs Slack: Notifications 3. Flock vs Slack: Pricing 4. Flock vs Slack: Integration 5. Flock vs Slack: Search (all) 6. Flock vs Slack: Storage with file sharing+ 7. Flock vs Slack: Support Conclusion Quick Infographic Comparison between Flock and Slack    1. Flock vs Slack: Communication   Flock says it is faster, slicker, and way richer than Slack for its communication and collaboration across teams. With its simplest communication, the users and teams of the application can push the boundaries of team productivity to the next level.   The loading time of the Flock home screen is quick as gazelle, and it loads 2.5 times faster on desktop and mobile than on Slack. Connect across various devices and never miss any updates, as Flock is available on desktop, web, and mobile. Work happens only when people communicate! Flock allows you to message yourself to quickly save messages, files, links, videos, audio files, etc., to refer to later. Simply select from “All Contacts” or “Teams” to start communicating with them, and also, you can quickly add others to the current conversation. It allows you to create groups within teams and enables you to continue discussions on projects and their deadlines. When you no longer wish to receive noisy notifications from a particular group or team, you can mute all those conversations to not get disturbed. Despite you mute a particular group's conversations, you can re-chat with any of them with the help of @ mentions features as they get notified of your message.   Besides the above-explained features, you can start an audio conference for a clear understanding of your work updates. Going further, you can start or join a video conference to have a face-to-face conversation to exchange great ideas and opinions.   Our Verdict: Flock loads faster than Slack. As far as audio/video conferencing is concerned, Flock allows it to have individual participants and channels in its free plan. Whereas, Slack only allows the calling facility with single users, but not in channels in its free plan.     Communication across Slack takes place through direct messages, channels, and threads.   Create unlimited channels for distinct projects and work along with all the project members thereby meeting timely project deliveries. The user onboarding process seems to be great with Slack, as a Slackbot welcomes you to assist you with the tool. Moving forward, for all kinds of advanced queries and tool information, it will search for the help center to answer you better. And as far as communication via video and audio calling is concerned, now Slack supports audio-video calling in its free plan for one-on-one user chat but restricts audio calling in channels in its free plan.   Besides, the user will not be able to share their desktop screen during a video call in its free plan. On the contrary, you can find Troop Messenger allowing users to share their screens for free while they are using video calls.   Our Verdict: Flock loads faster than Slack. As far as audio/video conferencing is concerned, Flock allows it to have individual participants and channels in its free plan. Whereas, Slack only allows the calling facility with single users, but not in channels in its free plan.   2. Flock vs Slack: Notifications     Flock allows you to stop receiving the notifications by enabling them, the “Do not disturb” notification preference. You can keep it active for 1 hour, 8 hours, 12 hours, or until you resume it.   Then another set of notification preferences that you can enable/disable would be;   pop-up notifications, user online notifications, video call ringer and audio alerts.     Slack never allows you to miss out on any important information to keep you upgraded and updated through its notifications.   Being an active member of many channels, you often find it distracting to receive a large number of messages every hour. Worry not! Slack enables you to pause notifications with a wide set of timer options, available for desktop and mobile. Simply click on the bell icon seen right after your workspace name to view an entire range of notifications designed by Slack. Moving further you can customize notifications as you require them. This includes; You can set them for your entire workspace, or any specific channel. 3. Flock vs Slack: Pricing   Flock has made simple plans for everyone! Being a freemium pricing model application, it has come with plans Free for small teams, and a Pro plan for mid-size teams and companies. Enterprise for large enterprises and organizations.   Let’s have a quick look at, what all facilities Flock allows in its three pricing variants;   It facilitates to create of unlimited private and public channels Can send unlimited direct messages Users can search for unlimited message history in its Pro Plan and Enterprise. Whereas they are only restricted to searching and viewing the most recent 10k messages in its Free plan.  As far as the apps and integrations are concerned; it allows the integration of unlimited third-party applications from all three pricing plans. The screen sharing feature is available in both Pro and Enterprise plans, where it doesn’t extend the same in its free version. Up to 20 users can join for an unlimited time duration in Group video calling. Whereas in the free plan, though it allows the same number of users to the group call, it restricts them to 20 mins/per call.       Slack as a freemium application has pricing plans to accommodate everyone’s needs. It offers a limited number of features for free for an unlimited amount of time. To Experience the full-level feature stack, one needs to opt for paid plans. Slack comes with three different pricing plans Standard, Plus, and Enterprise Grid with features segregated according to each.   Taking a closer look at each plan;   The Standard Plan is meant for small and medium-sized businesses at US$2.67 per user/per month when billed yearly, and the same has been structured at US$ 3.20 per person/per month when billed monthly. With this, you can access the entire message history unlike its free plan, create guest accounts, supports unlimited apps and third-party app integrations, screen sharing, can make group video calls with up to 15 people, channel recommendations, priority support, and many more. The Plus plan has been made for larger businesses that are looking for advanced administration tools. This plan is priced at US$ 5 per user/per month when billed annually and at US$6 per user/per month when billed monthly. With all the benefits of Standard, this plan provides; 20 GB storage per user, SAML-based single sign-on(SSO), Corporate exports for all messages, user provisioning and de-provisioning, and 99% guaranteed uptime SLA with a few more additional features. The Enterprise Grid Plan is specially designed for very large businesses. As it can be customized to suit diverse industry needs, the users who would want to opt for it needs are asked to contact sales on their pricing page. With all the goodness of the Plus plan, these plans allow the users to create unlimited workspaces along with enterprise-grade security and compliance, a dedicated customer support team, a huge 1TB storage per member, organization-wide search, Audit Log API, Enterprise Mobility Management( EMM), etc.,   4. Flock vs Slack: Integration     Flock allows you to integrate a wide range of third-party apps such as apps for productivity, project management, file management, customer support, marketing, and others for performing tasks better and thereby bringing great results. It supports 60+ apps to be a part of the application, or it lets you build apps with the help of Flock’s APIs to integrate them into the application. Apps like Google Drive are deeply integrated into Flock, where-in it can be accessed within the application only. But in my observation, what I could notice was, there is a Video Conference Bot available to join calls with other team members right within the application. The users of Flock can go to Flock’s App Store right within the application to explore a wholesome number of apps to start integrating them.       As far as the integrations of Slack are concerned, it is more fun to work with it, as it supports more than 1500 app integrations into it. Slack users can directly peep into the world of apps to start using them right from Slack’s home page itself. Slack is well-known for its huge list of integrations. These bot applications such as Polly, Doodle Bot, Geekbot, Kyber, Statsbot, Timebot, Attendance bot, and Leevbot, help users like virtual team members to manage tasks seamlessly. Go to “View App Directory” to find a wide range of app categories and collections.   Our Verdict: Slack supports more integrations than Flock.   5. Flock vs Slack: Search (all)     The search functionality of Flock allows the user to search messages from, “Anyone” and “All Conversations” posted across the tool. Flock users can also search for other team members and channels to start conversations.        Search messages, files, and messages from Slack’s search functionality. Simplify your file search from the search facility of your files and all files. Also, search by name or category to choose your favorite apps while integrating them.   Our Verdict: The search functionality looks to be more well-designed in Slack.   6. Flock vs Slack: Storage with file sharing+     Flock’s storage differs according to its pricing plans. The freemium application provides file storage of 10 GB/team in its free plan. 100 MB is the maximum file storage allowed here in Flock.   The file storage that is accommodated for the Pro plan and Enterprise includes; 10GB/per team member and 20 GB/per team member respectively.   Share your presentations, text files, and code snippets across direct messages and channels with, ‘Attach’ from the message editor. As far as cloud storage is concerned, Google Drive is integrated within Flock for easy access to file sharing and retrieval from the cloud.     Slack offers 5GB total in its free plan, 10 GB storage per member in the Standard plan, 20GB storage per member in the Standard Plus plan, and finally 1TB storage per member in its Enterprise grid plan.   It supports a wide range of file management tools such as DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, Quip, Adobe Creative Cloud, box, and many more. Simply integrate them and share your files across the cloud.   Our Verdict: Flock offers more storage limits in its free plan when compared to Slack.  7. Flock vs Slack: Support   Flock allows you to get in touch with their support team, just right within the application itself. The users can directly chat with the customer support executives by leaving a message them.   It will help users to understand anything on the Flock. Watch a 2-minute video to get to know how the application works.   The slack team extends a well co-ordinated and collaborative customer support to all its users.   The support teams resolve issues and share knowledge of the product. It allows users to collaborate with more powerful integrations to achieve faster customer query resolutions.   It lets you post support tickets in channels themselves only, thereby not letting you leave it to track their status on them.   Our Verdict: As far as customer support is concerned, both offer great services.  Conclusion Small or large, every organization needs a business collaboration tool for successful and uninterrupted team communications. While you choose, ensure the tool must have an easy and smooth learning curve for understanding it better. The latest entrant in the block, the Troop Messenger is no less competitor to any other business chat application. Give a sure shot for it to attain reliable, secure, and seamless team communication!   Disclaimer The aim of the article is to be informative. We intend for users to take an informed decision for an effective and productive experience. The comparison shown between Flock and slack in the blog is only towards that end and has no intention of pitting one against the other team collaboration app brands. The images, logos, any concepts, etc., used in this blog, purely belong to their respective companies or applications (Flock and Slack).   Readers are advised to consult and confirm with the respective service providers regarding details of features, the latest updates, prices, and policies before utilizing any of their services. This further informs the reader that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog solely belong to the author’s perception, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee, or other group or individual.

The current business infrastructure highlights the progress of mankind. We no longer need to be in the same room with other people to collaborate.   People can work from anywhere in the world, given that that place has internet and electricity. Incidentally, nearly four million Americans found their favorite workplace — their own homes.   At the very core of this phenomenon are the gig economy and technological progress. This allows to considerably improve the quality of life for many people, by cutting down the time they spend commuting to work, increasing their productivity, and offering impressive freedom to travel while working.   What’s more interesting is that it has motivated people to collaborate more often and much more efficiently via methodologies, frameworks, and most importantly, collaboration software.    In this article, we’ll look into a list of mind-blowing collaboration statistics. Let’s dive right in, shall we?   1. Collaboration is More Than Lip Service   While many professionals recognize the immense importance that cooperation has to offer, businesses, unfortunately, don’t do enough to stimulate their employees to collaborate.   As a study published by Queens University suggests, the problem with this extensive lack of collaboration is by no means technological, since we have so much cutting-edge software like Troop Messenger that allows organizations to communicate effortlessly.   Employees all too often lack the soft skills needed to bridge the personal and cultural divides between them and their colleagues. Simple things like greeting one another as you go about the working day help to open everyone up and make them more approachable.   Communal breakout spaces allow team members to talk about ideas and proposals in a more inviting environment than the boardroom and are essential for allowing junior members to have a voice.   It’s all about creating an environment in which everyone feels empowered and encouraged to make a difference, provide feedback, and put forward a new idea.   But it’s not just the employee’s fault.   When asked on the importance of collaboration in the workplace, three-quarters of surveyed employers suggested that it’s essential to their company’s output.   However, ironically, under 20% of employers discuss factors like “communication,” when performing regular performance reviews.    “It’s most definitely the case that businesses will benefit greatly from having a dedicated strategy to stimulate collaboration within their organization.”  — Jenna Langley, a Head of HR at Trust My Paper.     The same study also suggests that 39% of employees find that they don’t collaborate enough. 2. Lack of Collaboration Can Fail Projects A recent study published by Salesforce indicates that little over 85% of respondents consider that the primary reason for failed projects and workplace failures, in general, is an overall lack of collaboration and poor communication.   The same study suggests that a whopping 97% of surveyed workers indicate that the factor that has the most adverse effect on the outcome of work-related projects or tasks is a lack of alignment within teams or coworkers.   This should be another red flag for business owners and executives to start implementing the right strategies and the right software in their company’s workflow, which will allow to considerably optimize the success rate of their projects.   3. A Strong Sense of Community Besides allowing to considerably improve an organization’s KPIs, the collaboration will enable us to feel like we’re part of something greater than ourselves. Teamwork allows us to have a strong sense of community and belonging.   A report published by Gusto indicates that efficiently working in teams is one of their central motivators of remaining loyal to the business they work for.   More importantly, it’s now very common for people to consider leaving their workplace, because they didn’t feel like they had a strong connection to the collective and that they didn’t collaborate very well.   When surveyed, 52% of respondents said that they did consider leaving a job, because they didn’t have a strong sense of community at their workplace.   Furthermore, the same study indicates that nearly 55% of employees have stayed on a job longer than they intended due to a powerful sentiment of belonging and a strong bond to the community.   When asked what the most important reason for staying at their current company is,     nearly 40% of respondents indicated that it’s due to working with a great team.    4. A Considerable Boost in Performance A paper published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology back in 2014, found that even the illusion of working on a task with a group of people considerably increased the output of the subjects.   The participants were told that they are to work on a task that was a collaborative effort and that many other people are working on a common goal, others were told that they are to work on a task on their own.    The experiment concluded that the participants that were working on a “team project” lasted nearly 65% longer than their solo counterparts. More importantly, they appeared to be less tired and were able to achieve higher success rates.   The researchers that conducted the study suggest that by merely feeling that you are a part of a collective that is working for the common good stimulates people to take on challenges. A similar study was published by the Institute for Corporate Productivity indicates that organizations that stimulate collaboration among their employees are five times more likely to have a considerable performance edge over businesses that do not.   The authors examined a broad set of companies (over a thousand) that identify as businesses with collaborative cultures.   The same study has highlighted another significant finding — companies that worked for a higher goal, that had a purpose, so to speak, were even more high performing than the companies that just identified as companies with collaborative cultures.   5. Low Morale is Detrimental   The truth is that improper communication won’t just stop your organization from enjoying the benefits of high-quality teamwork — it can considerably decrease employee morale, which, as a result, will dramatically reduce your employee happiness and retention.   In a study published by Accountemps, nearly a third (33%) of human resources officers indicated that improper collaboration and communication are what define low employee morale. The second most common factor that determined the employees’ discontent with their job was excessive micromanagement.   The authors have identified the most important solutions to low employee morale:   Gossip due to insufficient information. Humans are evolutionarily driven to understand their surroundings. When we lack clear information, our brains need to complement reality with assumptions, rather than facts. Don’t hide important information from the team.   No initiative. Employees that lack purpose and don’t feel that they are part of a team will often avoid taking the initiative in their hands. Always ensure that your teammates understand the value of their impact on the project.   Lack of rewards and appreciation. Besides simply indicating how important their input is, employees need to be occasionally rewarded for their hard work.   Being able to identify the above red flags will allow you to address these issues and alleviate the adverse effects in a timely manner before they can escalate. Furthermore, this will enable you to improve your team’s productivity.    Conclusion: Businesses often forget how much work has to be done after they’ve recruited their personnel. As research suggests, organizations need to invest a lot of time and effort into motivating their workers to collaborate and also create an environment that is conducive and suitable for a fruitful collaboration between employees.   Author Bio  Diana Nadim is a writer and editor who has a Master degree in Marketing. She combines her passion for writing with her interest in research and creates thought-provoking content in various fields. Besides working as a contributor writer for Studicus, Diana also runs her own 3to5Marketing blog. What inspires her the most in her writing is travelling and meeting new people. Follow her on Twitter

As companies show more and more interest in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) so do their concerns about the risks associated with storing their sensitive data on poorly secured SaaS “cloud” servers.   The results of a 2012 Capgemini report showed the top concern for businesses considering a move to the cloud was the possibility of a data breach. Companies are rightly concerned about such breaches, in the backdrop of a flurry of reports of data breaches in recent times.   Data is an important strategic asset for any business, and its breach can be devastating. This means any SaaS provider worth consideration should centralize its efforts into maintaining high security and privacy standards for its clients’ data.   In this article, I’ll share what to look out for when considering how a SaaS provider will handle your precious data.   I’ll also cover the risks associated with storing your data with a poorly secured SaaS product.   Along the way, I’ll explain how to ensure that you’re making the right choices when it comes to selecting the SaaS provider to who you’ll be trusting your sensitive data.   What are the Risks?   While using a SaaS provider will undoubtedly offer you several advantages, such as less upkeep on your part, lower overall costs, and making things easier on your IT department and your users, there are several risks involved in migrating to SaaS.   Data Access Risks   When you use a Software-as-a-Service provider, you are handing over your valuable data and other information to a third-party. If your data ends up in the wrong hands, especially your competition, it could be disastrous.   Stability   Security and stability are significant factors to consider when deciding on a SaaS provider. In a continually growing market like that SaaS is experiencing you can expect to encounter providers that may have difficulty in keeping up with the growing demand. This could be a significant problem if the provider you select goes out of business down the road.   If your provider does shut down, you could be faced with issues such as data recovery, the portability of your data, and additional costs of finding a new provider. That equals a lot of time and your business money going down the drain.   Security of Your Data   While a SaaS provider can easily discuss encryption protocols, 256-bit security, and more, it may leave the customer a bit confused. Logically, you know your data is being kept safe. But, just how safe is it?   In addition to how your data is protected while it’s being transmitted and stored, what about disaster recovery? What happens in case of a power outage or a natural disaster? Is your precious data recoverable? How long will it take to get back up and running?   There will also be ongoing concerns on how well a provider will keep up with modern security standards. You’ll need to make sure the provider responds promptly when security holes are discovered, and updates to their security protection are required.   Loss of Direct Control Over Your Data   While using a SaaS provider’s servers means you don’t have to spend time and employee resources to configure, set up, manage, maintain and upgrade software, you do lose total and absolute control over your data.   If something happens and you lose data, you won’t have any direct access to find out what went wrong. Instead, you’ll be forced to contact your service provider, then wait for their answer on what went wrong and for them to tell you what can be done about it.   The Location of Your Data   Your SaaS may not disclose to you the locations of their data centers. This could cause issues for you down the line. Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) regulations state customers must store sensitive data within the borders of the U.S. This could lead to instances where you might not have access to your data if you’re outside the country.   Lack of Transparency   SaaS providers can certainly be less than transparent about how they handle the security of their customers’ data. This lack of transparency can cause mistrust between the provider and its customers.   There are providers that will argue, and perhaps rightly so, that this lack of transparency on how they run their server operations helps protect the security of their customers.   However, there needs to be found as a happy medium between secrecy and data transparency. In this case, you do indeed want to know how the sausage is made!   What to Consider   Security   When using a Software-as-a-Service provider keep in mind that all of your data will be residing on your service provider’s servers. Always take a close look at what type of safeguards a SaaS provider has in place to protect your company’s data.   Real World Security   Site Security   Real-world security might not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering SaaS and cloud storage. However, if you’re using SaaS, your data is sitting on someone else’s hard drives. Those hard drives exist in a physical location, and that location should be kept secured from access by unauthorized personnel.   When a company is using its own servers, they consider things such as how their server farm is secured, which personnel has both physical and network access to the servers, and more.   Considering the security protection for SaaS should be no different. Always quiz any potential provider on how whether they own their servers, where they’re located, what type of physical security protects access to their server farms, and who has physical access to the farms.   Disaster Recovery   Disaster management is also an important consideration when considering a SaaS provider. What types of disaster recovery plan does the provider have in place in case of fire, earthquake, or tsunami? (Hey, it could happen!)   Any provider worth consideration should have a solid disaster recovery plan in place. They should have a disaster recovery site set up in a location geographically separated from their primary location, and they should perform disaster recovery testing on a regular basis. They should also be able to provide an informed estimate of how long it will take to get things up and running again when disaster does strike.   Backup and Recovery Guarantees   Make sure you understand how the SaaS vendor you’re considering approaches backups and recovery of your data. Make sure the agreement specifies the vendor is required to restore your data in case of disaster.   Important factors to consider in this department are the amount of time an application might experience and what kind of potential data loss might take place. You should always have some type of compensation coming your way if your vendor doesn’t meet your reasonable expectations.   Virtual Security   Once you’re satisfied the servers holding your data are physically protected, it’s time to determine how well your data is protected from virtual access by malicious parties. A reputable SaaS provider should have a security operations center to monitor and respond to security threats in real time   What type of access do you have to your data? Who else has access to your data? How well is your access protected against a Denial of Service Attack?   User Access   Would it be possible for unauthorized users to gain access to your data via the vendor’s website? (In other words, does the vendor offer a login gateway on their website or is access performed strictly through a protected portal?   A website gateway isn’t necessarily a weak spot. However, it can be used as an important piece of any spoofing attack that might be conducted against a SaaS provider. (Some readers may remember the 2014 email spoofing incident that involved Salesforce. This is an excellent example of how a login gateway on a website can cause trouble.)   What type of authentication does the SaaS provider use to authenticate your users’ logins? Do they offer two-factor authentication (2FA)? Is the 2FA performed via an authentication app on a mobile device, is a link or code sent via email or text? Or does the provider supply SecurID key fobs?   Check to make sure you can configure SaaS logins to come through a portal, like your company’s enterprise portal. Portals that are accessed via a VPN are a security plus. (A VPN is always a plus when it comes to security.)   Data Encryption   You’ve made sure access to your data is secure. Now, what about the security of the data itself? Always make sure your data is protected by encryption, both while it’s being transmitted and while it’s stored on the provider’s hard drive.   Data should be encrypted using a strong algorithm, such as offered by AES-256. Also, make sure your backups are encrypted for extra protection.   Find a provider that is open about their security and encryption procedures. Sure, they can’t spill all the beans on how things are secured, but they should be able to supply enough information to put your mind at ease. Microsoft, for example, has done a top-notch job of being transparent about their security measures.   Data Ownership   While SaaS buyers may logically expect that they own their data, there have been cases where the companies have been in for a big surprise when they terminated their relationship with their provider.   Make sure all contracts clearly specify what, if any fees are connected with getting back your data at the end of a contract, It would be a good idea to use a business contract example to help you draw up a suitable contract. Also make sure it is clear that in addition to all of your data, you also retain ownership of any proprietary code and customizations you may have put in place during the agreement’s run comes with you at the end of the day.   Data Usage Analysis   Many SaaS vendors keep track of their users’ data (anonymously) across multiple clients. This allows the vendors to determine their research and development roadmaps and enables them to benchmark areas such as application usage, sales pipeline metrics, customer service wait times, and much more.   While this is a reasonable way to do business, customers should be provided with information about the data being captured by the provider, plus any possible benefits the customer might gain from the gleaning of their information.   Uptime and Performance   Be sure your SaaS service contract details expectations for application uptime. While a provider may make some off-hand guarantee of “99.5% uptime”, make sure the provider can supply documentation of previous uptime performance. Push for a performance guarantee.   By the way, a 99.5% uptime guarantee means you might reasonably expect to not have access to your data for almost two days out of the year. It doesn’t sound so great when you put it that way, does it?   Support   One benefit of Software-as-a-Service is that companies can move some of their help desk and support burden over to the SaaS provider. While this includes the traditional support calls and bug fixes duo, SaaS vendors should also offer additional support services such as password resets and other system health-related checks.   Always make sure the vendor specifies what types of support you can expect, (such as text, email, phone support, or online chat), and which users will have access to the support. (Management, base users, supervisors. etc.)   In Closing   While Software-as-a-Service is an excellent option for many businesses, there are pitfalls along the way that must be dealt with. The security of your company’s data is of utmost importance, and any concerns you have must be dealt with before agreeing to any contract with a SaaS provider.   Make sure all of your concerns are addressed before signing on the dotted line. Pay close attention to every security-related consideration, treating each concern with the utmost care. By doing so, you feel upbeat as your valuable data is in a safe haven!

You are here on a page that talks about ‘Free Gantt Chart Software.' Would it be too early to say ‘Your search ends here’? I guess not! Because, here, you get to review an impartial analysis of top Gantt chart software with templates and examples. This blog post needs your undivided attention.! 5 minutes will be enough. Let’s start with the basics. Missing a deadline when you are on a serious project is never an option!   You need to accomplish your task with accuracy and precision, and that too within a fixed timeline. There are a lot of things running on the schedule that one needs to manage while working on a project.   Project management is not as easy as you think. You will have to keep a record of every step you take. It will be difficult to maintain such records if you don't have Gantt Chart Software. Right from the duration of the task, the name of the person who is assigned to the task, the task milestone, how much investment was involved, and how much time is scheduled for each achieving each milestone-everything must be recorded with top-notch accuracy.   For fulfilling these project management requirements, Gantt chart software always comes in handy. Unlike the traditional timeline charts and manual records, it focuses more on the interdependencies within tasks instead of emphasizing only the broad picture.  What is a Gantt chart?  Gantt chart is a very important tool that is used to visually schedule and monitor projects. Its main objective is to show the activities that are finished, the ones that are currently ongoing, and also those that are yet to start.   Henry Gantt was the first person to introduce the concept of a Gantt chart, and ever since it has become an integral project management tool. Gantt chart gives a visual or graphical representation of all the tasks undertaken in the project. It also gives the duration for each task and other important details with the progression of the project.   Generally, the bar of the graph changes its shading to show the progress of the project. Upon the completion of the project, the graph color turns to a different shade. Also, it can show the name of the person to whom a particular task is assigned and the milestones that are set to achieve the final goal. You can jump through hoops building a Gantt chart in Google Sheets with severely limited customization options, pay a premium for a paid solution, or get your work done in a free Gantt chart software in just a few clicks. Gantt Chart Glossary you need to know   Tasks: Tasks are different types of work assigned to individuals which should be done to reach the goal. They come with the start date, end date, duration, assigned person, and all the other details involved. Milestone: It’s a task with zero duration. It can indicate an important date in the project plan, for example, the initiation or completion of an important task. You might use it to make the completion dates of specific tasks.  Summary task: It is a group of tasks. They are made of sub-tasks that show combined information. Task status: It shows the progress, percentage, and completion of the task. Dependencies: It shows the link and connection between different errands.  Assigned resources: It indicates the name of the people assigned to specific tasks   Ready-made Gantt Chart Template to use Template.net Gantt Chart Templates can be edited in several formats such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and Apple Numbers. These Gantt charts are incredibly useful in project management because they allow you to track the status of project tasks. They also help keep track of deadlines, milestones, and hours worked. Working with clients helps boost the perceived value as the clients are able to see the progress of their projects in real time. Having a document that gets updated every time a task gets completed or makes a certain amount of progress helps in decreasing the communication needed to notify the people of the progress made thereby enhancing the employees' overall productivity. Here is what you can do with the Template.net Gantt chart:   Plan & Schedule Projects Plan & Schedule Tasks Plan and schedule Tasks across Multiple Projects View Tasks Over Time Plan in Sprints Team Collaboration Scheduling Teams’ Work Determining Planned versus Actual Timelines on a Project Increasing Perceived Value for Clients Increasing Employee Productivity Pricing: Template.net has both Free membership and paid Plans which start at 8/per month. Best Free Gantt Chart Software 1. ClickUp 2. GanttPRO 3. ProProfs Project 4. ProofHub 5. Wrike 6. Rocketlane 7. Smartsheet 8.  Gantt project  9. Office timeline 10. SmartDraw 11. Gantter 12. Bitrix24 13. TeamGantt 14. Backlog 15. Good Gantt 16. Rational plan 17. Tom's planner 18. ProjectLibre 19. Hansoft 20. Ganttic 21. Merlin Project 4 22. Teamwork 23. nTask 1. ClickUp   No more boring Gantt Charts! With ClickUp, every Gantt chart looks beautiful. It is easy to manage anything, whether it could be people, projects, tasks, spreadsheets, email and chat, to-do lists, documents, notes, etc. The ClickUp free Gantt chat software is the only application that provides feature customization to build awesome projects. ClickUp is the best Gantt chart maker that has been rated 5 stars ratings by G2, Capterra, and GetApp and supports incredible integrations! You can automatically import your data from other productivity apps that you use. Unlike other online Gantt chart makers, this tool provides a wide variety of ready-to-use Gantt Chart Templates for Marketing, Development, Project Management, Design, and more. So, if you are looking for the best free Gantt chart online solution, your search may end here. Features that make you opt for this tool:   Custom Statuses Multiple Assignees Agile Board View Workload Chart Time Estimates Remapping Due Dates Future Recurring Tasks on Calendar.   Pricing: Free Forever and Unlimited at 361.14 INR per user/per month.   supported platforms: Access from any; Web, iOS, Android, Chrome, Desktop, Alexa, and google home. 2. GanttPRO   Pricing: Free 14-day trial and $15 per user per month.   Supported Platform: Web-based   With this exclusive Gantt Chart software, you can easily create charts and visual graphs through existing templates of project planning. These charts can be shared with team members for better collaboration and project management.   It may not be a free Gantt chart maker but it has an extensive community of users who create and share editable templates for different projects.   Here are some of the features of Gantt Pro:   Unlimited number of projects and premium support  Multiple Gantt chart baseline and task filter Can allow one active project per member Customizable export to PNG, PDF, and XL format  Project estimation cost and working hours Onboarding and team progress tracking Resource management All the other basic Gantt chart features   It is the best Gantt chart online solution for people working individually. It’s also a good choice if you want to work with your group since it supports features like team training sessions, real-time notifications, and project role settings for members. 3. ProProfs Project   ProProfs Project is an online project management tool that solves your need to plan, schedule, and deliver projects on time. With the Gantt Charts feature, you can visualize milestones, track work progress, and view project status on a single dashboard.   Gantt charts keep you updated on what’s going on in your projects, enable better time management, prevent resource overload, and help you meet deadlines like a pro.   Here is how you can achieve all this with ProProfs Gantt charts:   Assign tasks to the relevant team members. Use drag and drop for proper task planning. Set due dates for each project and task. Track time spent by team members on each task. Set reminders and notifications for project completion. Share files, and links, and give feedback using task comments. Receive detailed reports to monitor team performance. Assign roles & permissions for access control on Gantt charts. Calculate billable hours and generate shareable invoices   ProProfs is a popular choice of Gantt Chart tool amongst creative teams, IT project managers, and digital marketing teams who seek immense clarity in project scheduling and planning. If you are looking for a free Gantt chart maker, I would suggest you look for other tools, since it provides a free plan for 15 days only as a trial period only.   Pricing: Free 15-day trial. Afterward, $2 per user per month for the Essentials plan and $4 per user per month for the Premium plan.   Platform Supported: Mobile, Web, Desktop. 4. ProofHub   ProofHub is a project management solution and collaboration software that makes work easier for teams. It facilitates planning, helps in tracking progress, and allows real-time collaboration and communication so that efficiency increases and deadlines are met on time.  ProofHub is a project management software that has an exhaustive list of features and the Gantt chart is one of them. The Gantt chart in ProofHub gives you a timeline view of all your projects in one window. It helps in planning your projects and tracking the progress of tasks at any given time. Here is what you can do with ProofHub Gantt charts:   Add tasks and task lists to the Gantt chart. Clearly distribute roles and duties by assigning tasks to team members. Set dependencies between tasks and adjust schedules as work changes or deadlines shift. Highlight the critical path to see which tasks directly affect the start and end date of the project. Adjust the start and end dates of tasks with a single drag and drop. Associate milestones with tasks.   Pricing: ProofHub is priced at $99/month (limited-time offer). It offers a free trial with complete access to all its features.   Platforms supported: Web-based, Google Play Store & App Store 5. Wrike   You can now stop updating your project in Spreadsheets! Instead, Wrike offers you simple, yet tried and tested Gantt Charts to make you understand and visualize the time and resources allocated in a given project. Set task deadlines for your team members and make them faster and smarter. The fluid-like application easily adapts to the changing environments of Agile methodologies. The online work management application of Wrike seamlessly scales across the length and breadth of your organization. Integrate the tools you daily use with Wrike. It supports a wide number of integrations. Features that come with Wrike:   Task and Subtask Management Shareable Dashboards Collaborators Business Intelligence Integrations Custom Fields and Workflows Advanced reporting and data visualization Additional Integrations   Pricing: Wrike offers many plans; Free, Professional, Business, Wrike for Marketers, Wrike for service delivery teams, and Enterprise.   Supported Platforms: Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web app 6. Rocketlane   Rocketlane is an easy-to-use and intuitive Gantt chart that helps you effectively manage projects and stay on top of project dates and timelines. With its 5-star ratings from G2 and support for crucial integrations, Rocketlane is a trusted tool for project management. One of the standout features of Rocketlane is its ability to import data from other productivity apps, making it seamless to bring all your project information into one place. The ready-to-use Gantt chart is also easily customizable, allowing you to tailor it to your specific project needs. Efficient, customizable, and feature-rich, Rocketlane is the ideal tool for streamlined project management.   Make changes on the go with simple drag-and-drop functionality. In-line edits allow you to quickly modify tasks, ensuring accuracy and flexibility in your project management process. Create and manage dependencies between tasks and project phases to ensure a smooth workflow. Create and assign tasks to multiple people, ensuring collaboration and accountability within your team. Get a comprehensive view of your project's critical path and the slack duration for various tasks. The "Baseline" view allows you to set reference points and benchmarks for your project timelines, ensuring you stay on track and meet your goals.   Pricing: Starts at 19 USD per user/per month.   Supported platforms: Web Chrome, Desktop. Coming soon: iOS, Android 7. Smartsheet   Create quick online Gantt Charts in just a few seconds with Smartsheet Gantt Chart Software. It works better and intuitive than Microsoft Project. This application is preferred by businesses of all sizes, as it increases productivity and saves time. A real-time collaborative Gantt chat software that brilliantly organizes and schedules tasks of all kinds of projects for their smooth execution. You just name it! The Smartsheet will get it for you. This free online Gantt chart solution has a wide number of ready-to-use Gantt Chart templates for the categories of product management, project management, software development, digital marketing, and more. Features that SmartSheet has:   Drag and Drop Gantt Bars Set Durations and Dependencies Premium Integrations Identify Critical Path Track Milestones Share with stakeholders Access your work on a Mobile   Pricing: Besides its free edition, SmartSheet comes in Standard and Enterprise.   Supported Platforms: Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows 8.  Gantt project    Here’s why we have placed the Gantt project at the top position of this list: It’s available for free for both personal and commercial uses.   Established in 2003, the Gantt Project is not just a clone of the MS projects but a lot more. It is one of the most efficient and trusted free Gantt chart software. Gantt project will run anywhere where Java runtime is available as it is written in Java.   It is a desktop application that allows you to:   Manage the elements like tasks and milestones, including the initiation date, priority, duration, notes, resources, etc. Create a hierarchy that shows the cost, progress, and details of lower-level tasks displayed on the upper level. Draw dependency: dependencies between tasks, leads, etc  Baseline: you can compare your current status with your previous plans by creating baselines Generate PDF / JPEG/ PNG files  It can export and import to/from CSV for analyzing data in spreadsheet apps.  Allows import and export to Microsoft projects.   If you are looking for a Gantt chart online with free plans, the Gantt project has great features allowing users to collaborate with WebDAV servers and use cloud storage for storing all projects in the cloud. As you can see, the Gantt project is a light and useful software that is very easy to use if you are a beginner in project management. Price: Free  Supported Platform: Windows, Linux, OSX 9. Office timeline   Subscribe to Office Timeline PowerPoint Add-in to directly create timelines and road maps in PowerPoint. Office timeline allows users to seamlessly produce sophisticated Gantt Charts and swimlane diagrams simply and quickly. Be in sync with your whole team by sharing your visual presentations, and assigning tasks while collaborating with them online. The 4.5-star rated application improves project planning with professional-looking Gantt Chart Templates. Though they seem to look on the surface, they have powerful underneath layers. This Gantt chart software offers a free edition. You can download it to check how it works. Important Features:   Consolidate Multiple Projects Editable and Shareable PowerPoint presentations Fully customized swimlanes Imports data from Projects Timelines in hours and minutes Unlimited free updates Group Tasks on one row   Pricing: Get Office Timeline Powerpoint Add-in at $99/1-year Pro License and Office Timeline Online at $59/1-Year Plus License.   Supported Platforms: Windows and Mac 10. SmartDraw   The one-in-all chat maker application that is easier than Visio for making powerful flow charts, floor plans, and organization charts offers a quick start and ready-to-draw diagram templates for designing accurate and perfect layouts. The CNET five-star rated product is trusted by many users such as FedEx, General Dynamics, Nestle, Tesla, SAP, Texas Children’s Hospital, Pepsi, and more. With SmartDraw, you can notice a marked difference in managing your projects and processes. This smart application has a broad variety of Gantt Chart Templates developed for almost every category. Be it Confluence, Jira, Trello, G Suite, or any, it integrates with every tool that you use. The only diagramming application that runs on a web browser allows users to seamlessly collaborate to work on the same diagram from different sign-ups. Important Features:   Intelligent formatting engine Wide Color Schemes Visio Import and Export Built-in Extensions Custom Extensions using Visual Script SDK Collaborate anywhere Enterprise administration   Pricing: One-time purchase for a Single User at $297 with no monthly or annual billing. For multiple users, SmartDraw comes at $ 595 per year, billed annually with multi-seat administration features.   Supported Platform: Mobile, Online edition, and desktop edition(Windows and Mac). 11. Gantter   Gantter is a cloud-based, community-powered, project scheduling and management tool. Its most distinctive feature is the community-contributed task scheduling templates and the suggest and assist the engine, With Gantter, you get an optimized user experience as it allows seamless integration with Google apps like Google Drive, Calendar, Hangout, etc. Primarily,   Gantter has three editions:   Gantter Cloud Gantter for Google Drive Gantter for G-Suite   Here’s what you’ll get with these editions:    Features:   Save or open the Gantter files to Gantter Cloud/Google Drive. Access to millions of free community-based templates. Access 24/7 community-powered support, suggest and edit recommendations, and real-time collaborative editing.  Auto-Generated WBS (Work breakdown structure), custom columns, built-in analytics, Cost and task tracking, and resource auto-leveling.   MS Project import and export.   The team collaboration features let users bring multiple timelines and teams together, work on multiple tasks, and gauge project completion. The Google edition is best for those who use Google Drive and other G-suite applications.  Pricing: $5 per month per user. Gantter is also available for a 30-day free trial   Supported Platforms: Web-based apps. 12. Bitrix24   Bitrix24 is a highly reliable Gantt chart software with the main specialty of moving tasks while still keeping their connections to compare current and baseline states at any time. This is mainly a team collaboration software that offers the benefits of project management and CRM. It can create a very professional Gantt chart for unlimited tasks and projects. It's another great option to work with 12 users. So even a small or average-sized company can use it very easily.  It also monitors the workload on employees and identifies the tasks that can be uncertainly delayed.   Important features:   Free unlimited projects Free unlimited subtasks  Free 5GB online storage Multiple Gantt charts Free 12 users  Task dependencies Cloud and on-premise  Open source code and API Free mobile PM (Android and IOS)    With Bitrix, you can communicate with team members and also work collaboratively on the project by gauging the visual representation of tasks, milestones, deadlines, and dependencies. Other fancy features are office reports, checklists, template report builders, etc. Pricing: $69 per month for all team members.   Supported Platform: App Store and Google Play Store 13. TeamGantt   This project management suite allows users to manage tasks while reviewing them in a different visual or graphical format. This Gantt chart-free solution provides team communication, project planning, and resource management functions which are very intuitive and offers user flexibility to assign tasks, set deadline, and create priorities via the drag and drop option.   Some of the exciting features of this project scheduling software are:   Unlimited time for using the free version  Drag and drop scheduling  Customizable view through Google Calendar  Centralized storage of tasks, conversations, documents, and achievable. Review into team member’s workload and availability  Exports to PDF but the watermark Auto-update on team progress  Daily Mail reminders  File attachments  Graphical formats for showing planned vs. actual timeline.   TeamGantt brings project scheduling online with the easy-to-integrate Gantt software. Users can invite teammates, co-workers, and friends to edit and view the Gantt chart.   Pricing: $0 for small teams of three members. $49.5 and $74.5 for teams up to 5 and 10 members.   Supported Platforms: Web-based 14. Backlog   Backlog is an all-in-one online project management tool for task management, version control, and bug tracking. Bringing together the organizational benefits of project management with the power and convenience of code management, Backlog enhances team collaboration across organizations large and small. Plan work, track progress, and release code updates right in Backlog.   Why Backlog   Task management, bug tracking, and version control in one tool Visual Gantt and Burndown charts for better planning and resource management Built-in Git and SVN repositories Custom statuses and workflows to suit your project Mobile app for Android and iOS users Kanban-style boards for each project make it easy to view every task as they move through your workflow.   15. Good Gantt   Many Trello users have been waiting for this for a long time. Now they have access to a Gantt Chart with deep integration in Trello. It will seem as if it is one application and you do not have to go to external pages during use. You can quickly plan a project by creating Trello cards directly from the Gantt Chart   Here are some of the features of Good Gantt:   On one Gantt chart, you can view all your Trello boards  You can set up integration with time trackers to keep track of the actual execution time of tasks by your employees  Nice design Automate the movement of cards depending on the actions Evenly distribute the load among employees Group tasks and milestones track progress by the task Use hotkeys for quick work   Pricing: Free for one user without restrictions. Prices for use in a team depending on its size. It starts at 2.99 per person per month   Supported Platform: Web-based 16. Rational plan   This comprehensive project planning and scheduling software covers are available for free with Linux.   The rational plan offers a variety of project management features. It is available as a cloud-based solution as well as on-premise and it helps both the project managers and teams to develop a consistent project plan with the analyzed workload, allocation of resources, estimation of project cost, and management of the budget.   Rational Plan has two versions: You can either use a cloud service or opt for an on-premise application.   On-premise- single version for Linux- It shows advanced planning through dynamic Gantt charts and timesheets. This single version will allow you to share the project with MS users. Gives you a chance to share the details about your projects with other users who are involved.   Cloud-based- Includes all the basic Gantt chart features for two users, two projects, 100 tasks, and 5 MB storage.   Here’s why Rational Plan is a great choice for Linux users:   Schedule the project using duration-driven activities  Use of recurrent, split tasks, and milestones. A visual way of tracking the baseline and dependencies Critical path detection  Collaboration with team members and integration with Microsoft project files   Some other feature includes portfolio management, resource management tool, cost tracking, scheduling, time management, and all the basic Gantt chart features.   Pricing: The free trial and the paid plan start from $19 per month (for the cloud-hosted version)   Supported Platforms: Linux, Cloud-based, On-premise. 17. Tom's planner   It imports projects from Excel, MS Project, Trello, and Basecamp an excellent web-based Gantt chart application. It requires no installation and has easy drag-and-drop options with right-click menu and task management.   Tom’s planner really stands unique when it comes to the collaboration feature. This project scheduling tool offers a free subscription with two-user limitations and offers most of the basic features.   With Tom’s Planner, you can:   Create professional Gantt charts and share them virtually  Zoom in to check who’s doing what and how far they’ve progressed Drag and drop to make the edits and changes on the fly Import projects from Excel, Basecamp, MS Project, and Trello  Embed charts with SharePoint, WordPress theme, and Confluence   The free subscription can allow for 200 items in a schedule. It only lasts for one year. This software is recommended for beginners who want to have a basic knowledge of project management.   Pricing: $ 9.95 per month   Supported Platform: Web-based 18. ProjectLibre     ProjectLibre is another great project scheduling solution for your team projects. Unlike other software, it is not a complicated one. Its main objective is that all the company users should be able to learn to work in the chart even if they cannot afford it. That's the reason it is open-source software.   This open-source alternative to MS project has the following features:   Gantt Chart Earned Value Costing WBS/RBS charts  Network Diagram  Resource Histograms  Compatibility with Microsoft Project   The software has received various awards which proves that being free it can give the best results. You can translate it into any language. It has versatility which makes it much easier to work for a small or large business.   Pricing: Free   Supported Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OS. 19. Hansoft   Hansoft originated from Sweden. The Swedish company offers many project management tools along with a Gantt chart template. Many companies swear by this software because of its seven main features.   You are allowed to refine your task from the backlog feature.  Long-term, as well as short-term planning, can be viewed and modified.  Supports Kanban, Waterfall method, hybrids, and Scrum Efficiency boosting features like the acceleration of plan up to 20%  Real-time dashboard to stay informed of real-world data and workflow management   Hansoft has all the basic features like an issue tracker, to-do lists, reports, resource allocation, integration, backlogs, and on-premise installation. So, you might want to change your mind if you are working on a big project.   Pricing: Varying rates depending on team members and the type of installation.   Supported Platform: Cloud and On-premise   20. Ganttic   Ganttic is an online Gantt chart aimed to help project managers perform unbelievable feats of resource management. With a visual overview of all your projects, resources, and tasks, you can ensure capacity, eliminate double-booking projects, and deliver projects in record time.    Multiple project managers can collaborate at the same time. And since planning is done in real time, everyone can stay on top of the changes. Share curated Gantt charts with the entire team. Or give clients and stakeholders access and keep them up to date.   Here are some of the top project management features of Ganttic.   Cloud-based Gantt charts Drag and drop scheduling Task dependencies Resource utilization tracking Customizable color coding  Resource management Project portfolio management Multi-user planning environment Push notifications and Calendar Syncs Advanced user permissions Project templates API and Zapier integrations Unlimited users for every plan   Pricing: Free 14-day free trial. Up to 10 resources are free forever. Paid plans start from $25 per month.   Supported Platform: Web-based, iOS, and Android 21. Merlin Project 4   It is the latest project management software from Project Wizard. It runs specifically on Mac so before you go for this software make sure your team can work on Mac.   It has all the basic features one Gantt chart software has and it is user-friendly offering many possibilities. You can customize it as per your needs. It can also be used offline. You can edit or modify your planning offline, and it will keep the updates on the chart when you are back on.   Kanban View and Waterfall feature  Find critical paths and distribute tasks with few gestures Link attachment to tasks in the project  Stay up-to-date with cloud storage  Compact on the iPhone  Export and Import through MS project.   Pricing: $149 per year per user and $1,415 per year for 10 users.   Supported Platform: Mac and iPad 22. Teamwork The Teamwork project management platform allows you to map out your work, visualize your project timeline, update your plan in real-time, and keep stakeholders up to date, easily and seamlessly creating a single source of truth in your organization.Why choose Teamwork?   Easy to use online Gantt Chart Ready-made task list templates Create your own custom templates Time tracking to see if your projects are profitable Board view for better organization Portfolio - A panoramic view of where your projects stand Tasks and subtasks, so everyone knows what work they need to complete   However, it allows only 30 days for working free without any restriction, but after that, you must purchase it. Or you can upgrade to Merlin Project 3 which is totally free.   Pricing: Free for up to 5 users and 2 projects, Pro starts from $10 per user, per month.   Supported Platforms: Web-based   23. nTask      With nTask interactive Gantt chart software, you can create charts, and workflows and even find a critical path for streamlined project planning. Add tasks, set due dates, and assign tasks, and a Gantt chart will be created automatically for your projects.   Set task dependencies, and create milestones to help your team achieve their bigger goal. With Gantt charts, you can get other project management features such as time-tracking, Kanban boards, calendar management, issue tracking, timesheets, and many more. Here are some of the features of the task:   One-click Gantt chart creation. They are automatically created Resource planning Set Billable and non-billable hours 2 free team members on the Premium plan Critical Path Method and Progress Line Project financial summary and budget overview Set due dates, status, and task priority To-do lists and unlimited sub-tasks Recurring tasks and meetings   nTask is a favorite choice for SMEs, startups, and even enterprises for creating interactive Gantt charts with a drag-and-drop function.    Pricing: Free 14-day free trial. The plan is as low as $2.99 per user per month   Supported Platform: Web-based, iOS, and Android Conclusion There are many options outlined in this article. You can narrow the best choice by understanding what each software offers and comparing it with your company's needs. If you want to see more reviews, you can check out this article about Gantt chart software. It contains in-depth reviews and covers a few tools not included here. If you are still confused about which one to pick, consider the following five capabilities of an ideal Gantt Chart software:   It should support a maximum number of users and collaborators It should allow unlimited edits to the chart It should offer flexibility to work on multiple projects It should be easy to use with drag-and-drop features and one-click sync It should be compatible with the devices you and your team members use Once you keep these five features in mind and also consider your team’s requirements, the selection of the final pick will be a piece of cake!

It's been almost two years since Microsoft announced their plan to replace Skype for Business with the new collaboration tool, Microsoft Teams.   Though Microsoft Teams is the fastest-growing tool ever to arrive as part of the Microsoft ecosystem, that doesn't necessarily mean you and your company will feel comfortable using it instead of Skype. After all, we all have our own unique preferences when it comes to collaboration tools.   For now, Microsoft won't be forcing anyone to leave the Skype for Business environment straight away. However, if you haven't started planning the next step in your roadmap yet, now is the time to start. Table of Contents Migrating away from Skype for Business  How to choose a Skype for Business Replacement  1. Determine what your employees need 2. Get your team involved 3. Evaluate a wide selection of options 4. Consider software integrations  5. Measure the impact What is the Best Skype for Business alternative?  Go To Meeting Cisco Webex Teams Slack Viber for Business  Hive Migrating away from Skype for Business  Skype for Business has been a part of the Microsoft portfolio since the 11th of November 2014.   The application appeared on the marketplace as a replacement for Lync and offered companies an easy way to manage communication via instant messaging, video calls, and more.   Today, many organizations still look at Skype for Business as the go-to service for collaboration - particularly if they're already familiar with the Microsoft productivity suite. However, as the workplace has evolved, Microsoft has recognized a need for new features and functionality. By introducing Teams and replacing Skype for Business, the Microsoft brand is updating its collaboration solution to provide everything from call management, to artificial intelligence.   So, does that mean that everyone who uses Skype for Business should automatically move to Microsoft Teams?    Not necessarily.   There are plenty of other great tools out there that may deliver a better experience depending on your individual needs. Just look at Troop Messenger, for instance, this user-friendly team chat app is a simple and accessible way to keep teams connected.   With Troop, you can: Find crucial files instantly Rely on a secure breach-proof code to keep your chat safe Integrate your experience with third-party apps for a DIY solution Get helpful support from a committed team Chat and communicate seamlessly in real-time.   How to choose a Skype for Business Replacement  According to surveys by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, 22% of companies rely on real-time collaboration solutions for online meetings and consistent communication. The right software gives your employees more than just real-time messaging; it also ensures that everyone in your team can stay on the same page, regardless of where they are.   As the demand for collaboration tools continues to rise, transitioning away from Skype for Business can't be a passive experience for modern brands. Just like any other major investment, it's important to consider all of your options.   Here are a few of the crucial steps you'll need to take when choosing a Skype for Business replacement.   1. Determine what your employees need Implementing the best collaboration or enterprise chat tool isn't just about choosing the software with the latest technology or best price tag. You'll need to think about the problems you want to solve for your team. For instance, if your remote workers often feel isolated from the rest of the team, an app that prioritizes video conferencing might be a good choice.   If you're concerned that you won't be able to keep your globally-dispersed workforce on the same page, a collaborative tool that allows employees to track changes to recent projects, set deadlines, and assign tasks may be helpful.   Find out how your employees work, what they struggle with each day, and what they need to become more productive and efficient.   2. Get your team involved Even if most of your employees use Skype for Business to stay connected to their coworkers, there's a good chance that there are a handful of people out there using different tools. As mentioned above, today's team member has their own personal preferences when it comes to collaboration tools. Asking for insights from your workers will help you to find out which software they already like or feel comfortable using.   Getting your team involved with choosing the right collaborative tools will help you to plan your new investment based on what your employees want and need. For instance, ask your teams to list the kind of tools they like using or provide information based on the software they've tried in the past.   3. Evaluate a wide selection of options Often, when companies have been using something like Skype for Business for an extended period, it's easy to feel tied to a specific product portfolio. If you're already used to Microsoft software, then migrating to Microsoft Teams might seem like the easiest option.   However, the truth is that since implementing Skype for Business, there's a good chance that your needs and expectations for collaboration tools have changed. That's why it's crucial to check out all of the options available on the market, before committing to something just because it's familiar. Shortlist solutions that match your requirements and focus on finding the right mixture of available features, ease of use, and scalability. Ideally, the right collaboration tool will allow you to add and remove features as your business changes.   4. Consider software integrations  Another point to consider when you're looking for a replacement to Skype for Business is what kind of integrations you'll need. Collaboration tools make up a crucial part of the Unified Communication environment for your business. However, your company can't be truly unified if your employee's favourite software doesn't work alongside their enterprise chat tools.   Think about the CRM and ERP systems your people use every day. Will your new collaboration software work hand-in-hand with those tools? Can you implement the analytics software you rely on each day into your enterprise chat so that people can comment on your findings?   Integrations allow for more efficient workflows in virtually any business environment. Make sure your chosen application plays well with others. You could even look at combining various enterprise chat tools using a syncing tool like Mio.   5. Measure the impact Remember, when you do implement a new tool into your business environment, no matter whether it's a collaboration app or a new analytics service, it's important to measure the results. Roll your team tool out to a few select users at first and see how they respond to it. A free or trial version of some of your shortlisted apps will come in handy here.   The more comfortable your people feel using the tools you offer to replace Skype for Business, the less likely they'll be to seek out alternative solutions on their own. The last thing you want is issues with shadow IT to worry about when you aim to reduce silos in your workplace.   What is the Best Skype for a Business alternative? Now that you know how to assess your Skype for Business alternatives, it's time to start looking at your options.   There are dozens of potential enterprise chat tools to choose from on the market today. Here are just some of the best-known and most popular options that previous Skype for Business users might want to try:    Go To Meeting     Created by the Go To brand, GoToMeeting is one of the best-known collaboration tools on the market today.   The app earned a reputation for simplicity and accessibility, by giving businesses a way to connect with colleagues, contractors, and customers with nothing but a custom link.   With GoToMeeting, you can schedule conferences for any time or place you choose. Additionally, attendees can join from a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. There's even support for HD video conferencing for up to 25 people per session.   Some of the features you can expect from GoToMeeting include:   Personal meeting rooms One-click conference sessions HD video conferencing Desktop or mobile access Desktop/Application sharing Virtual whiteboarding   Cisco Webex Teams   Cisco Webex Teams is the natural step into cloud collaboration for users of Cisco Jabber.   Formerly Cisco Spark, Webex Teams offers full team messaging functionality. This includes one-to-one persistent chat, team messaging, and interactive meetings inclusive of Cisco whiteboard experiences familiar to users of the Cisco Spark Board, now the Webex Teams board.   For users with Cisco VoIP handsets, conferencing solutions, and telepresence devices, Webex Teams integrates with most devices in the portfolio to provide a streamlined, consistent experience.   New features recently announced for Webex Teams include:   People insights Live motion video Share anywhere with Webex Share New VDI client Improved video   Slack   Slack is often touted as the pioneer of team messaging. As one of the first persistent chat platforms, Slack has the upper hand when it comes to user experience and integrations as they’ve had longer to experiment and get it right.   Even down to the recently introduced Slack dark mode, Slack is always striving to improve its look and feel.   Another recent introduction is Enterprise Key Management (EKM). This has been introduced to satisfy the security requirements of large enterprises that had previous concerns over data retention.   Slack describes EKM as “providing all of the security of an on-premise solution, with all the benefits of a cloud tool.”   Key features of Slack include:   Automated reminders Task list management Custom shortcuts Many, many bot integrations Search channels for keywords and important documents   Viber for Business     Viber for Business completes the Skype for Business alternatives when looking for a collaboration or team chat environment.   Viber should be considered for businesses that have a large presence in Russia or the APAC region.   Viber’s consumer app has over 1 million users and users will benefit from the familiar look and feel – remind anyone of Skype before Skype for Business?   Key features of Viber for Business include:   HD voice and video Texts, photos, GIFs, and stickers Voice and video clips that can be sent later Call recording    Hive     Hive combines a unique blend of project management and team collaboration to provide teams the ability to manage their projects in the way they work best.   Configurable views are available to switch easily to ultimate flexibility.   Supporting Gantt, Kanban, and an assortment of tables, Hive then integrates into over 1000 other productivity apps like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Marketo.   Key features include:   Direct and Group Messaging (Private and Public Groups) Task Management File Integration with Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and One Drive Email Integration Notes   This is a starter for 10. Well, 5 actually.   Author Bio:  Dominic Kent is the Director of Content Marketing and Communications at Mio. Mio powers seamless communication between workplace chat apps like Slack, Cisco Webex Teams, and Microsoft Teams.