A year ago, businesses installed digital tools at speed: Zoom, Teams, Slack, Trello, Miro, Calendly, Google Drive, Dropbox, Notion. Some were adopted because they were necessary. Others because everyone else was doing it.

Now we are in a phase where hybrid work is no longer an emergency solution: it is an operating model. It is a good time to audit the tool stack.

What do you actually need?

The question is not "which tools exist?" but "which tools actually solve a problem we have?"

Communication and meetings You need one platform for video meetings and one for ongoing internal communication. Not both with three alternatives each.

  • Video meetings: Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, choose one
  • Chat and messaging: Teams or Slack, choose one
  • Both in Teams? Fine. But Teams plus Slack plus Zoom is three tools solving two problems.

Project and task management Is your team actively using a project tool, or is it a database nobody updates? A simple shared document that is actually used is better than a sophisticated system gathering dust.

Trello is good enough for most SMBs with straightforward projects. Notion is powerful but requires more setup. Asana and Monday work better for teams with many parallel workstreams.

File sharing and document management Google Drive or Microsoft 365 (OneDrive plus SharePoint) handles this for the vast majority of businesses. Using both is usually unnecessary.

Security is not optional in hybrid work

Working from home introduces new security risks. Employees connect to business systems from home networks, personal devices, cafés and libraries.

Minimum measures:

  • Two-factor authentication (2FA) on all business accounts
  • Clear rules about which devices have access to what
  • Password management (1Password or Bitwarden are affordable and simple)
  • Regular updates to operating systems and software

This is not paranoia: it is hygiene.

The website as digital infrastructure

The website is an underrated part of the digital infrastructure for many SMBs.

After a year of digital customer journeys, ask yourself:

  • Can customers find answers to the most common questions without calling?
  • Can they book meetings, place orders or send enquiries without friction?
  • Is the information on the site up to date, not as it was in January 2020?
  • Is the site fast enough for customers using mobile?

For many businesses, the website became significantly more important in 2020. Most did not invest accordingly. That is an obvious opportunity.

Fewer tools, used better

The biggest digital mistake SMBs are making in 2021 is not lacking tools. It is having too many tools that nobody uses consistently.

A team that masters two or three core platforms well is more productive than one spread across eight half-integrated systems.

Audit, choose deliberately and invest in proper use of what you actually need.

Want help assessing your digital infrastructure: including your website? Get in touch.