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5 Must-Haves in a Campaign Management Software
Marketing 7 min read

5 Must-Haves in a Campaign Management Software

Understanding your customers helps you understand your brand and messaging. Customers are a direct reflection of what you're doing right, and who your brand is resonating with. Having a campaign management software that can act as a CRM, provide real-time information about your prospects, as well as manage and track your email campaigns can be the driving force in improving those MQL numbers.

5 Warning Signs Your Current Project Management Tool Just Isn’t Cutting It
Project Management 5 min read

5 Warning Signs Your Current Project Management Tool Just Isn’t Cutting It

As your organization changes, your project management needs will change, too. Growth is great, but it makes the need for clear communication and task management more important than ever.   If you’re already paying for a project management solution, it can be difficult to justify the cost and time it will take to implement a new one. Plus, adoption can be a concern in organizations where staff members are slow to accept new processes and procedures. So how do you know if it’s worth it to upgrade your project management tool? Here are four signs that it’s time to find new software: You’re using several different tools How many steps does it take for your team to complete a task? If you’re using a separate task management system, time tracker, and sending emails, there’s a good chance communication is falling through the cracks. Using several different, disconnected tools opens the door to wasted time, duplication, and missed opportunities. If it’s been awhile since you’ve updated your software, you might be surprised to learn that many products cover several project management needs in a single system. Look for a tool that can house all of your processes and communication from the same interface to avoid confusion and missed opportunities. Your work isn’t accessible in the cloud Most growing companies benefit from moving their project management system to the cloud. If you’re ready to move to the cloud, you’ll benefit from faster communication, easy implementation, and ubiquitous access to all of your work. The best part? Cloud-based project management tools can save you from the upfront cost burden of a perpetual license. New hires have a hard time learning the ropes If you’re spending more time training a new hire to use your project management software than on their actual job, you have a problem. Your project management tool should be easy to learn so new hires and veteran employees can get acclimated quickly and start being productive. Your vendor should also offer training and troubleshooting documentation, so you don’t have to explain the ins and outs of every workflow to every team member. Your organization is changing Growth is a good thing, but sometimes it makes things complicated.  When you add new team members and projects, your project management software can’t always keep up — especially if you’re using an outdated system. You need to find a system that can grow with you. Many tools are scalable and offer different plans for small, medium, and large businesses, as well as the ability to add and remove users without hassle. You have too many meetings Isn’t the point of a project management tool to cut down on busy work and unnecessary meetings? If you’re gathering the team in the conference room for project updates and brainstorming sessions every day, your software isn’t doing enough to help. A project management solution should house discussions, progress updates, tasks, deadlines, file attachments, and more. Use those meetings to set broader priorities and solve problems. Your team can use the extra time to complete tasks and focus on delivering top-notch work. If you’ve made it through this list and it’s clear that you need to update your project management tool, talk to your team about what features they need and what pain points they have with your current system. Use their feedback to guide the research process. Author Bio:  Megan Pacella is a contributor for TechnologyAdvice.com, with specializations in B2B marketing and sales. She has also written for USA Today, Bearings Guide, 10Best Nashville, and other publications. Ready to Upgrade Your Project Management Tool? Download our free collaboration software buyer’s guide. It includes questions and features you should carefully consider when selecting a new tool. Or, start a free trial of Wrike's Project Management Solution! (We double-dog dare you!) 

Compare Microsoft Project with Wrike
News 5 min read

Compare Microsoft Project with Wrike

.post table td{ padding: 0 5px 5px 5px; } .centercol{ font-size:10px; }(Last edited on May 29, 2009) When you choose the best project management software for your needs, you most likely want the tool to: save you time, release you from routine operations, be easy to use, support collaboration, and keep operations transparent to you. What kind of software will meet your expectations? Web-based collaboration software is the most practical answer. With the help of collaboration software like Wrike, you can easily stay on the same page with your team and run your project successfully. Your employees can instantly contribute to the project plans. You get better control over all operations. Let’s examine why traditional project management tools like Microsoft Project are outdated and how Wrike can help you run your projects more successfully. Wrike MS Project* Price From $9.95/mo for unlimited users and projects $999 per license Upgrades Free Automatic $599 per upgrade Manual System requirements Cross-platform. You only need a Web browser and Internet connection. Microsoft Project Web Access is supported with Internet Explorer 6.x and Internet Explorer 7.x only. Installation No installation required You need the software to be installed on the computer. Training No training required Requires extensive trainings for end-users and administrators. For example, Microsoft Project 2002 Training Courseware consists of 4 modules and 53 lessons. Project Management Features Full-featured. Task management, Time tracking, Gantt charts. Advanced features that bring excessive software complexity. Many of these features you will never use. Visibility You get a clear picture of all operations. You have a limited visibility on every project because your plans are represented in a flat way. Intersection of project parts cannot be reflected in your plans.  Only a straightforward process, which rarely happen in real business, can be managed. Project updates Your employees report their progress online. You save time on routine operations. You have to update the plan manually. First you need to collect reports from dozens of your employees. Then you analyze them and manually enter data in your project plan. This process is very time-consuming, and mistakes often can occur. Sharing of information and tasks  Free On average, the ability to share your plans will cost you between $4,998 and $85,892. The explanations of these calculations are described below. Sharing of information available only with MS Project Server and Microsoft Web-Access. MS Project Server available only through volume licensing; price not quoted.   However, the price may reach up to $52, 894. Additionally MS Project Server Requires: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 for hosting and function of Windows Server System. Purchasing of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 will cost you up to $7,999, depending on the edition. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Requires Microsoft SQL Server for enterprise project management functionality. You will have to spend between $3,899 and $24,999 on SQL Server. IT personnel who can help you choose the most suitable edition of MS Project Server, Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server. IT personnel who will be able to install all components correctly and maintain their operational status. A single computer (stand-alone installation) or many computers. The requirements for your installation will depend on the availability and scale requirements for your solution. E-mail collaboration Yes. You can create tasks from your favorite e-mail client and even work from your BlackBerry. Not applicable. Does the tool remind people about overdue tasks via e-mail? Yes No. Available only with MS Project Server and Microsoft Web-Access. It will cost you at least $4,998 (see “Sharing of information and tasks”). Does the tool notify you about changes in plans? No. Try Wrike Now?  Yes * Legal disclaimer. All Trademarks or registered. Trademarks found on the Site or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

The Ultimate Guide To Business Process Management (BPM) Software
Project Management 7 min read

The Ultimate Guide To Business Process Management (BPM) Software

Leverage the versatility and insights of business process management software. Identify inefficient or unreliable processes and harness the power of automation.

7 MarTech Blogs to Follow
Marketing 5 min read

7 MarTech Blogs to Follow

As the world of marketing continues to expand and the user experience becomes an increasingly critical focus for businesses everywhere, marketing operations and marketing technology (a.k.a., MarTech) become crucial areas to focus on. What better way to stay on top of this subject than by reading the thought leadership of the bloggers in the space? Here is our list of 7 MarTech blogs you should be reading: 1. Marketing Land's Martech Today: http://marketingland.com/library/channel/martechRun by Matt McGee and the same team that produces Search Engine Land, Marketing Land reports on everything marketing-related. But it is Marketing Land's MarTech Today channel that falls within the scope of this post. The channel is well-stocked and updated daily with the latest in the marketing technology space. Sample content: Mobile Marketer FollowAnalytics Follows The Trend Toward Messaging “Moments” Marketer’s Guide: B2B Marketing Automation Platforms 2. Brian Solis: http://www.briansolis.com Brian Solis, futurist and digital analyst at Altimeter Group, studies the effects of disruptive technology on business and even society in general. His posts may tackle marketing and disruptors in the MarTech space, but will also touch on the customer experience, and Silicon Valley behind-the-scenes. Sample content: How To Unify Your Sales, Service and Marketing Departments Around Customer Experience Wolfpack App is a Mobile Social Nichework for Guys to be Guys – Is this the Dawn of Social Nicheworks? 3. Marketing TechBlog: www.marketingtechblog.comThe Marketing TechBlog run by the team at DK New Media and founded by Douglas Karr, is another news source that covers a wide range of topics — from advertising and analytics to automation, mobile, ecommerce, and much more. Sample content: Including Instagram Photos Increased Email Engagement 7x 10 Essentials Elements for Efficient Content Production 4. Chief Marketing Technologist Blog: http://chiefmartec.com/blog Written and edited by Scott Brinker, this blog was started in 2008 back before MarTech was a common term. Check out the breadth of coverage in the blog's archives and you'll see how much the space has grown, and how Brinkner has consistently been at the forefront of discussions involving data software and marketing/sales. Sample content: The 5 digital dynamics that are transforming marketing Marketing isn’t alone — HR software landscape with 547 products 5. Inspire MarTech: http://inspiremartech.com This is the blog of digital evangelist Mayur Gupta, who was one of the first high-profile marketing technologists at major brand Kimberly Clark. Aside from being at the forefront of discussions related to marketing technology for the past decade or so, he's also passionate about the usage of Agile methods within marketing organizations. Sample content: Consumer – The Missing Seat in the C-Suite Data Convergence – The Marketing Glue For The Omni-Channel Reality 6. The Hub: The Marketing Technology Resource: http://www.thehubcomms.com/ While the other blogs have categories for everything MarTech-related, The Hub limits its "channels" to six: customer experience, marketing cloud, social media, analytics, mobile, and content marketing. But that's not to say they cover less. At least twice a month, they release podcasts as well. They also have a long-running feature called "Five Minutes With..." where they interview other marketing thought leaders. They do a good job of profiling companies in their space as well. Sample content: Five Minutes With: Julie Ginches, CMO at Kahuna Celebrity-Generated Content is Priceless 7. MarTech Advisor: www.martechadvisor.comThe blog touts itself as the world's leading source for marketing technology news, research, product comparisons, and expert views. And they don't kid around. This is the go-to source for news on technology and tools for sales and marketing professionals. Their blog post categories are exhaustive and cover everything from AdTech to social media, content marketing, event marketing, and email marketing. Sample content: Ensure These Measures to Avoid Failure of Your Content Marketing Plan Why Remarketing is Highly Effective A final tip: Subscribe to the email newsletters of the blogs you like so you get updates directly to your inbox. And if you're concerned about inbox bloat, use Unroll.me to compile all your marketing-related newsletters into one. Turn Your Marketing Team Agile If you want in-depth strategies for making your marketing team Agile, download the free eBook: 7 Steps to Developing an Agile Marketing Team.

The Guide to MarTech Today (Infographic)
Marketing 3 min read

The Guide to MarTech Today (Infographic)

What is MarTech? What is there to know about the industry? And why should you care? MarTech (short for marketing technology) refers to marketing initiatives that use new technologies to power their campaigns and efforts. It is a fast-growing industry, expected to hit a worldwide spend of $22.6 BILLION in 2015, with upward growth projected over the coming years. Marketers not paying attention to MarTech will soon find themselves behind the times. Because every new tool that arrives on the scene changes and influences the way marketers work with, and speak to, our customers. Learn more and explore the wild world of MarTech with us in the infographic below. It's full of the most recent stats and figures that are relevant for marketers across the globe discovering what is MarTech for the first time: Learned something new today? Share this infographic on social media, or repost it on your blog using this embed code: Infographic brought to you by Wrike What You Can Learn About MarTech Doesn't End Here If you're ready to dive further into the expanding world of MarTech, check out the list of upcoming MarTech conferences in 2015 and 2016. Share your knowledge about MarTech with our readers in the comments below, or drop links to more interesting MarTech stats you've read.

Project Management Tools Every Event Planner Should Steal
Project Management 5 min read

Project Management Tools Every Event Planner Should Steal

If this sounds like the last event you managed, then I suggest you start stealing. We all know the greats do it: Good writers borrow, great writers steal. Good artists copy, great artists steal. It’s about time that event managers started stealing, too. So whom are you to steal from? Project managers, of course. Inside The Project Manager’s Toolbox Large events such as product launches, industry conferences, and promotional affairs are just projects in disguise. Since project management methodologies are closely aligned with event planning, the gadgets you need to make your event successful are already available. Most project managers have a powerful digital toolbox known as project management software. The best applications provide a central place where you can plan and assign tasks, track and communicate with vendors, and oversee everything you need to keep an event running smoothly. Let’s review some of the most important features of PM software, and how they relate to event planning: Gantt Charts Humans are visual creatures. When planning and scheduling an event, it’s helpful to have a visual that transforms a conceptual workload into actionable items. This is where Gantt charts come in. A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart used to illustrate start and finish dates for critical tasks. They are particularly helpful for visualizing a project’s timeline and quickly assessing whether or not your event is on schedule. Event management requires tracking many separate teams and vendors, whose tasks are often interconnected or dependent. Gantt charts allow you to assign dependencies to tasks which need to be performed in a particular order. All major tasks and milestones necessary for project execution can be chronologically depicted with this tool. You can also monitor the progress of each high level task at a glance, which is valuable in situations where a change in the timing of one task affects all the other tasks that depend on it. File Sharing When events have multiple teams and vendors, it’s critical to have an easy way to share documents and information. Project management software with file sharing tools provides an accessible central storage area for all important information and common documents. This eliminates redundant revisions and the need to exchange documents via email. Not only is this great for team collaboration, but for tracking and managing vendor proposals, contracts, negotiations, and invoices. Collaboration Tools Project management software is the swiss army knife of collaboration. Thanks to robust features and integrations, most platforms can be tailored to the needs of your team or event. Need to keep in touch with colleagues, ask quick project questions, or send documents (perhaps a revised guestlist, for instance)? Instant messaging has you covered. Need to get everyone out of their overloaded inbox and on the same page? Project management software allows individuals to comment on tasks, tag keywords or people in questions, and get notifications of updates and progress changes automatically.   Need to work with different vendors or teams for each event? A good project management platform will offer additional collaborator licenses for free. This means contractors can discuss progress, upload files, and mark tasks complete— which makes tracking vendors simple. Kanban Boards Another helpful visualization tool is a Kanban board. Once an event’s major milestones are determined, Kanban boards are helpful for breaking them into bite-sized chunks. Teams can see their group objective, then delegate responsibilities by adding subtasks and individual action items with deadlines. Kanban boards provide transparency by letting everybody see what everybody else is working on. Event managers can quickly see where resources are allocated, monitor team or vendor progress, and identify bottlenecks. This tool also reinforces efficient project behavior. For example, when everyone’s work is visualized, it deters individuals from overcommitting and limits the amount of deliverables in progress. Event Planning is a Project Events can be a powerful strategic marketing tool for any size company. Making your events successful requires a holistic view of collaboration from planning to execution. Project management software helps you plan a timeline, manage deadlines, facilitate collaboration, and track vendors. Managers use these tools in tandem with their methodology of choice to carefully articulate project goals, expectations, milestones, and key deliverables. Good event planners use a project manager’s methodology, great event managers steal their tools. About the author: Jenna Puckett is an associate technology analyst at TechnologyAdvice. She covers topics related to project management, marketing automation, employee performance, and other emerging tech trends. Connect with her on LinkedIn. 

Road Warrior Productivity: Must-Have Tips & Tools
Productivity 5 min read

Road Warrior Productivity: Must-Have Tips & Tools

You're sleep deprived, hungry, cramped, surrounded by distractions, and stuck on a 6-hour layover in a tiny commuter terminal. The last thing you want to do is power up your laptop and dive into some work, but that deadline is tomorrow and it's not going to move. When you'd rather sit through yet another in-flight showing of Taken 3 than even think about your inbox, use these tips and tools to stay productive and get things done.  Productivity Tips for Business Travelers 1. Don't tackle high-priority tasks. Instead, use layovers and shorter flights as a chance to burn through some busywork. Respond to emails, compile expense reports, update your budget, organize your desktop folders, etc.  2. Carry extra business cards. You never know when a delay, fortuitous seat assignment, or waiting in line for coffee will lead to a great networking opportunity.  3. Plan for no wi-fi. Although it may seem like a major inconvenience at first, being forcibly unconnected can be a blessing in disguise. You won’t be distracted by incoming emails or social media, so you can focus on the task at hand. If you absolutely must be connected, bring a personal hot-spot, fully charged.  4. Pay attention to what you eat. Traveling is already exhausting, and airport or gas station food isn’t exactly going to give you a burst of healthy energy. Bring snacks that will boost productivity like nuts, fresh or dried fruit, and plenty of water, or try to keep your restaurant orders on the healthy side. 5. Leave your charger in your bag. Use the dwindling battery as motivation to race the clock and get tasks done before the bar turns red.  6. Podcasts are your friend! Take this opportunity to listen through a few episodes of a series that will advance your work skills, or an educational podcast on a hobby or topic of interest. It’ll keep your brain active, and you’ll be learning something new. (I personally like Radiolab!) 7. Apply for TSA Pre-Check, Global Entry, or another Trusted Traveler program to speed through airport security and get settled at your gate faster.  8. Bring a tennis ball or beastie ball to roll under your feet or along a sore neck/back during a long flight. You'll feel better when you land. 9. Fight jet lag by staying hydrated and eating meals on the same schedule as your destination.  Productivity Tools for Business Travelers  1. Helios Solar Charger  90 minutes of direct sunlight is enough to fully charge your smartphone. If the weather calls for rain, you can also charge it via built-in micro USB port.     2. ZUtA Printer This pocket-sized printer is only 10.2 cm around and 7.5 cm tall, and connects to your smartphone, tablet, or laptop via WiFi to print on any size paper.  3. Plastc All your business credit cards, debit cards, loyalty cards, and gift cards on one card. Enter your unique pin to unlock, swipe to select the card you want, and then use it as you would a normal credit card. If your card is lost or stolen, you can completely wipe your data via your phone.  5. Logitech Keys-to-Go Keyboard Work in comfort with this durable keyboard. It pairs via bluetooth and runs on a rechargeable 3-month battery.  4. Anker Astro Portable Charger No open outlets at the airport? No problem.   6. Livescribe Echo Smartpen Record and replay on-the-go voice memos or reminders, and transfer handwritten notes to digital text.  7. Powerbag This backpack contains a portable battery for charging your smartphone or tablet.  8. Gigs2Go Portable Flash Drives This tear-away USB pack is made of recycled paper and plastic: it’s shockproof, waterproof, and doesn’t need a cap. What are your top tips for staying productive on the road?  Share your secrets for spotting a coveted airport outlet, scoring free wi-fi, or securing an invite to a business lounge in the comments below! Sources: money.usnews.com, FastCompany.com, Mashable.com, Inc.com Top photo credit: Nick Harris 

Ideal Project Management Software: Is There One?
Project Management 3 min read

Ideal Project Management Software: Is There One?

I recently wrote an article for PMHut.com. The Project Management Hut is a very useful site for project managers and those who want to know more about this sphere. Articles on topics like traditional and innovative project management methodologies, what is client resource management system, project leadership, the history of project management and much more are written and gathered from all over the world by a group of project managers, who decided to make their vast experience accessible to everyone. The PMHut authors invited me to contribute to their resource and write about a feature set for an ideal project management tool. In my article, I express my point of view on what problems project management software should help you solve and in what way. As always, your feedback on the piece is welcome in the comments to this post.

5 Ways to Use Google Collaboration Tools for Effective Teamwork
Collaboration 5 min read

5 Ways to Use Google Collaboration Tools for Effective Teamwork

Younger workers especially are very familiar with the Google collaboration suite, so this can serve as a comfortable way to begin encouraging teammates to work together through the cloud. Here are four keys for making the most of using Google Drive for collaboration.

54 Seriously Cool Apps to Make Everyone's Life Easier
Productivity 7 min read

54 Seriously Cool Apps to Make Everyone's Life Easier

When we need the answer to a quick question like, "What time is it in Beijing?" we immediately jump on Google or ask Siri. We’ve grown accustomed to having answers and resources instantly available. But as efficient and effective as these tools are, Siri can’t tell you when that new gadget you’ve had your eye on is likely to go on sale, and Googling can only get you so far when it comes to finding the word that’s been stuck on the tip of your tongue. That’s where these handy online shortcuts come in. Save money, time, and effort with this list of convenient web tools. Money-Saving Tools Camelizer Chrome Extension - Displays the pricing history of an item and lets you set up notification alerts for when the price drops. Honey Chrome Extension - Automatically searches for and applies coupon codes for you during checkout. 10-minute mail - Set up a temporary email address to receive discount code emails, and the address will self-destruct after 10 minutes. FaxZero - If you need to send the occasional fax, use this site to upload documents straight from your computer and send them within the US and Canada for free. Productivity Boosters StayFocusd Chrome Extension - Set limits for the amount of time you can spend on distracting websites you specify. AutoPatchWork - Load websites with multiple pages as a single continuous page, so there's no need to click “Next." OneTab Chrome Extension - Suddenly find yourself with a zillion tabs open? Click this browser extension to consolidate them all into a single list. Restore them individually or all at once. SleepyTi.me - Calculate exactly when you should go to bed based on natural sleep cycles so you wake up refreshed. OhDon’tForget - Send yourself text message reminders for important or time-sensitive tasks. Unrollme - Unsubscribe from unwanted emails en masse, then combine what you want to keep into a single daily digest email. WhichDateWorks.com - Planning a meeting or event? Quickly find a date/time that works for everyone. Dictation.io - Online voice recognition and dictation software in your web browser. TabCloud Chrome Extension - Save your current browser tabs and open them at a later date, on any computer. AvoidHumans.com - Find a quiet public space to get out of the office, without getting stuck in a noisy crowd. Flux - Combat eye strain and get your brain ready to sleep by customizing the brightness and hue of your computer screen. MailboxMap.com - Quickly locate the closest USPS mailbox. Klip.me - Send any article you find on the web directly to your Kindle to read later. Ctrql.rss - Search engine for RSS feeds. ManualsLib.com - Lost the manual to a malfunctioning device? Look it up in this database of pdf manuals for all sorts of products. iReader - Removes ads and displays articles in one continuous page, with clean formatting. LastPass - Save your usernames and passwords to LastPass, and access them wherever you need to. Creative Timesavers WhatTheFont - Find the name of the font used in a particular image. Mondrian.io - Create vector drawings right in your browser window. MyScriptFont.com - Create a vector font from your own handwriting. Popcorn Maker - Add interactive elements to videos like maps, links, pop-ups, Tweets, and images. Adobe Kuler - Find complementary color palettes. TipofMyTongue - Pinpoint that elusive word stuck on the tip of your brain. Rhymer.com - Find the perfect word with this online rhyming dictionary. Expresso-App.org - Analyze your writing to find areas for improvement. XMind - Organize your thoughts, brainstorm new ideas, and visualize complex relationships with this mind mapping tool. Script Timer - Find out exactly how long it will take to read your written script. Quick Tools for Everyday Tasks Scr.im - Converts your email address into a short, custom URL you can share on public sites without getting picked up by spam bots and email harvesters. ShareLinkGenerator.com - Create Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, and Pinterest share links that work anywhere — even in emails. qClock - Find the local time of any city by hovering over it on Google Maps. Chrome Currency Converter - Automatically convert prices displayed on the web to your selected currency, using current exchange rates. Random.org - Choose a random number, flip a coin, etc. Date to Date Calculator - Find out exactly how many days, hours, minutes, or seconds have passed between two events. iRuler - Automatically reads the dimensions of your display to show an accurate ruler. How Secure Is My Password? - Find out exactly how long it would take to hack your password with this secure website. Strong Password Generator - Spits out a random, strong password to protect your online accounts, along with a mnemonic device to help you remember. FreeWifiFinder - Find the closest free WiFi hotspot based on your current location. CopyPasteCharacter.com - Copy special characters & symbols that don’t appear on your keyboard. DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com - Is that website down for everyone or just you? Jotti.org - Scan suspicious files or attachments for viruses or malware. PrintWhatYouLike.com - Print web pages without ads or other clutter. Lazarus Form Recovery - Autosaves everything you type so you can easily recover from timeouts, crashes, and network errors. Google Voice Extension - Send and receive texts, calls, and voicemails on your computer. DisposableWebpage.com - Create a temporary web page that will automatically self-destruct. Just for Fun NowIKnow - Emails you an interesting story or tidbit every day to keep life (and your daily conversations) interesting. DailyLit - Want to read more books, but can’t find the time? Select a book on DailyLit and it’ll send you bite-sized snippets via email or RSS every day until you finish. UnplugtheTV - Presents short YouTube videos that entertain and educate so you can learn something new while you scarf down dinner. The Nicest Place on the Internet - Bad day? Check out the nicest place on the internet for a quick mood booster. Memrise - Learn new skills in small, bite-sized pieces during quick breaks or while waiting in line. Skyscanner - Want to get away for the weekend, but unsure where to go? Check out the "Cheap Flights" widget to browse available flights by price. What are your favorite apps? Share your favorite free online apps in the comments below! Let us know what we're missing.

11 Top Add-Ons for Adobe Illustrator
Marketing 5 min read

11 Top Add-Ons for Adobe Illustrator

As a creative professional, you're always looking for new ways to bring your designs to life. Add-ons offer more tools, effects, and workflows to help you do more with your Adobe Creative Cloud apps. While there are countless plugins and add-ons available for Adobe applications, we asked our own design team to share some of their favorites. These 11 add-ons will save you time and effort on your designs — and add some cool new visual styles to your arsenal. 1. Dragstrip Illustrator Brush Kit - RetroSupply Co. Price: $15 Give your vectors the look of hand-painted brush strokes with this add-on. Includes 26 illustrator brushes, including TIFF versions, painterly and splatter texture overlays, and two examples of professional quality reference art so you can see exactly how to use the brushes for best results.  2. Handmade Linocut Brushes - Guerillacraft Price: $8 35 lino cut brushes and 12 vector textures to give your work a handmade, hand-printed look, along with a set of brushes to create a unique woodcut effect.  3. Vintage Comic Press - AI Actions  Price: $19 Inspired by comics from the 1950s, this add-on uses yellow, magenta, and cyan overlays to produce an authentic vintage look in vector format. Also includes halftone variations, 3D shadows, text outlines, coloring tips and cheat sheets.  4. PosterPress for Illustrator - Ian Barnard Price: $16 Give your designs the look of beautiful vintage travel posters with this add-on. You’ll also get 18 vector textures, a visual font list plus links to download them, and 13 beautiful photographs to use in your work.   5. Gold Rush for Illustrator - Studio Denmark  Price: $18 All the metallic, glitter, and foil effects you could possibly want, in every shade of gold, rose gold, black, silver and copper. Over 200 swatches that include crumpled foil, gold leaf, metallic paint, textures, glitter, confetti, and geometric patterns. 6. Watercolor Fantasies Quick Styles - Creators Couture  Price: $18 140 raster pattern swatches, each with a light and intense style variation. Apply it with a click and it pulls your current vector color as the base color, then adjust the style via the appearance panel.  7. 300+ Real Markers for Illustrator - Hejbrush.com Price: $9 Realistic marker brushes—over 300 actual markers scanned in 2400 dpi, cleaned and sharpened, then taken back to original size at 300 dpi.  8. VectorScribe - Astute Graphics Price: $78 Edit vector paths with precision, create dynamic shapes and corners, convert and delete points, extend and trim paths, and more. Included is a smart remove brush tool to remove excess points, a path extend tool, dynamic corners and shapes tools, a PathScribe tool to edit vector paths, the dynamic measure tool for quick and accurate measurements, and a protractor tool.  9. Magic Exporter - Kodlian.com  Price: $25 Export objects from your AI docs to PNGs for all devices and screens. The add-on exports objects separately, so you can export artwork with a graphic layout behind it, and you can export designs scaled precisely for various devices and screen sizes.  10. CADtools 10 for Illustrator - Hot Door Price: $349 Easily draw, edit, and dimension vector your artwork with these 87 tools and 12 panels. Hundreds of editable symbols for architecture, people, and landscapes that automatically scale to the target layer, plus a built-in dashboard to control CAD features in Illustrator.  11. Wrike Adobe Creative Cloud Add-In - Wrike Price: Free Trial Attach previews of your work to Wrike, update and track file versions, update task status, and quickly find instructions, creative briefs, and feedback comments without leaving Illustrator.  More Tools and Resources for Creative Professionals Whether you’re a novice designer or have years of experience under your belt, there are always new shortcuts and techniques to learn. Check out our list of free online training resources for Adobe Creative Cloud to sharpen your existing skills or learn the ins and outs of a new tool. Then see how Wrike's solution for marketing and creative teams can streamline administrative tasks and free your time to focus on creative work. 

Enterprise Collaboration: Why You Need It & How to Improve It
Collaboration 10 min read

Enterprise Collaboration: Why You Need It & How to Improve It

Enterprise collaboration at its most basic level comes down to how a large organization communicates. It includes the various technologies and platforms that individual members of the organization rely on to discuss work, deliver feedback, and cross-pollinate their ideas. The use of enterprise collaboration software can also reveal a lot about a company's culture and how they assist or impede the exchange of ideas and information. Enterprise collaboration software is becoming more popular each day, as companies look for efficient ways to connect increasingly dispersed and remote teams. In fact, one survey noted that 60% of respondents planned to purchase some sort of collaboration software for their business.   Here we talk about what enterprise collaboration is, why it’s important, and how directors and project managers can strategically use it to increase productivity. We’ll also go over frequently asked questions about implementation and introduce a new tool to help you get started.  What is enterprise collaboration? Enterprise collaboration is the process of helping diverse teams work together — which sounds simple, at first. But, in a world where thought leadership and personal branding are still on the rise, many individuals are now being hired as specialists who function independently rather than generalists who are used to working as part of a team. Even if this isn’t your company’s hiring strategy, you may have noticed a recent uptick in contractor and support roles throughout various aspects of the organization.  Either way, it’s up to enterprise directors and project managers to help these individuals function through one cohesive system even though they all may be miles apart, a one-time contributor, or have competing goals.  In addition to providing support systems for day to day tasks, teams will also need help understanding what the big picture is, how each project supports that vision, and what contributions every team member is expected to make.  Why is enterprise collaboration important? In an Inc.com article, Wrike CEO Andrew Filev points out two undeniable benefits of collaboration: By collaborating internally via social tools, wikis, videoconferencing, and more, you increase productivity.  By collaborating externally with customers, partners, and vendors via user forums, blog comments, social media, live webinars, conferences, and meetups, you gather feedback that increases innovation. It makes sense that cross-functional team collaboration as well as external collaboration with stakeholders improves efficiency and effectiveness. When communication channels are open, it's easier to find the information you need or turn to colleagues and customers for feedback and assistance. In addition to this, collaboration helps organizations meet top business priorities such as improving business processes and reducing enterprise costs. The Aberdeen Group surveyed 299 organizations and discovered significant benefits of enterprise-wide collaboration: 53% improvement in customer service metrics 49% improvement in workforce productivity This data proves that enterprise collaboration helps teams and customers alike. When processes are improved and communication becomes more efficient, team members can focus on delivering value to customers. How does enterprise collaboration boost project productivity? Enterprise collaboration boosts project productivity through a holistic approach. First, you begin by taking stock of where your team is today. What tools, workflows, and systems are already in place? How do those help or hurt progress in the short and long term?  After you have a good idea of which areas need improvement, you move on to strategy. Connect the dots between your business goals, project goals, and team goals by discussing them with your collaborators all at the same time. Before you can even begin to establish a new way of doing things, you have to get everyone on the same page. This is exactly what the first phase of enterprise collaboration does.  Then it’s time to try new strategies, examine your results, and adjust as needed. These steps are often long and involved, but they’re key to figuring out how to maximize your team’s potential. As you go along, actively listen to what people say about their project productivity and be prepared to apply feedback on what is or isn’t working.   When you approach project management through this lens, you’re able to boost productivity by bringing everyone in the loop through strong communication practices such as centralized document sharing and @ mentions that directly bring collaborators into the conversation without missing a beat.  Laying all the components of your workflow out also helps anticipate breakdowns before they even happen. It also makes it easier to try new things. This is an essential part of increasing productivity because, as we all know, if you always do what you’ve always done you’ll just get the same results.  What are the challenges of enterprise collaboration? The number one challenge of enterprise collaboration is complexity. With competing voices and priorities in the mix, it can be tough to sort out even the simplest workflows. For example, let’s say a marketing agency is collaborating with a freelance designer for a client’s website. If the client prefers to be extremely hands-on, you’ll need to have a strong enterprise collaboration system in place in order to prevent their feedback from derailing forward movement.  Then there’s decision-making. Choices like task management, meeting arrangement, and workflow designation can benefit from the input of everyone involved. But if a project manager or director doesn’t create rules and systems, it’s really easy to miscommunicate, promise deliverables without consulting team members, and create other issues that leave a bad taste in the client and the collaborators’ mouths.  Even if your team already has its own internal way of getting things done, it may be hard to bring new people into the fold as one-time contributors. Enterprise collaboration is meant to be agile so if your team needs to adjust their process at any stage, you’ll need to quickly accommodate, reforecast, and keep everything moving without missing a beat.  At the end of the day, using enterprise collaboration in your business saves everyone a lot of time and unnecessary headaches even if it takes a little set up or getting used to.  Enterprise collaboration starts with culture, not tools In the past decade, the number of enterprise collaboration tools has exploded. Although they're beneficial tools, they're not an out-of-the-box solution for an organization hoping for immediately efficient teamwork.  After all, any technology that promises collaboration cannot bring about change on its own. There has to be a simultaneous shift in internal culture — from individual silos to transparent and generous sharing of ideas and resources. That shift doesn't happen overnight. It has to be something that your organization works at every day in the processes it puts into motion and in the policies it enforces. Good enterprise collaboration habits to instill into your organization You can begin to infuse enterprise collaboration habits into your organization on a macro and micro level. The three most important habits for both include:  Consolidating all project updates to one single source so everyone can refer to the latest information with ease.  Being conscious of realistic timelines for projects, phases, and even individual tasks.  Taking care to work within realistic limitations on budget, resources, and personnel.  Why you should invest in enterprise collaboration software One way to move toward enterprise-wide collaboration is to get teams accustomed to sharing information within a collaborative platform. Choose a platform that enables file sharing and open conversation outside of long email threads.  You'll have to take baby steps to get individuals to voluntarily share their workloads, upload the files they're working on, comment on best practices, and even draw in other people into their projects for cross-team collaboration. But once something as simple as a habit of sharing information becomes ingrained in the company's culture, it becomes easier to build processes for wider collaboration between teams in the enterprise. Introducing Wrike as the enterprise collaboration platform for your company The best way to communicate company-wide project systems is through Wrike’s highly visual system that makes it easy to adjust as you go and add input from outside collaborators without sacrificing productivity. Chances are if you’ve been using the same old system even though your team and the world at large has radically changed, your usual workflow needs to be examined. Note what works, remove what doesn’t, and use customized dashboards to streamline the rest.  Here’s a sample of Wrike’s standout enterprise project management features:  Collaborator calendar management so that you always know how to balance the workload amongst your team even if they’re working on more than one project at a time. Visual timelines that allow you to drag and drop tasks to both plan projects before they begin and quickly adjust as you go.  Internal messaging so that details like deadlines and meeting links aren’t buried in anyone’s email inbox.  Review and approval cycles that plainly show other team members what’s going on at all times.  Collaborator dashboard views you control so they can follow progress without getting too wrapped up in the backend process.  In a nutshell, Wrike is a highly effective, full-scale solution for enterprise collaboration on projects of all sizes. With it, teams are empowered to work together with and not against each other.  Take it step by step Your organization doesn't have to jump head-first into doing everything collaboratively. Start by creating space for individuals to connect within the organization and grow ideas with shared resources. It's about building an enterprise-wide framework for productivity, innovation, and velocity. Wrike can help your enterprise organization improve cross-team collaboration at every level. Start a free trial today and try it out with your team.

5 Best Video Conference & Meeting Apps for Your Team
Collaboration 5 min read

5 Best Video Conference & Meeting Apps for Your Team

Whether you're working with remote colleagues or coordinating with clients, you need a video conference and meeting app that's reliable and easy to use. You don't have time to deal with dropped calls, choppy audio and video, stream lags, annoying downloads and plugins, or other frustrating technical issues.  Between our weekly webinars and daily meetings with our remote colleagues around the globe, the Wrike team has tried just about every top video conference and meeting app available. Here's a list of our 5 favorites:  Top Video Conference & Meeting Apps 1. Zoom With HD video conferencing, screen sharing from desktop or mobile, recording features, and the ability to choose full screen or gallery views for video streams (or choose different views for multiple monitors), Zoom is quickly emerging as one of the top video meeting apps available. What we like best: Zoom boasts a slew of cool features like a collaborative whiteboard and the ability to send group texts, images, and audio files during meetings. Plus, the ability to join meetings from mobile via wifi or cellular networks makes it a great option for teams that are constantly on the go.    Pricing: The free version includes an unlimited number of meetings with up to 25 people, up to 40 minutes per meeting, and unlimited one-on-one calls. Paid plans with advanced features start at $10/month for unlimited meeting durations and calls with up to 200 participants.  2. GoToMeeting GoToMeeting has established itself as the "go-to" solution for video conferencing and virtual meetings, and with good reason: HD-quality video, screen sharing, personalized meeting URLs, and the ability to connect to meetings via desktop or mobile make it a popular choice. Teams can also collaborate by using the whiteboard feature to annotate and highlight the presenter's screen. What we like best: International toll-free numbers and options to translate control settings make GoToMeeting a convenient option for global teams, plus it's easy to change presenters for meetings with multiple hosts.  Pricing: The Pro version starts at $39/month per organizer and includes 25 participants. The Plus version starts at $56/month per organizer for up to 100 participants. GoToMeeting also offers a free plan for 3 attendees.  3. Join.me Join.me offers all the essentials you're looking for, in a lightweight, no-muss-no-fuss package. Attendees can call in via VoIP or telephone, and with numbers in over 40 countries, it's an easy solution for international teams. Record meetings, join from your preferred mobile device, share your screen, transfer files, and easily change presenters. You can also personalize your meeting space with custom URLs and screen backgrounds. What we like best: Ease of use. We can set up a meeting and be connected with colleagues in a matter of minutes, with no technical confusion or cumbersome downloads.  Pricing: The free Basic plan includes up to 10 participants and instant screen sharing. Pro and Enterprise plans include up to 250 attendees with advanced features like Outlook and Google Calendar plugins, built-in cloud storage, recording, and reporting tools.  4. ReadyTalk With ReadyTalk's suite of web conferencing, mobile conferencing, video conferencing, and webinar tools, you can find the perfect solution for your needs. Hand over controls to a participant to let them take over the discussion, use the interactive real-time polling feature to make group decisions right then and there, and stream up to 4 video feeds simultaneously. ReadyTalk also conveniently integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook, Lync, Salesforce, Marketo, and more popular tools. What we like best: Support. At your request, a ReadyTalk customer support rep will join your meeting to provide instant technical assistance. Stop worrying about glitches and instead just focus on hosting a great meeting.  Pricing: Meeting plans start at $24 for 10 participants, $34 for 25 participants, and $59 for 100 participants.  5. Onstream Meetings Onstream offers the usual features like screen sharing, document sharing, group or private chats, polling, shared controls, and a collaborative whiteboard. What sets Onstream apart is the ability to add up to 1,000 attendees, which is great for companies hosting all-hands meetings for more than 250 people. The toolbar at the top of the screen keeps controls for screen sharing, file sharing, drawing tools, and polling easily accessible. Also convenient: you can send files to all attendees or just to select people, or make documents available for download after the meeting concludes. What we like best: You can edit your meeting recordings without downloading the video file. Highlight key discussions or add chapter markers so viewers can easily skip to important points — all within the Onstream application.  Pricing: Subscriptions start at $49/month Take Your Meetings to the Next Level Now that you've got the technical aspect of the perfect virtual meeting settled, fix these four common problems with virtual meetings to make all your meetings productive.  Read Next: 7 Tips for Better Meetings (Infographic) Everything You Need to Successfully Manage a Virtual Team (Checklist) 4 Problems with Virtual Meetings that You Can Fix

How I Use Online Collaboration Tools to Run a Marketing Team
Marketing 7 min read

How I Use Online Collaboration Tools to Run a Marketing Team

Coming from a world of emails, overly long meetings, and "tool proliferation." I'm happy to say you CAN centralize your communications with the right processes and online collaboration tools.

Digital Marketing Tools Your Team Can’t Go Without
Project Management 7 min read

Digital Marketing Tools Your Team Can’t Go Without

What digital marketing tools are must-haves for your team? Here are 10 powerful, online marketing tools so you can choose the best ones to accomplish more.

The Costs of Having the Wrong Work Management Technology
Leadership 7 min read

The Costs of Having the Wrong Work Management Technology

It's time to stop making excuses for your work management system and find one that actually improves efficiency, collaboration, and productivity across your team.

Why Use Wrike as SEO Project Management Software?
Project Management 5 min read

Why Use Wrike as SEO Project Management Software?

Manage campaigns, store keyword research, and map SEO strategy. Make Wrike your SEO project management software for better results every time.

Ultimate Guide to Crowdfunding Campaign Tools and Resources
Collaboration 10 min read

Ultimate Guide to Crowdfunding Campaign Tools and Resources

Crowdsourcing is a testament to the power of collaboration. Hundreds and even thousands of individual efforts combine to create something world-changing. If you’re jumping into the chaotic world of crowdsourcing to fund your startup or passion project, you’ve got a lot of hectic days and coffee-fueled nights ahead. Running a successful campaign, standing out in a sea of creative projects, and coordinating all the moving pieces takes a lot of hard work. Use these tools and resources to stay on top of it all and start writing your own crowdfunding success story. Step 1: Choose Your Platform There are hundreds of crowdfunding sites to choose from. Discover the key differences, strengths, and drawbacks of each platform and pick the right one for your project. 26 Top Crowdfunding Sites by Niche: Consult this list of popular crowdfunding sites, sorted by project type, for crucial details on fees and platform restrictions. Inc.’s 22 Crowdfunding Sites (& How to Choose One) Infographic: Answer a series of yes or no questions to discover exactly which of the top 20+ platforms fits your needs CrowdsUnite.com: Read reviews of hundreds of crowdfunding platforms to learn from others’ experiences and find help choosing the best option for you. Step 2: Do Your Homework Polish your reading glasses, find a comfy chair, and read up on platform requirements, best practices, and words of wisdom from the crowdfunding community. 10 Essential Elements of a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign: Crowdfunding success doesn't come by accident. These 10 tips will help you create the strongest possible campaign. Kickstarter's Creator Handbook, Indiegogo's Playbook, and Kickstarter Blog's "Tips" page: Peruse these guides for platform-specific requirements, plus targeted advice for your project's niche — from games to gadgets and beyond. The Crowdfunding Bible: Learn what to expect from the process, read advice on building a team and community around your project, get planning tips, and more. Nathaniel Hansen's Crowdfunding Best Practices: Follow this pre-launch checklist to help you make the most of every opportunity and resource at your disposal. 5 Rookie Crowdsourcing Mistakes: Watch this webinar for the inside scoop on the "Green Bar Effect," proven marketing strategies, and avoiding common mistakes. Kickspy: Get an inside peek at today's top Kickstarter projects and research past projects similar to yours. Crowdsourcing & Crowdfunding LinkedIn Group: Join this active hive of over 26,000 crowdfunders, with dozens of new discussions each month. CrowdfundBeat and CrowdfundingForum.com: Catch up on the latest crowdsourcing news and trends. Step 3: Read the Fine Print Don’t get caught off guard by legalities. Cover all your bases and make sure you know exactly what you’re signing up for! Crowdfund Capital Advisors, Understanding Crowdfunding Taxes and Kickstarter & Taxes: Do crowdsourcing donations qualify as income or gifts? What can you deduct from your taxes? Give these guides to your accountant and be prepared come April 15. JOBS Act review: The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act makes it easier for small businesses and startups to raise capital. Get all the details you need on this important legislation — in plain English. Step 4: Set Your Budget Time to talk numbers. How much do you need to turn a profit? Can you afford to offer that awesome backer reward? Think Before You Kickstart's Budgeting Tool: Play around with different rewards ideas to see how each one affects your overall project costs and total budget. Rewards Pricing Template: Input details like materials and shipping costs to determine exactly how much each reward type will cost you and its impact on your bottom line. Important!: Your budget must include more than just your project costs. Don’t forget about pesky fees — like the percentage the platform will take as its cut, bank fees, state and federal taxes, payment processing charges, and all the miscellaneous costs incurred when setting your final fundraising goal. Step 5: Plan and Manage Your Work Buckle up! It’s time to put the pedal to the metal and make your project plans a reality. Project management tools like Wrike: Track every task, coordinate all the moving pieces, get help from your team, and adjust to any bumps in the road. Google Drive, Dropbox and Box: Store important project files in the cloud, where it's easy to share with your team and access them from anywhere. Step 6: Build Your Product Find creatives and craftsmen to help with everything from brainstorming the perfect product name, designing an eye-catching logo, and building a professional prototype. 99 Designs, CrowdSpring, & Elance: Submit a description of your needs and designers will pitch you their work. You pay for the submission you like best. Some crowdsourcing platforms require you to have a prototype in hand before accepting your campaign. When it’s time to create a physical mockup of your idea, here are a few options: Thomasnet.com: Find the parts you need, or hire a local prototype developer. Shapelock and Sugru: Shape your prototype by hand with moldable plastic or rubber. Ponoko: Upload your copyrighted design, get a quote, and they'll make one for you. Shapeways: Get a 3-D print of your product in one of 30+ materials. Step 7: Create a Killer Campaign Page Flex your creative muscles! Showcase your project (and your personality) with beautiful visuals, compelling text, and enticing rewards. Anatomy of a Greater Kickstarter Project Page: Read tips for creating an exceptional project profile that will get people talking, sharing, and reaching for their wallets. Video 101 from Vimeo: Follow these 3 steps to great video, from choosing a camera to editing and post-production. Stupeflix and Animoto: Cut a stunning video with these online editing tools. Free Music Archive, JewelBeat, Freesound.org: Add something special to your video with these free or low-cost music selections and sound effects. Fiverr.com: Hire voiceover talent, artists, musicians, translators & other creatives for just 5 bucks. LinkedIn ProFinder: Leverage the vast LinkedIn network to find quality independent and freelance professionals in a variety of fields, from graphic design and copywriting and web and product development. ODesk and Guru.com: Get creative and technical help from talented freelancers. Vimeo and YouTube: Use these popular hosting services to embed your finished video on your project website or profile. Slideshare: Stand out from the video crowd with a sleek slideshow. Pixlr and FotoFlexer: Beautify your photos with these easy-to-use editing programs. Step 8: Generate Buzz Spread the word about your project, attract more backers, and build momentum to power your campaign across the goal line. Crowdfunding Promotion Beginner's Guide: Find tips for writing a convincing pitch, harnessing the power of friends and family, and brainstorming great rewards. Hubbub's Tips to Make Your Project Stand Out: With over 150,000 projects launched on Kickstarter alone, these tips will help you get noticed. LaunchRock Platform for Launching Startups: Create "coming soon" pages, build anticipation for your product, accept pre-sales, and more. Wordpress and Blogger: Set up a product blog to chronicle your progress, share exciting news and achievements, and build a community around your brand. Or, use Paper.li to create and share an online newspaper with the latest details. MailChimp and Boomerang for Gmail: Send sleek email newsletters to your backers with the latest news, and optimize Gmail by scheduling outgoing messages when you're away from your desk. Hootsuite and Buffer: Schedule social media posts and manage all your social networks in one hub. Use Twilert to get real-time notifications when your brand, hashtag or keyword is mentioned on Twitter. Kicktraq: Review analytics for your Kickstarter project for insights on how your promotional efforts impact the number of backers, page activity, and dollars pledged. CrowdfundingPR.org: Send your press release to this list of blogs, publications, and influencers that cover the crowdfunding industry. Crowdfund Mafia and Seeding Factory: Call in the professionals for help with press releases, media distribution, email templates, and more. Step 9: Get Your Products Made & Rewards Fulfilled  Congratulations! Your project reached its goal! But you can’t breathe easy just yet — it’s time to deliver the goods. US Domestic and International Shipping Rates: Check out this cheat sheet to calculate shipping costs down to the penny. ShipStation: Import your backers list, print labels in bulk, and schedule shipment with all the major carriers. ShipWire: Free up your garage by storing excess product in their warehouses, then let ShipWire automatically select the ideal carrier and route for each shipment. CustomInk, CafePress, and Zazzle: Print quality custom T-shirts. Tee Launch even ships directly to your backers. Thomasnet.com: Restock your manufacturing supplies, find local shops, download CAD models, and more. BackerKit: Manage and track each reward as it's delivered to your loyal backers. TaskRabbit and Zirtual: Hire a helping hand or personal assistant to cross daily tasks off your growing to-do list. Step 10: Keep Your Project Alive After the Campaign Clock Runs Out  Your campaign may be wrapping up, but that doesn’t mean your project has to end. Create a place for new customers to find and buy your product, and for current backers to stay connected to your brand. Vendevor: Embed an online store that can accept credit card payments on any site — like your project blog or Facebook fan page — with a single line of code. Swish.com, Outgrow.me, and TinyLightBulbs.com: Continue selling your products after your crowdfunding campaign ends through these online shops.   We applaud all the artists and innovators who build a collaborative community around their enterprise. And with these tools, you’ve got all the resources you need to successfully launch your own passion project. Have you ventured into the wild world of crowdfunding? What tools did you find useful during your crowdfunding campaign? We'd love to hear from you in the comments! Other articles you might like from Wrike: 10 Essential Elements of a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign 26 Top Crowdfunding Sites by Niche Image Credits: Crowdfunding by Rocío Lara. Some rights reserved.

How Successful Teams Use Project Management Software (Infographic)
Project Management 3 min read

How Successful Teams Use Project Management Software (Infographic)

According to Information Week, 87% of high-performing companies use a project management tool to complete daily work and and meet their business goals. But why? What are the benefits? What kinds of teams need project management software? And how do they go about choosing the right tool? Learn all the “how”s and “why”s in this infographic: Share this infographic on your own site with this embed code:

Cloud Project Management Software vs. Online File Storage: What's the Difference?
Project Management 5 min read

Cloud Project Management Software vs. Online File Storage: What's the Difference?

  With modern business riding the wave of the fast, the swift, the convenient, allowing for faster execution and more efficient processes, it comes as no surprise that online services — what we know as cloud services — are all the rage. But time and time again, customers have asked us questions about the difference between cloud-based storage and cloud project management software. What separates services like Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox from Wrike? Why would a business need one or the other? The Benefits of Cloud Storage and Project Management Software The benefits of having cloud storage services are many: You can access all your files from any device with an internet connection. You can maintain one shared folder for an entire department, giving everyone a space to keep work-related files. It becomes easier to share files by just passing on a permanent link instead of attaching files to emails. More organizations are accepting that local storage is prone to devastating data loss, hard drive crashes, and network outages. With cloud storage, everyone can rest easy knowing their files are kept safe in the cloud. The benefits of having cloud project management software are just as abundant: You have one hub from which to access all tasks and all files, allowing you to collaborate on projects without jumping between email and tools. You can leave feedback on tasks without creating long, hard-to-follow email threads. You can accurately create a project plan because you can view all components, resources, and tasks in one space. Teams are turning to online project management to help plan, organize, and manage day-to-day tasks and important projects alike. They can rely on these accessible tools to plan ahead efficiently and collaborate from anywhere on the globe. The Differences Between Cloud Storage and PM Software Still don't quite grasp the benefits of choosing one system over the other?  We'll detail the differences between cloud storage and online project management software for you. 1. Access vs. Planning Cloud storage is all about easily accessing and sharing your files with anyone you want, whenever you want. The focus of project management systems like Wrike is to logically organize those files and manage the associated work. Project management software allows you to move tasks through stages from conception to production and finally to completion. An analogy: Cloud storage is like a filing cabinet that holds and protects all your valuables, remaining accessible when you need to see the contents. Project management software is like a conveyor belt that moves files and tasks from person to person, helping tasks flow seamlessly through the appropriate steps to get work done.  2. Single Focus vs. Eyes on Everything Cloud storage software allows you to see all your individual files at a glance or one at a time for reference and editing. Again, the focus is on the files. Project management software on the other hand lets you zoom out to see the larger scope of work — how projects and teams affect one other, how team members can assist in a project, how resources can be distributed equally, and so on. It helps you manage the way work flows across projects. 3. What Work Gets Done vs. How Work Gets Done Cloud storage software only tells you what has already been finished and uploaded to the cloud. PM software, on the other hand, helps you coordinate teamwork, monitor who’s working on which tasks, and measure progress. It gives you transparency and insight into how work gets done so you can become more efficient on future projects. 4. Collaborative Knowledge vs. Collaborative Execution Both cloud storage and project management software focus on collaboration and sharing ideas or knowledge. But PM software additionally gives you a place to discuss all new ideas, create action plans, and execute those plans with your team in to bring ideas to fruition. So which software should you choose? In the end, one solution is not the catch-all for every team. These services are separately equal in their usefulness to customer companies. Before you can decide which tool your team should rely on, you must figure out what your team needs to be successful. If a working process is already in place, perhaps cloud storage is all that’s needed to assist your team with intelligently sharing project files. On the other hand, if you already implement smart file storage then enterprise project management software could introduce a more robust system to manage your projects from A to Z. Photo Credits: Conveyor Belts. Photo by Alvaro Galve on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Problem-Solving Tools to Help Your Business Increase Productivity
Project Management 10 min read

Problem-Solving Tools to Help Your Business Increase Productivity

Keeping your team and projects on track can be difficult without the proper tools to make sure your workflow is streamlined and moving along. Check out our list of quality problem-solving tools and techniques that'll address some common team roadblocks and increase productivity in your business.

5 Most Common Mistakes in Managing Multiple Projects: Software & Technology (Part 4 of 5)
Project Management 3 min read

5 Most Common Mistakes in Managing Multiple Projects: Software & Technology (Part 4 of 5)

It may seem like the essence of your project manager role is simply collecting information and updating plans. But it shouldn't be that way.

Top Tech Tool Features Small Businesses Need to Stay Productive
Productivity 7 min read

Top Tech Tool Features Small Businesses Need to Stay Productive

Deb Lee, a Digital Productivity Coach, Certified Professional Organizer, speaker, and Evernote Certified Consultant, shares the top tech tool features small businesses need to boost productivity and be more competitive. Here are her tips on what to look for when searching for the best apps for your company.