Guide to Remote Work Tools

When you start exploring remote work, you’re going to find new tools and softwares mentioned all over the place that you’ve never heard of. This can feel really overwhelming, but don’t worry: the R2R team is here to help.

In this article, we’ve created a comprehensive guide to the most commonly used tools and acronyms in the tech industry. We’ll continue publishing more in-depth articles exploring each tool and acronym, so consider this a glossary and high-level guide to ensure you’re familiar with whatever tool your recruiter or interviewer might mention.

Communication Tools for Remote Work

Messaging Tools:

1. Slack: Slack is a messaging app that provides real-time communication, organized channels, and file sharing capabilities. It's the most commonly used tool for team collaboration.

2. Basecamp: A blend of messaging and project management, Basecamp allows for centralized collaboration, task management, project management, and file sharing. It's not as commonly used as Slack, but it's a good one to know.

3. Discord: Originally designed for gamers, Discord is now also used by remote teams. It provides text, voice, and video chat options for flexible communication. You'll still see it most commonly used by online groups for community or gaming; not as commonly used in professional contexts.

Video Conferencing Tools:

1. Zoom: At this point, Zoom has been used by pretty much every remote team in existence -- you should be familiar and able to use it. Zoom offers high-quality video and audio, screen sharing, virtual backgrounds, and breakout rooms for virtual meetings. You're likely to use it internally and/or when interfacing with clients.

2. Google Meet: Not as commonly used as Zoom, and to be honest, not as user-friendly either. That said, it's a good tool to be familiar with. It's a video conferencing solution integrated with Google Workspace.

3. Microsoft Teams: Typically used by teams who are deeply integrated into Microsoft's ecosystem (i.e., Outlook, Excel, Word, etc), Team is a a communication and collaboration hub with video conferencing, chat, file sharing, and project management features.

Keep in mind: We'll be updating this list on an ongoing basis, so keep an eye out for new tools and softwares over the coming weeks.