Best internal communication and collaboration applications for Businesses
If you are in a business, communication is one of the most important aspects that would define your productivity. The recent surge in the use of the Internet has been creating huge developments in the realm of business communication. Mobile internet has been one of the newest improvements that have been at the root of the new development.
Healthy communication is one of the basic requirements towards achieving the good teamwork and atmosphere at your workplace. Humans are blessed with the best way to communicate with one another. The trend was initiated through the growth of AIM and MSN messenger. The trend has now been replaced by the likes of WhatsApp and Slack. Compared to emails and video calls, the new range of services have been just a chat away and much easier to schedule than spending time unnecessarily. Moreover, they help you bring the much needed informal communication in the business correspondence.
Armed with that background information, let us check out a few options you have at your disposal for the best ever business communication requirements you may have.#1 Slack
If you are in business for enough years, you would have already heard about Slack. Already in the business for the last 5 years, the tool has been one of the best options in business communication ever since it was launched. 
Its popularity and monopoly can be validated with the fact that the tool has gone through a host of acquisitions. It acquired one of its competitors, HipChat and then later Stride. What makes it the prime tool for business communication is the fact that it can do a lot more than just chatting. It comes with a nifty option where it reminds you of your reminder. The built in Slackbot tool aids you in reminding the messages pending and other reminders.
The cleaner and simple to follow interface is one of the plus points for the app. What makes it even an excellent option is the option to do multiple jobs at the same time. What's more, it is well integrated with a host of other business tools thus making it easier working with them. #2 Trello
This is yet another excellent project management tool that has been growing a considerable growth over the past few years. Basically designed for managing your multiple projects, the tool has now become one of the widely used business communication apps.
Trello offers its functionality across both web app and mobile apps. You can simply organise your projects on the tool and work with your colleagues. The interface quite easy to work with, what with the dashboard and individual cards for each task. You can manage the entire work schedule by keeping an eye on the status of each of the projects you are working on. Check out what has been done and what still needs to be done. You can also get to know who needs to be the person that needs to complete each of these tasks.
A few other functionalities that the tool offers you include the creation of to-do lists and delegation of the tasks between the colleagues. When it comes to integration with the other tools like Evernote, GitHub, Google Drive and even its competitor Slack. The tool works for free, but you can go with the Pro plans if you want the additional functionality. #3 Rocket.Chat
Rocket.Chat is an open source application that has over 800 developers working on it. The open source nature of the tool would make it a always free option for your business communication requirements. 
It comes with practically every functionality that you would find on Slack or any other similar business communication apps. And yes, one of the features we loved the most on Rocket.Chat includes the real-time automatic translation functionality that comes for free. On other tools in comparison, you would need to pay or install an additional plugin for the purpose.
One of the issues you would face with Rocket.Chat would be the lack of support when compared with other tools listed here. In fact, that is a price you would need to pay for opting for an open source project. In essence, it can be your best bet if you are a small business and can not afford high-end alternatives. #4 Google Hangouts
Hangouts has been one of the most popular team chat app if you are fond of Google tools. Given the fact that the G Suite is one of the popular options used by most of the businesses and offices, hangouts would be the best option to include in your list of business communication tools. 
The app is basically designed for private rooms. You can invite people into the private rooms you have created. What makes it a good option is the option whee you are not included to a chat by default. Sharing your Google Docs, Sheets and other documents should be simple and easy to work with. The sharing permissions are automatically changed as soon as you share them with your friends.
You have access to one to one chats and group chats as per your preferences. However, the business houses cite privacy issues and consider it a little unsuitable for business communication requirements you may have.
The free plan lets you add up to 9 participants in a group. You can go with your regular G Suite plan if you are a paid subscriber and Hangouts comes included in the bundle.#5 Flock
Not ready for those lengthy discussions? Want to go for a quicker decision? Flock can be one of the best tools you can go with. If you are into the online forums, you would definitely find it interesting enough to know the interface resembling a perfect online forum chat.
The functionality is simple. Just start a new chat, add participants and chat right away. You may also reply to a message and it will be quoted a la forum style. There have several things you can do from within the app. If you want to share files, you can add them to Google Drive and share them across. The business communication app also offers you the video chat option if you want to have any kind of communication with your colleagues face to face. Lastly, there is also an option within the chat interface to send an email.
In addition, it also lets you work with a host Flock's apps along the sidebar in your conversations. The Concluding Thoughts
Well, those were a few options for the best collaboration and project management tools you would be able to use with your business requirements. We have made an attempt at including the communication tools for varied interests. Do share which among them would you prefer for your communication with colleagues and customers. Share your experiences with the apps we have included in this compilation.
