Tech tools that could be a game changer for consultants

Hey Siri!

Hi Bixbi!

Tell me Alexa!

Can’t imagine life without your AI assistant?

Same here.

Whether we like it or not, whether we accept it or live in denial, technology has made massive strides in our everyday life. What was unfathomable a decade back is now the norm. Massive files now get sent in microseconds, videos get uploaded without having to wait for the cows to come home. Life has become much more convenient- now devices not only saves labor, but also time.

Purists vociferously put in place the argument that tech will eventually replace living, breathing humans and AI & machine learning will dethrone mankind. Of course it’s a no-brainer that regular everyday activities will see a higher level of intervention by technology. Still, the relevant point to be considered is: will the critical and analytical thinking of humankind, which has weathered many storms since the beginning of humankind, be replaced by Artificial intelligence or machine learning ?

To stay relevant and significant in any walks of life, the adoption of technology has become imperative. I mean, just take a look at traditional business consultants who struggled to adopt best practices in technology and surrendered a significant share of business to their tech savvy competitors.

In this article/post we are going to look at various tools that could be deployed by business consultancies to help them give better service to their clients and for propelling productivity.

DROPBOX

Dropbox is one of the pioneers in online data storage and have amassed a huge fan following owing to their ease of use. It uses cloud based technology for storing data and seamlessly being used across devices.

Versioning

A very useful feature of dropbox is the versioning, which can be used to retrieve data even when it’s accidentally deleted.

Easy Collaboration

Dropbox is a great tool for collaboration among team members where access levels can be predefined and for sharing large volumes of data, by doing away with emails.

ANY.DO

Any.do is a to do app with massive capabilities and brings in on many stunning features unlike its rivals. Any. do provides an aesthetically pleasing and easy to use planner and calendar.

Tags and Filtering

A very useful feature available in the subscription plans of Any.do is the tags and filtering option along with them, that is highly useful in mapping out the relevant tasks when you are having an array of tasks at hand.

Integrations

Any.do provides integrations with thousands of other apps enabling users of other platforms also to migrate or work in tandem with their existing ecosystems

GOOGLE CALENDAR

Though there are multitude of calendar apps in the market, google calendar still takes the cake. A very widely used application it has been indispensable for individuals preferring to stay organized and to schedule their day.

Work your Workspace

There are loads of features in the google calendar which keeps it apart from other calendar apps like option to set goals and track them and options for google workspace users to use the schedule view option whereby they can view the calendar of the whole team.

Multiple Calendars

Google calendar also enables the usage of multiple calendars in the same account and it can be integrated across various other platforms.

CALENDLY

I was highly curious sometime back when I heard from a friend that his client who is a CEO let go of his secretary after he started using Calendly, because it was that helpful in automating and scheduling meetings !

Schedule & Follow Up

Calendly is a very useful tool to schedule meetings and follow up the meetings with clients and prospects. User interface of Calendly is kept simple and minimal which facilitates its usage by less tech savvy individuals with much ease.

For a single person usage, basic plan (free) will cover most of the use cases, but for collaborations among teams, premium plans will be adding more value in this regard.

TASKMAAN

Taskman developed by TASKMAAN INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, a Kerala based company is one of the best project management tools I have used. This software is tailor made for CA, CS, CMA & LAW Firms.

High Volume, No Worries

This software will be a boon for firms handling large volumes of varied assignments at the same time. A very clean dashboard and highly user friendly interface and super prompt support is the cherry on the top.

Very useful features include booking of reimbursable expenses, marking of billable hours, managing of legal notices, follow up management system and mapping of tasks wise their completion status and billing status.

Surprisingly apart from the task management part this software integrates inward outward register for documents and digital signature certificates which can act as a real lifesaver at times.

Low Costs

Costing a fraction of its rival project management softwares Click Up, Monday, Asana & Trello, this software is a steal for any professional who wishes to navigate their routine firefighting with finesse.

ONE NOTE

Among the swarm of note taking apps available today, what sets apart Microsoft One note is its ability to maneuver complex note taking and routine note-taking use with the same panache.

Organize Well

Though not as user friendly as its archrival Google Keep, Microsoft one note is used by many loyal fans due to its interoperability, sophistication and the layout which clearly demacrates into sections and pages which is very useful in organizing data.

Collaborate Confidentially

With the password controls and the options to restrict the access, Onenote is clearly a great tool to share and collaborate on confidential work related data. Another highly useful feature in the one note is the option to add links to other notes and sections in the Onenote notes.

CONCLUSION