In recent years, many people have become interested in the digital nomad lifestyle. Work culture is changing on a global level, and people now want different things from their jobs.
Being a digital nomad means you don't have to work in an office from 9 to 5, you can work from anywhere with a decent internet connection. This lifestyle is very valuable for people who like exploring because it allows them to work and travel at the same time, which is a great perk for many people.
After the pandemic, more and more digital agencies are choosing to work remotely. In this context, having good tools plays an important role in keeping productivity up. Tools like SuperOkay and Figma are helping agencies work well with clients from their remote positions - these tools allow agencies to manage work irrespective of their location.
Let’s look at some of the essential tools any Digital Nomad should consider having in their arsenal:
Tool #1: Slack
Instant Company-wide Communications
- Category: Messaging / Virtual Meetings
- Features: Huddles, Channels, Instant Messaging, File Sharing
- What it’s best for: Instant and useful communication with your entire company from one place
- Cost: Starts at 6.75$/month
In the world of instant messaging and video conferencing apps, Slack comes out as a stand-out product for the professional workplace. Many apps like Zoom, Discord, Teams and others have been offering solutions in the space, but none have quite grasped the concept in the same way that Slack has.
Slack offers multiple features that are remarkable for the smooth operation of a whole team. “Huddles” allow for a team member to call an entire cohort of team members in a single click and, provided that everyone’s online, the whole team can conference and share documents quickly and easily.
“Slack transforms how we handle projects and daily tasks at Gorrion.io. It's our go-to for quick updates or hashing out details that need rapid attention. Especially with Huddles, our team can resolve issues on the fly, just like we’re in the same room,” - Piotr Górecki, Head of Marketing at Gorrion.io
Other features like Slack channels also contribute to make Slack a very appealing option for teams looking for a great internal communications tool, but the sleek and easy to use UI is what really turns Slack into a must-have for most digital agencies.
Tool #2: SuperOkay
Client Portal
- Category: Client Portal / Project Management
- Features: Create Client Portals, Smart Document Editor, Smart Tasks, File Exchange
- What it’s best for: Sharing files, dates and tasks with Clients while looking Professional
- Cost: Starts at 19$/month
SuperOkay is a Client Portal web app that allows users to create a new and unique Client Portal for every client/organization they do business with. A Client Portal is an online platform where the agency/freelancer can upload documents, files, tasks and to-do lists which are all synced over the cloud and updated automatically for both the agency and the client. This allows agencies to have one single source of truth for their projects and also keep all the information under one single hub - all this while looking super professional and on-brand.
SuperOkay allows for the use of custom domains on portals (so you can brand the URL to the portal with your brand name) and white listing on emails, so that emails coming from SuperOkay (such as invites) are actually seen by the client as coming from your business address. Combined with a multitude of other deep customization options such as background images, logos, color palette selection and more, SuperOkay allows agencies to create a very professional looking virtual space to host their project content and share it with their clients.
SuperOkay also includes many productivity tools and features like the Smart Document tool, which allows for the creation of text documents that can be collaboratively worked on with clients, while having access to lots of exclusive tools such as the option to ask clients for answers to specific questions, request document uploads from clients, and more.
Tool #3: Zoom
Virtual Meetings
- Category: Video Calling / Virtual Meetings
- Features: HD Video, Meeting Scheduling, End-to-End Encryption, Meeting Recordings
- What it’s best for: Working “face-to-face” in a virtual setting
- Cost: Starts at 15.99$/month
Having gained immense popularity during the pandemic, Zoom serves as an essential virtual meeting solution, facilitating video conferencing. With its user-friendly interface and robust features, Zoom allows agencies to have face-to-face meetings with clients, irrespective of geographical locations. This solution allows for real-time discussions and collaboration.
Zoom's recording feature allows for the easy documentation of virtual meetings, which is a valuable resource for future reference and review so that agencies can ensure no crucial information is lost.
Zoom Meetings have become an intrinsic part of the remote work experience for many companies and agencies around the world, making it a must-have tool for anyone looking to improve their efficiency in the context of remote work.
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Tool #4: Basecamp
Project Management
- Category: Project Management
- Features: One-page Dashboard, Project Messages, To-Do’s, File Sharing
- What it’s best for: Making teams more organized and clarifying goals
- Cost: Starts at 15$/month (per user)
Basecamp has been adopted by many digital agencies due to its capacity to centralize communication, tasks and deadlines all under one roof. This simplifies the daily activities of teams to a great extent, allowing everyone to have one source of truth and be on the same page.
Basecamp also has robust file-sharing capabilities (which allow for seamless document exchanges between team members) and integrated scheduling and milestone tracking tools (which allow teams to monitor deadlines and milestones, so projects are always completed on time). Basecamp also has user permissions and access controls, which enables agencies to maintain data security and privacy to safeguard sensitive information.
Tool #5: Figma
Collaborative Design
- Category: Design
- Features: Collaboration Tools for Design, Product Integrations, Plug-Ins and Widgets
- What it’s best for: Create, share and test designs with your team
- Cost: Starts at 15$/month
Figma is one of the best solutions for graphic and web design in the modern day, because it functions fully on the cloud, allowing for the work that team members create to be available to the entire team immediately. This allows team members to work together in real time and even create edits to each other's work instantly.
The platform is very user-friendly and has a minimal learning curve, especially for users who are already proficient in other design tools such as Adobe’s Photoshop or Illustrator. It might not be as deep as some of these more mature platforms, but Figma’s insane usability certainly makes up for its lack of depth in some regards.
Conclusion
Remote work has become really big in recent years, and this has been made possible by new technology. Some agencies and companies have gone completely remote. This helps them save money and work better while still taking care of their clients. Using these 5 tools can help agencies keep providing good services. Zoom is good for meetings, and SuperOkay helps with sharing files, tasks, and other things easily and quickly.
In the end, digital nomads can use technology to have an adventurous life anywhere while still being professional and productive.
The only thing left to decide is: where to go next?
