Flexibility at work isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore, it’s the future of work. So, it’s time to get your office tech in gear and make sure you have all the tools you need to keep things running smoothly, and, most importantly, to give your workforce the right conditions to thrive.
Because here’s the thing: Happy employees are 13% more productive, and while your tech stack is only one piece of the puzzle of employee satisfaction and hybrid workspace well-being, nobody can be happy (or productive!) if the tech they’re using is outdated, complicated to learn, or with a horrible UI.
In this article, we’ll cover the must-have office tools every modern workplace needs, split into categories, and explain what key features you should be looking for.
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Those are the software tools that empower your people to perform at their best regardless of their location. When employees aren’t always in the same place at the same time, having the right tech stack is what keeps everything (and everyone) connected and in sync.
Collaboration, creativity, productivity, and overall business success all hinge on having the right tech to support a hybrid environment and different working styles. Because, let’s be honest, not everyone is at their best from 9 to 5, and they don’t need to be. But if you’re offering flexible arrangements to your employees, you need to also provide the right tools for them to do their jobs from anywhere and at any time.
Tech is obviously not just software; it’s also the hardware and infrastructure you provide your team with. In this article, we’ll be focusing on the software, but we quickly wanted to touch on all three components of modern office technology:
Hardware for the modern office
Fast and performant laptops are a must for any modern workplace, especially if a large part of your team often works from home.
Desktop computers might be a necessity for your physical office, although if you equip everyone with a powerful laptop, you could simply provide monitors, keyboards, headsets, and mice for the office. And, obviously, ergonomic chairs and desks!
If your people are often working from home, give them a sufficient home office budget to make sure they have the right working conditions.
Software tools for hybrid workspaces
Here, you have anything from cloud-based collaboration tools like Google Workspace to communication platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams, and from project management tools like Asana and Trello to cybersecurity tech to protect your data and everyone’s passwords.
More on all that in a bit.
Infrastructure for modern, hybrid offices
High-speed internet is an obvious one – at the office and at your employees’ homes.
Then, you have the actual office, which looks different for hybrid workspaces than for standard workplaces. For one, it’s smaller (not everyone will be there at the same time), but it also needs to be thoughtfully designed to allow for different working styles and needs, including meeting rooms, open spaces, and secluded areas or soundproof booths for calls.
And to manage all that, you need a hot desking app like Officely that shows your people when is the best time to come to the office and enables you to analyze usage patterns and manage your space and resources in a smart way.
Essential office technologies for a modern, smart workspace
The right modern office tools will enable your team to stay connected, organized, and productive, whether they’re at their desks or working from home. In this section, we’ll talk about the essentials to make your workspace smarter, more efficient, and ready for anything.
We’ve broken things down into 10 categories.
1. Collaboration software
Collaboration software is the glue that holds a hybrid office together and enables your people to stay connected and in sync.
In a hybrid setup, where team members are often spread out, having a central place for all conversations and collaboration is crucial, because it ensures that everyone stays in the loop and can contribute to the conversation instantly. And that’s exactly what keeps projects moving forward, right?
Best in class:
Slack for its modern, intuitive, and uncluttered interface
Microsoft Teams for its strong collaboration features and easy integration with other Microsoft tools
Challenges modern collaboration software solves:
Communication barriers, by enabling real-time and asynchronous messaging and video calls
File sharing, by enabling teams to share files easily within the platform
Remote work coordination, with the help of channels, private messaging, and more
What features to look for:
Real-time messaging, voice, and video calls
File sharing
Channels
Search functionality
Notifications
2. Flexible office and desk management tech
In a hybrid office, an easy-to-use desk booking and management tool is a must-have. This type of software enables employees to easily book desks and meeting rooms and helps you analyze office attendance and resource utilization to make sure you’re making the most of the office space you’re renting.
The best desk booking software is one that your team will actually use, so you need to make sure you pick one that’s super intuitive and, ideally, that integrates with your existing communication platforms.
Officely does all that, and more. It integrates seamlessly with Slack and MS Teams, meaning that it lives where your team is. With it, your team members can see when is the best time to come to the office, if there are any social events planned, and how many desks are available.
Officely makes it super easy for your team to book desks and see who’s coming to the office
Want to find out more? Book a free demo to see how much easier it can be to manage a hybrid office if you have the right tools.
Challenges modern desk management software solves:
People not wanting to come to the office, by showing when’s the best time to come in and meet their coworkers
Desk availability issues, by making it super simple to book a desk in advance
Resource utilization, by helping you track desk usage patterns and see how much office space you actually need
Lack of attendance visibility, by showing you (and everyone on the team) who’s in the office, making planning and coordination much easier
What features to look for:
Simple booking of desks, meeting rooms, parking spots
Office attendance visibility
Resource management and utilization insights
Integration with communication platforms and other tech
3. Project management tools
Endless email threads, bottlenecks, and missed deadlines are easy to avoid, but you need the right tools.
To keep your team organized, especially when working on multiple projects and deliverables, the right project management software is a must. It’ll help you plan, assign, and track work, so that everyone knows what they need to do and when it’s due.
In a hybrid setup, where simply popping by a coworker’s desk isn’t an option, you need to be able to add comments, tag them, and send them files through your PM tool easily – otherwise, chaos will ensue.
Best in class:
Asana, for its powerful task management features to organize work, set deadlines, and track progress
Jira, which is ideal for tech teams who use Agile
ClickUp, for its intuitive user interface and built-in AI assistant
Challenges modern project management tools solve:
Task tracking, by ensuring everyone knows what they need to do and when
Team coordination, by giving everyone an instant overview of who’s working on what
Progress visibility, by providing managers and team members status updates and notifications
What features to look for:
Easy assignment and delegation of tasks with clear ownership
Timelines and calendars to keep track of time constraints and progress
Built-in communication and collaboration features like commenting, tagging others, and attaching files
Integration with other tools
4. Video conferencing tech
Video conferencing software doesn’t need an introduction: We all know the role it played during Covid (and beyond). When you have a hybrid team, it’s a good idea to make all your meetings remote-first, so that everyone can join – otherwise, you risk isolating team members who aren’t often in the office by not giving them a chance to contribute.
Best in class:
Zoom, for its reliability, ease of use, and ability to host webinars and larger events
Microsoft Teams, which is perfect for those already using Microsoft’s suite of tools
Google Meet, if you need a straightforward, browser-based option that works great within the Google Workspace ecosystem
Google Meet makes it super easy to start a meeting or schedule it for later
Challenges modern video conferencing software solves:
Communication barriers, by enabling video interaction for distributed teams
Meeting coordination, thanks to how easy it is to schedule, host, and join meetings
Information sharing, by enabling participants to share their screens and send files and messages
What features to look for:
High-quality video and audio (obviously)
Screen sharing and recording
Ease of use and excellent integration with scheduling platforms (Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, iCal) and note-taking apps
The ability to record meetings
5. Cloud storage and sharing
Hybrid teams need a central place to store and access all files at any point, regardless of the physical location of each team member on a given day, so cloud storage is a must.
Ideally, you should use a tool that enables your team to work together on files in real time. Security should also be at the top of your priority list, especially if you’re handling sensitive customer data.
Best in class:
Google Drive, for its excellent collaboration features via Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and more
Dropbox, for its simplicity and excellent storage capacity, starting at 9TB for teams
Microsoft OneDrive, ideal for teams already using Microsoft 365
Dropbox’s Business and Business Plus plans come with ample storage space and tons of useful features
Challenges modern cloud storage tools solve:
File access and version control, by allowing team members to access and edit documents from any device and location
Collaboration, by enabling real-time editing and commenting
Data security, by providing strong security measures to protect your data (but make sure you check what exactly each service offers)
What features to look for:
Enough storage space for all your team’s files
Real-time collaboration
File versioning to revert to previous versions if needed
Integration with other tools
6. Time tracking and reporting applications
Time-tracking apps help you monitor how your team is using their time and provide insights on how to improve efficiency and manage resources better. These are especially handy if your team is billing clients for time spent, but will also enable you to better manage their workloads and make sure everyone can handle their tasks efficiently.
Best in class:
Toggl Track, for its super simple interface and strong analytics features
Harvest, for easily tracking teams’ time and expenses (and its integrations)
Challenges modern time-tracking tools solve:
Accurate billing, ensuring every billable hour is accounted for
Productivity analysis at a personal and team level
Project management, by giving you a clear view of how much time tasks and projects are taking
What features to look for:
Simple interface and quick start/stop tracking
Detailed reporting by project, task, or team member
Integration with other tools
Access from multiple devices, including mobile phones
Pick time tracking software that works on any device, including mobile phones, for the times when your team members are on the go (or in face-to-face meetings)
7. Cybersecurity software
If team members can access company resources from various locations and devices, keeping your data secure will be more challenging – and more important – than ever. Unauthorized access, phishing attacks, malware, data breaches,... there are plenty of threats you and your team members should be aware of.
Unfortunately, you cannot just set up your systems once and be sure you’re protected forever; you need to make efforts to train your team, update everything regularly, and be alert for any issues within your industry as a whole.
Best in class:
LastPass, if you need a strong password manager with 2FA/MFA authentication
Norton 360, for its comprehensive security suite offering antivirus, firewall, and VPN services
Vanta, for its security and compliance training and certification
Challenges modern cybersecurity software solves:
Data breaches and unauthorized access by using 2FA or MFA authentication, encryption, and enforcing strong passwords
Compliance and certification, ensuring your business meets industry standards and regulations for data security
Malware and viruses with the help of firewalls and VPN connections
What features to look for:
Strong data encryption
Password management
Multi-factor authentication
Real-time detection and alerts for threats or unauthorized access
8. Visitor management
If you often have visitors in your office, be it clients, partners, vendors, or interview candidates, you might need more than a Google Calendar to manage all appointments.
Visitor management software makes it easier to welcome guests to your office by enabling you to register them, give them the address and access information, and let them know what to expect and who they’ll be meeting with. This serves two main purposes: To keep your offices secure and to improve their experience.
Best in class:
Maptician, for its visitor check-in and workspace management features
iLobby, for its robust security features, including visitor tracking and compliance management
Challenges modern visitor management software solves:
Visitor tracking, by ensuring that you have a complete record of everyone who enters and exits your office
Check-in efficiency, by streamlining the check-in process and reducing wait times
Compliance and security, by maintaining accurate visitor logs and providing emergency notifications
What features to look for:
Pre-registration for a speedy check-in process
Automated badges or access codes
Integration with access control systems
9. Knowledge base apps
The larger your company becomes, the more internal information you’ll accumulate (and need to update and share with team members), so setting up a knowledge base system early on is crucial for your success – especially if you’re managing a hybrid workplace.
Knowledge base apps are usually self-service platforms where employees can check information, access documents, and find answers to common questions. You can use them to store and organize everything, from company policies to project documentation and from email templates to lists of trusted partners and vendors.
Best in class:
Confluence, which is perfect for documenting processes and storing important company knowledge
Notion, which combines note-taking, task management, and database features in one
KnowledgeOwl, for its powerful customization and search features
Challenges modern knowledge base software solves:
Information accessibility, by ensuring all team members can easily find the information they need
Consistency, by enabling you to quickly update documentation and make sure everyone has the latest version
Onboarding and training, by providing new hires with instant access to all the resources they need
What features to look for:
A strong search functionality
Collaboration features, so that team members can edit entries
Integration with other company tools
Content organization and flexible structuring options
10. Quiet booths
This last category isn’t related to software, but we think it’s essential for any hybrid workplace, so we wanted to mention it here: quiet booths.
In short, if you’re hot desking or have an open office, you need to provide your team members with quiet spaces for focused work or video calls.
Quiet booths are soundproofed, enclosed spaces designed to provide employees with a place to work or meet in peace, away from the noise and distractions of the open office.
Best in class:
Zenbooth, for its excellent soundproofing and ventilation
JUUNOO, for its modular and customizable design, making it easy to fit in different spaces
Challenges modern quiet booths solve:
Noise reduction, by providing a soundproof environment where employees can focus or have video calls without distractions
Privacy, which is essential when discussing sensitive issues over a call
Flexibility, by adapting to existing office spaces easily
What features to look for:
Soundproofing
Ventilation and good lighting
Modularity and customization options
Different sizes
Adopt modern, productivity-boosting tech today
We’ve covered the most essential modern office tools for flexible workspaces, from collaboration tools and project management software to cybersecurity solutions and quiet booths. Having the right tech at hand is key for enabling your team members to do their best work, so make sure you set up the right tools and systems from the start.
But one of the most impactful changes you can make if you’re managing a hybrid office is adopting a desk booking system like Officely.
Officely enables you to manage your space and resources efficiently, make the office more appealing for members of your team by showing them when’s the best time to come, and give them an easy way to book desks and meeting rooms. Plus, it lives where your team already is, in Slack or MS Teams, meaning that they don’t need to open yet another app to book a desk.
Ready to make your office smarter and more efficient? Book a free demo with Officely to see how easy it is to do just that.
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Max is one of the cofounders and CEO of Officely, a flexible work enablement platform. He has helped thousands of businesses not only transition to flexible work but instil it at the core of their culture and brand.
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