Top Office Suites for Digital Workplaces

Global adoption of Cloud migration has seen a sudden surge over the past few years, owing to covid and our recent shift to remote working which has forced companies to lean on cloud services and applications now more than ever. This shift not only helps trim budgets and enhance the way your workforce communicates but also causes companies to focus more on generating revenue and relationships, not on IT.

What is Digital Workplace?

A digital workplace is a cloud based collaborative work platform that lets businesses move work to the virtual space. Such platforms contain all the applications, data, digital tools and collaboration tools employees need to handle their everyday work within a secure online interface through one single platform. So, with digitalization of workspace whether team members are working remotely from different cities or from the same office space, they can collaborate in real time seamlessly from anywhere, anytime.

Why do we need a Digital Workplace?

The modern workplace relies heavily on collaboration tools to stay productive, and organized. These tools can be anything from instant messaging to virtual meeting tools, file storage, enterprise social media tools, and even automated workflows. Having these natively integrated just makes more sense than having them in different windows and tabs.

In the current scenario, cloud-based software suites like Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite) have changed how we work, making it way more feasible to co-create with a teammate on the other side of the world. Some of the boxes that a digital workplace checks are:

• Centralized hub for employees having access to their data within a single browser window
• Significant savings by minimizing IT requirements and physical data storage
• Access to files regardless of location, device used, or time of day
• Reduced risk of data loss decreasing the potential of viruses, ransomware, and other cyber security problems
• Increases the collaboration and efficiency of employees by providing simultaneous syncing, working and sharing documents in real time
• More transparent data insights and analytics
• Seamless for the end user

A digital workplace must be tailored to the exact requirements of each organization. When evaluating different workplace solutions, potential buyers compare competencies based on factors like integration, evaluation, deployment, service and support, and specific product capabilities.

If you are the buyer, list down non-negotiables and nice-to-haves for your business. Once you’ve set your requirements and budget, it’s time to look for options and learn about their features, pros and cons, pricing plans, and average ratings. Here we have reviewed a bunch of office suites for you and narrowed our list to 5 such platforms that may cater to your requirements.

Which suite is the best digital workplace solution for your business? Let’s find it out!!

Google Workspace:

Google Workspace has plenty to offer any organization that needs a collaboration suite, a website, shared calendars, and email services. It is a productivity suite for business owners who want to work with team members nearby or around the world. It lets you share your files with anyone across the globe, live-edit with others at the same time from any device and let them all jump in and contribute to the project. With some add on and explore tools, it is also getting smarter.

Its browser-based approach means its apps and your files are available and work the same on any platform. What makes it great is how it’s built for collaboration and provides added customization, integration, security measures, and storage space that are essential for businesses of all sizes.

Google Workspace Tools Included: Gmail, Docs (word processor), Sheets (spreadsheets), Slides (presentations), Keep (notes), admin console, file sync, Drive (Cloud storage), Meet (video and voice conferencing).

Pricing: From $5/month per user Starter plan for teams. It also has Business Standard, Business Plus, and Enterprise plans.

Pros:

• Professional business email @yourdomain to build customer trust
• Simple to add new users
• Impressive range of collaboration tools covering the vast majority of business needs
• Extremely reliable service with high uptime
• Easy for employees to sign in on their mobile devices
• Keep all your devices in sync
• Massive, ever-growing amount of integrations with every kind of tool
• Best choice for solopreneurs or freelancers who want an affordable solution for email and productivity tools
• Apps and permissions tracking with the Google Admin Console

Cons:

• It’s expensive compared to other alternatives when you need more storage
• You’re locked into using Google Apps for everything

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 is a good option for businesses or individuals looking for an all-inclusive productivity suite. It clubs together Microsoft Office apps in one cloud platform. Its software, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, is familiar to many users,so its easy to use. Its feature set expands over OneDrive for file storage and sharing, Teams for chat-based collaboration, Exchange for email hosting and SharePoint for web-based collaboration etc. It is more expensive than Google Workspace, making it less ideal for small businesses.

Microsoft 365 tools include: Microsoft Office apps such as Forms, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and OneDrive

Pricing: Office 365 Business Essentials starts at $5/user/mo. with annual commitment.

Pros:

• Enterprise-level secure file storage and multiple layers of security ensuring advanced threat protection.
• Supports engagement within organizations and with an enterprise social networking tool
• Rolls out automatic updates regularly
• Intelligent assistance like Analyze Data in Excel, Researcher in Word, and Briefing emails.
• Integrates with thousands of business software and services through Microsoft AppSource

Cons:

• Compatibility issues with legacy and bespoke enterprise systems
• More expensive than competing platforms
• Long download times for updates

Zoho

Zoho Workplace, an integrated online office application suite that includes a word processor, email hosting platform, web conferencing tools, chat functionality and more. Zoho Workplace can gain access to features such as 30 MB email attachments, unlimited organizations and private chat channels, 5 GB file upload for docs and even Workspace integration for free for up to 50 users, making it an excellent choice for small businesses; businesses with over 50 users can access all of these features and more through the Standard or Professional editions.

Zoho Workplace Tools Included: Word processor, spreadsheets, presentations, email, team chat, file sync, websites (with 25+ other Zoho apps available)

Pricing : Free for 25 users with 5GB storage; $3/month per user Standard plan for unlimited users and 30GB storage

Pros:

• Each app includes a Zoho Chat box where you can talk to your colleagues no matter which Zoho app you’re using.
• Zia, an AI assistant for writing and data analysis
• A feature-rich email tool and a lot of designs and templates for presentations,
• Advanced search capability across all Workplace apps
• Integrates with the Zoho ecosystem, which includes CRM, finance, and marketing platform
• Workplace Dashboard gives you an all-in-one view of apps

Cons:

• Some reliability issues and fewer resources to teach you how to make the most out of this platform.
• Difficulty in troubleshooting as it is not as popular as other collaboration apps, so there are limited resources online.
• Difficult recovery process for accidentally deleted files

Dropbox

Dropbox simplifies the process of sharing, syncing, and accessing of files across multiple users.With a simple user interface, unlimited storage and file retrieval, and vast user permissions, dropbox Business helps your team collaborate more efficiently. More than 300,000 business teams and over half of the Fortune 500 use Dropbox as a digital workspace and cloud storage solution. But while Dropbox is a powerful file-sharing and collaboration tool, it doesn’t offer the same full feature set as Workspace. It lacks key communication features so it cannot replace Gmail or Meet.

Dropbox Tools Included: Mail,Word processor, spreadsheets etc.

Pricing: Dropbox Business Standard package starts at $12.50/user/mo.

Pros:

• Advanced features like versioning, automated backups, file search etc
• Integrates with third-party tools without requiring you to leave the platform
• Comprehensive admin controls
• Activity tracking to give you insights into user actions
• Easy to revert to previous file versions with enhanced version control
• Doesn’t force you to compress files

Cons:

• Occasional slowdowns or errors while syncing files between devices
• Storage limits can be restrictive for businesses with lots of data
• Focus more on rolling out new features than on strengthening their basic functionality

Bitrix24

Built with small businesses in mind, Bitrix24 offers a full suite of capabilities including Social networking, Web domain hosting,Group chat,Video conferencing,Document collaboration,Email hosting,Human resource management,Mobile portal and more. What makes it unique is its comprehensive project management capabilities and customer relationship management.Its high level of customization lets you tailor it to your specific needs for example you can create your own dashboard.

Bitrix24 Tools Included: Mail, Word processor, spreadsheets,free website builder, calender

Pricing: Free for up to 12 users; Cloud Edition Standard starts at $79.20/mo. for up to 50 users; On-Premises Edition starts at $1,490 one-time fee

Pros:

• Built-in CRM with customer database, and sales automation
• HR modules such as employee scheduling and timesheets
• Business intelligence capabilities, including an analytics dashboard and interactive reports
• Integrated apps such as e-commerce stores, accounting software, and web conferencing capabilities
• Advanced business intelligence tools
• You can use the platform offline and have your work uploaded to the cloud once you go online
• Quick and helpful Customer support.

Cons:

• Limited options for user roles and access permissions
• Can’t customize task statuses
• It’s mobile app functionality is quite limited
• User interface can be overwhelming
• Complicated setup and UI

Conclusion:

Whether you’re a small business looking for an affordable solution or a big enterprise in search of something with more advanced capabilities, the options outlined in this article should have something that checks your requirement boxes. Each platform comes with its own unique set of pros and cons so make sure to do some research before picking what is best for you.