Search Results for communication software

Every business has a dedicated team and framework designed for the advertisement and marketing of its products and services. Traditionally all the advertising processes were carried out by distributing pamphlets, leaflets, billboard ads, television ads, etc. But, with emerging trends and developing technologies, communication through traditional methods has become challenging. New age media and target audience can be approached for marketing communication by using free and open-source digital signage software. What is digital signage software? Digital signage is the technique of creative, effective symbolic designs or signs that can project the purpose of a product or service and catch the eyes of a viewer. Digital signage is a primary form of communication between a business and the public. Business and government authorities use digital signage to educate and pass instructions to the public on various important issues. One of the primary examples of digital signage is the digital signboards on public roads. Source: freepik Preparing digital signage is not a very easy task. Factors such as brand colors, brand identity, etc., must be kept in mind while designing signage. To ease up the technical aspects of digital signage, we have plenty of digital signage software for free. This software must be used to create signages, but the primary features that define a perfect digital signage software are – Content scheduling – One of the significant features of any digital signage software is content scheduling. When businesses deal with a lot of clients and marketing activities, it is not always possible to interact at the right time. Time plays an important factor in marketing communication; thus, the right content must reach the right customer at the right time. Content management – Any digital signage open-source software must be efficient with the principles of content management. The software is used to prepare and send a huge amount of content. All the content is not necessarily of the same type and is categorized into different sections. Thus, a proper interface for content management must be present. Multi-user access – It is obvious that a digital signage software will be used by multiple team members to create, schedule, and manage content. Thus, it is necessary to have this feature. Besides, the administrator will hold control over the software by assigning exact tasks and limited interface to the team members making productivity higher and security stronger. Multi-screen support – Content campaigning is done for multimedia platforms that have different formats. A good digital signage software must have the feature of multi-screen support and must be accessible with a single login. Commercial grade display – As digital signage software has the potential to be used for more than 15 hours regularly, it is important to have a commercial-grade display. A commercial-grade display not only works better than a consumer-grade display but is also compatible with external inputs such as VGA. Product placement – A digital signage software must be optimized so that it automatically places the products and services to the target timeline of users. Content engagement through signage software is important and must be one of the primary features. 5 best free and open-source digital signage software 1. Screenly OSE Source: Screenly Screenly OSE is the most popular and widely used digital signage software. This is an open-source edition and can be accessed by anyone. The open-source factor makes the software super easy and customizable according to needs and requirements. The software is widely popular as a raspberry pi digital signage open-source software. This is web-based software, and upgrades can be purchased through a monthly subscription. Features It is a cloud-hosted software and can be accessed with any device on the web using the correct credentials.It supports small, large, and independent businesses efficiently.It has a stable interface for content management.It supports all types of multimedia with a dedicated media library.Content scheduling feature to ease up campaign management.It has multi-screen support and gives automatic player updates.A user-friendly interface and customizable dashboard make it easy to use.Advance features of visual editor and layout management to make perfect campaigns. 2. DigitalSignage.com Source: Digital Signage.com DigitalSignage.com is a web-based software that is free and can be accessed from anywhere with the help of correct credentials. This is a software that is best suitable for small and medium enterprises. The software has all the advanced features that a digital signage software must possess and gives a broad outlook on the controlling features of multiple screens and users. This is a great software for long-term usage. It also features advanced content management factors. Features It has a good user interface providing advanced features.It can be used to manage and schedule content efficiently.The parental control feature lets the administrator control a large number of screens and users.It has an efficient media library that can be used to create various content for multimedia-based platforms.It has a range of templates to choose from, making the task easier.It has 24/7 customer service to guide through challenges. 3. Xibo Source: Xibo Xibo is one of the most inexpensive digital signage software that is cloud-based. It was started as a university project in 2004 but unexpectedly became quite popular and the first choice for many. Xibo initially allowed fewer features, including fixing images, but now has advanced features such as content scheduling and collaboration with third-party content to personalize campaigns and designs. Xibo has a simple layout with accessible features in the web as well as Windows, Ubuntu, WebOS, and Android. Features It has advanced content scheduling features in a free and open-source version that helps you design and schedule content for the right time.It supports all kinds of multimedia and has multiple screen support.The free and open-source version offers advanced features that can help design campaigns without any difficulties.It has a very simple user interface that can help you customize features and offers an interactive dashboard.It supports all devices, including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS.It is compatible with all kinds of businesses. 4. Concerto Source: Concerto Digital Signage Project One of the most widely used and reviewed software, Concerto is a web-based and Linux-compatible software. It was created in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by some technical graduates and is still being modified as per needs and requirements. Concerto has advanced features of content scheduling and content management that help create the best campaigns. The software is perfect for small and medium-sized businesses. Features This is a free digital signage open-source software made in Github.It offers advanced features of content management and content scheduling.It has a simple layout and easy-to-understand dashboard.It supports multiple screens and different screen formats.It is deployed on-premise and is compatible with any device with a browser and internet.It can support email and online tickets. 5. Rise Vision Source: Rise Vision Rise Vision is a web-based digital signage software that is used widely for visual communication. It is also one of the oldest software operating systems since 1992. It has a simple interface with all major features of a digital signage software that makes it a preferable choice for many. One of the unique features of Rise Vision, among others, is its ability to create HTML presentations and slideshows. It is quite simple to use and can be customized according to needs. Features It has excellent content management features allowing users to manage and schedule campaigns for later.It has a good interface on engagement management, and all data can be found in the customizable dashboard.It has a sufficient media library and supports multi-screen formats.It can be used for classroom management, curriculum management, enrollment management, financial management, parent portal, progress reports, skill testing, student information/records.It is web-based and supports downloads in Windows, Linux, and Mac. Conclusion Digital signage is as important for a business as a customer management program. A wise businessperson will know that a paid or digital signage software with no subscription is important for their business’ success. Thus, find the best open-source or free digital signage software and set your business on track. To know about some interesting data handling software, visit SaaSworthy. It has a diversified collection of software reviews to help choose the right software for your business. Also read: • 5 Best Free and Open-Source Data Recovery Software to Save Your Day • Top Image Optimization Software for Generating High-Quality Images

Every business has a dedicated team and framework designed for the advertisement and marketing of its products and services. Traditionally all the advertising processes were carried out by distributing pamphlets, leaflets, billboard ads, television ads, etc. But, with emerging trends and developing technologies, communication through traditional methods has become challenging. New age media and target audience can be approached for marketing communication by using free and open-source digital signage software. What is digital signage software? Digital signage is the technique of creative, effective symbolic designs or signs that can project the purpose of a product or service and catch the eyes of a viewer. Digital signage is a primary form of communication between a business and the public. Business and government authorities use digital signage to educate and pass instructions to the public on various important issues. One of the primary examples of digital signage is the digital signboards on public roads. Source: freepik Preparing digital signage is not a very easy task. Factors such as brand colors, brand identity, etc., must be kept in mind while designing signage. To ease up the technical aspects of digital signage, we have plenty of digital signage software for free. This software must be used to create signages, but the primary features that define a perfect digital signage software are – Content scheduling – One of the significant features of any digital signage software is content scheduling. When businesses deal with a lot of clients and marketing activities, it is not always possible to interact at the right time. Time plays an important factor in marketing communication; thus, the right content must reach the right customer at the right time. Content management – Any digital signage open-source software must be efficient with the principles of content management. The software is used to prepare and send a huge amount of content. All the content is not necessarily of the same type and is categorized into different sections. Thus, a proper interface for content management must be present. Multi-user access – It is obvious that a digital signage software will be used by multiple team members to create, schedule, and manage content. Thus, it is necessary to have this feature. Besides, the administrator will hold control over the software by assigning exact tasks and limited interface to the team members making productivity higher and security stronger. Multi-screen support – Content campaigning is done for multimedia platforms that have different formats. A good digital signage software must have the feature of multi-screen support and must be accessible with a single login. Commercial grade display – As digital signage software has the potential to be used for more than 15 hours regularly, it is important to have a commercial-grade display. A commercial-grade display not only works better than a consumer-grade display but is also compatible with external inputs such as VGA. Product placement – A digital signage software must be optimized so that it automatically places the products and services to the target timeline of users. Content engagement through signage software is important and must be one of the primary features. 5 best free and open-source digital signage software 1. Screenly OSE Source: Screenly Screenly OSE is the most popular and widely used digital signage software. This is an open-source edition and can be accessed by anyone. The open-source factor makes the software super easy and customizable according to needs and requirements. The software is widely popular as a raspberry pi digital signage open-source software. This is web-based software, and upgrades can be purchased through a monthly subscription. Features It is a cloud-hosted software and can be accessed with any device on the web using the correct credentials.It supports small, large, and independent businesses efficiently.It has a stable interface for content management.It supports all types of multimedia with a dedicated media library.Content scheduling feature to ease up campaign management.It has multi-screen support and gives automatic player updates.A user-friendly interface and customizable dashboard make it easy to use.Advance features of visual editor and layout management to make perfect campaigns. 2. DigitalSignage.com Source: Digital Signage.com DigitalSignage.com is a web-based software that is free and can be accessed from anywhere with the help of correct credentials. This is a software that is best suitable for small and medium enterprises. The software has all the advanced features that a digital signage software must possess and gives a broad outlook on the controlling features of multiple screens and users. This is a great software for long-term usage. It also features advanced content management factors. Features It has a good user interface providing advanced features.It can be used to manage and schedule content efficiently.The parental control feature lets the administrator control a large number of screens and users.It has an efficient media library that can be used to create various content for multimedia-based platforms.It has a range of templates to choose from, making the task easier.It has 24/7 customer service to guide through challenges. 3. Xibo Source: Xibo Xibo is one of the most inexpensive digital signage software that is cloud-based. It was started as a university project in 2004 but unexpectedly became quite popular and the first choice for many. Xibo initially allowed fewer features, including fixing images, but now has advanced features such as content scheduling and collaboration with third-party content to personalize campaigns and designs. Xibo has a simple layout with accessible features in the web as well as Windows, Ubuntu, WebOS, and Android. Features It has advanced content scheduling features in a free and open-source version that helps you design and schedule content for the right time.It supports all kinds of multimedia and has multiple screen support.The free and open-source version offers advanced features that can help design campaigns without any difficulties.It has a very simple user interface that can help you customize features and offers an interactive dashboard.It supports all devices, including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS.It is compatible with all kinds of businesses. 4. Concerto Source: Concerto Digital Signage Project One of the most widely used and reviewed software, Concerto is a web-based and Linux-compatible software. It was created in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by some technical graduates and is still being modified as per needs and requirements. Concerto has advanced features of content scheduling and content management that help create the best campaigns. The software is perfect for small and medium-sized businesses. Features This is a free digital signage open-source software made in Github.It offers advanced features of content management and content scheduling.It has a simple layout and easy-to-understand dashboard.It supports multiple screens and different screen formats.It is deployed on-premise and is compatible with any device with a browser and internet.It can support email and online tickets. 5. Rise Vision Source: Rise Vision Rise Vision is a web-based digital signage software that is used widely for visual communication. It is also one of the oldest software operating systems since 1992. It has a simple interface with all major features of a digital signage software that makes it a preferable choice for many. One of the unique features of Rise Vision, among others, is its ability to create HTML presentations and slideshows. It is quite simple to use and can be customized according to needs. Features It has excellent content management features allowing users to manage and schedule campaigns for later.It has a good interface on engagement management, and all data can be found in the customizable dashboard.It has a sufficient media library and supports multi-screen formats.It can be used for classroom management, curriculum management, enrollment management, financial management, parent portal, progress reports, skill testing, student information/records.It is web-based and supports downloads in Windows, Linux, and Mac. Conclusion Digital signage is as important for a business as a customer management program. A wise businessperson will know that a paid or digital signage software with no subscription is important for their business’ success. Thus, find the best open-source or free digital signage software and set your business on track. To know about some interesting data handling software, visit SaaSworthy. It has a diversified collection of software reviews to help choose the right software for your business. Also read: • 5 Best Free and Open-Source Data Recovery Software to Save Your Day • Top Image Optimization Software for Generating High-Quality Images

For effective communication between employees of an organization, emails aren’t the best way. While they are of course helpful to formalize things, they aren’t efficient for brainstorming, discussing some concerns, or random discussions. And with the remote work becoming mainstream, workplace communication has become more important than ever. Related read: COVID-19: The Ultimate List of Free Software and Resources That’s where collaboration software comes in; these products allow employees to message each other, make a voice / video call, share their screens among a slew of things to manage their tasks quickly. And the two software that dominate this category are Microsoft Teams and Slack. Since its launch in 2017 Microsoft Teams took only about 3 years to reach the 10 million active users mark. Slack achieved the same in six years. Amidst the ongoing pandemic, both software have seen a surge in their usage. On the surface, both applications look alike as they offer similar features and benefits, but if you dig deeper, then you’ll spot the differences between both. This article focuses on such points of difference to help organization and / or employees make an informed decision about the workplace communication application best suited for their requirements. Microsoft Teams vs Slack: Messaging Microsoft Teams and Slack have similar messaging capabilities. Both support traditional forms of texting and tagging features. Users can even add GIFs on both platforms. The difference lies in the approach with which these software let you add GIFs. In Slack users need to write a command: “/giphy image name.” This command is then executed to enter the GIF in the chat. Microsoft Teams is more robust about this. It has direct buttons and menus to introduce GIFs and access even more if required. Slack however, does provide an option of using third party chat apps like Bitmoji, etc,, they are not easy to use via the interface. Then again, the interface is more customizable on Slack. Users can switch between multiple themes and set specific colors to create a beautiful workspace. On the other hand, Teams offers a basic dark and light theme with high contrast. Microsoft Teams vs Slack: Pricing Both platforms offer free feature plans for small businesses and enterprises that cannot invest a lot of money. They also have a huge array of premium plans as well.  Starting with Slack, it offers unlimited public and private channel5 GB of storageand 10 app integrations in its free pack There is no limit to the number of users in this plan. And they can access message history up to 10,000 entries. The different premium plans it offers are as follows: The Standard package, when billed annually, costs around $6.67 for each member for 1 month. Each user gets 10 GB of storage with unlimited app integrations and can check the entire message logs. Other functions like guest access, screen sharing is also included here.The Plus plan allows 20 GB of storage per user and Slack bills it at $12.50 for one member for 1 month. It also offers an Enterprise Grid pack with 1 TB storage per user. Buyers must check in with the Slack customer department for billing details of this plan. Teams’ free plan has a limit of up to 300 users. The platform offers: guest accessunlimited messages screen sharing over 140 app integrations 2GB of storage per user 10GB of common storage It has two premium packages: The first is the Office 365 Business Essentials plan which allows the general limit of 300 users as per the free plan but stretches the storage space limit to 10 GB for one license. The other attributes available with this plan include Exchange email hosting, Microsoft support, OneDrive integration, and the ability to record meetings. If billed yearly, the monthly cost of this plan is $5 for one user.The other one is the Office 365 Business Premium plan which puts no restrictions on user numbers and storage. If billed yearly, the monthly cost of this plan is $20 for one user. ‘Enforced multifactor authentication’ is one of the few extra features offered by this plan. Microsoft Teams vs Slack: Storage In the free plans, we see Teams dominate over Slack with storage access. In Slack, an unlimited number of users get only 5 GB of storage memory to do all the tasks. There is also a 10,000 message cap which users can remove via the premium plans only. Users can buy more storage space even up to 20 GB per user by the paid plans. In Teams, however, each user gets a 2 GB storage space up to 300 users and a 10 GB common storage for the team. Also, functions like screen sharing and guest access are available. This increases the productivity of employees. Teams gives smaller enterprises a chance to use all the premium and essential features of the workspace without paying anything. Users can also upgrade to a 1 TB storage for their enterprise with unlimited user storage if necessary, via the premium plans. Microsoft Teams vs Slack: Integrations Both Teams and Slack use a number of bots and applications to improve the experience of using their apps. Slack clearly wins the number of integrations a platform can provide with around 1,500 apps to integrate. Though Teams cannot offer a huge roster like Slack, it seamlessly integrates Office 365 in its interface to provide users a smooth experience and workflow. Microsoft Teams vs Slack: Helper Bots On both platforms, users will find bots; for Slack, it is the Slackbot and for Teams, it is the WhoBot and T-bot. Slackbot (Slack) Slackbot boosts a lot of productivity. Users can ask Slackbot questions about the platform and set reminders, and tasks on it. They may even use it to try out integrations and prepare different modules needed for their tasks. And you can also set its autoresponder, and while you can use it for to provide contextual inputs, people also use to set automatic responses which are funny. T-bot (Teams) Like Slackbot, T-bot in Teams too helps members by answering different questions about the platform. However, when it comes to the ‘WhoBot’ users will not be able to access it in the free version of the application. WhoBot (Teams) Microsoft uses its Graphing artificial intelligence framework to build the WhoBot. It answers questions about Teams and can even search for data in the intranet. What this means is that users now have the ability to analyze the data stored in the workspaces. WhoBot can pull out files from the active directory and give clear relationships like who reports to whom, what tasks have been pending, where to pick-up pace, and cut some slack. To access the bot, users can type /who in the command box at the top of Teams or click the ‘…’ icon on the left navigation menu to access Who. AVA and MyHub (Teams) Two vital free applications special to Microsoft Teams are AVA and MyHub. AVA is a reinforcement chatbot that can reestablish lost and erased content inside Office 365, and MyHub is a cloud administration application that permits clients to designate workspaces in strategy without the need for IT. These applications can help administrators maintain a strategic distance from unnecessary overheads and offer clients the self-sufficiency required to support themselves. Microsoft Teams vs Slack: Web conferencing Audio and video calls are necessary for establishing modes of communication in the workplace. One of the key advantages of such workspaces is their ability to retain all communication within a single platform. They do so by providing all the calling and messaging features. Slack’s free plan offers unlimited one-to-one video and voice calls. The Conferencing feature is not available in this plan. However, with an upgrade to premium plans, users can accommodate up to 15 callers on an audio or video call. Once again Teams comes out ahead with its superior feature integrated communication setup. On every tier, including the free one, a group call, be it audio or video can accommodate up to 250 people. Here users get an option to record meetings which is also non-existent in Slack. Users can even share screens in the free plan without any hassle. This, therefore, helps people to meet virtually and complete tasks where team-oriented work is common, and conferencing is an essential part of the daily schedule. Bottomline CapabilitiesMicrosoft TeamsSlackMax users300 per organizationUnlimitedFile storage2 GB / user and 10 GB of shared storage5 GB totalGuest accessYesNo1:1 and group online audio and video callsYesYesScreen sharingYesNoChannel meetingsYesNoTwo-factor authenticationNoYesChat messagesUnlimited10K most recent messagesApp integrationUnlimited10Microsoft Teams vs Slack If the organization and its employees want a familiar look and feel of the interface which is user friendly, and want a lot of application integrations that work smoothly with individual machines, Slack is the option to go for. It also offers a lot of customizability. Slack however, lacks most of the features when it comes to communications. In comparison, Microsoft Teams is a much more complex and well-integrated platform. It has a lot more functionality and can perform complex operations like graph searches using AI. The superior audio-video conferencing facilities help companies dispersed around the world connect and decide upon tasks and complete deadlines. Plus, if users already have Office 365, connecting Teams with it increases a lot of features. Also, from an economic perspective Teams is cheaper than the lowest Slack plan if an organization wants to opt for premium plans. In sum, both Microsoft Teams and Slack are equally capable applications, and choosing between them boils down the organization’s needs. Which one would you go for? Let us know in the comment box below.

Business instant messaging software works as an internal messaging platform for businesses and helps teams to avoid informal communication such as texting from personal phones. This text-based messaging application facilitates person-to-person conversations, group messaging, peer-to-group, file sharing, and more. Instant messaging can reduce the load of back-and-forth emails exchanged for mere discussions, queries, or concerns.

iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) is a cloud-based software that acts as a communication conduit between multiple systems and applications. It allows the maintenance of integration flows and data sharing within the organization. It boosts internal efficiency, improves workflows and eliminates data loss or inconsistencies, by bringing different tools together in a central ecosystem. iPaaS helps to easily view, manage, and modify all data, infrastructure and operations thereby reducing downtime and development time. In addition to offering fraud detection and intrusion alert, it being centralized platform facilitates to understand where these threats are and respond accordingly. IPaaS is a scalable solution and can meet increased volume in data from various environments. iPaaS helps to structure the growing integration requirements of the organization without any additional costs.

Sales Engagement Platform (SEPs) or Sales Engagement Software is designed to gather all the business communication channels into one place. This means incorporating systems like email, CRM, and all social media accounts into one unified user interface. Once the order has been installed and set up, the sales engagement software allows users to create a coordinated sequence of outbound activities across a customized range of channels. Customers can be contacted via emails, phone calls, Linkedin connection requests, including printing out physical assets like product samples or books. The purpose of a sales engagement software is to allow sales teams to work efficiently in a unified manner. It helps in effective time management as users don't need to work across different platforms at once, as the software puts everything in one place.

Teamwork is desired at a workplace to achieve business goals. Different skilled people from relevant fields coming together and brainstorming can maximize the success scope of a project, and this is known as collaboration. A collaboration software aims at improving cooperation between staff members by offering a seamless means to communicate with each member and handle documents promptly. Collaboration software helps in better time management, boosts productivity and encourages interactive communication.

For any business, brand promotion and marketing are crucial for capturing and sustaining the attention of its targeted masses. Promotion and marketing demand healthy public relation, which means good rapport with key social media personalities, influencers, and concerned audiences. A public-relation has a direct link with market reputation, so failing to ensure positive PR can negatively impact the brand image. Tainted brand image invites business loss. A Public Relation software helps to simplify and to enhance an organization’s digital communication with the public and media.

A software designed to provide live support to websites by enabling real-time communication between the website and its visitors. This software comes with a host of tools and features that help your agents converse with your visitors efficiently, which ultimately results in increasing your conversion ratio. Some of the standard features of a Live Chat Software are Agent Scheduling, Proactive Chat, Canned Responses, etc.