Jonathan Davies
23 mins read
Start building your digital home with Happeo
Request a demoThe pandemic continues to impact the workplace, with many employees working remotely or companies adopting a hybrid model.
The transition to remote work has been a positive experience for most companies, with 83% of employers reporting it as a success. However, the new environment doesn’t come without problems. Many organizations are now struggling with how to keep their workforce connected and productive.
The answer?
Business communication software that bridges the gap between remote and on-site staff, encourages effective collaboration, and increases productivity.
In this post, we'll cover the best enterprise communication software that could help your organization become better connected and collaborate in the “new normal.”
Investing in the right workplace communication tools is the key to success in today's environment, so choose the ones that best fit your needs.
14 best enterprise communication tools for businesses
From powerful team communications tools to robust chat features, these platforms could make your internal communications more efficient and effective.
1. Happeo
Best for: Internal communication, knowledge management, and collaboration
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Notable customers: Doctolib, Decathlon, Marqeta, Randstad Sourceright
Happeo is a comprehensive intranet platform that makes internal communication easier.
With its intuitive intranet and powerful collaboration suite, the platform helps organizations stay connected and informed while eliminating faulty communication and bottlenecks.
How Happeo improves business communications
- Use integrated chat and video conferencing to make virtual meetings more efficient.
- Find and connect with colleagues using Happeo’s People directory.
- Create branded intranet pages with the drag-and-drop builder.
- Share important announcements with News Channels.
- Keep sensitive data and content safe — and compliant — with enhanced security.
- Use Federated Search to find anything across all company tools and databases.
- Optimize workspace content with advanced analytics.
- Translate content into multiple languages, so every global employee stays in the loop.
Customer testimonial:
“We chose Happeo because it was the only system that combines static intranet functionality with essential collaboration features, social networking, and the targeted distribution of news into one solution. The platform matched our vision of a digital workplace.” - Anna Tolley, global internal communications manager, Randstad Sourceright
2. Slack
Best for: Team collaboration via instant messaging
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Notable customers: IBM, Intuit QuickBooks, Spotify, T-Mobile, Target
A team communications tool thousands of businesses use worldwide, Slack is the professional version of instant messengers like WhatsApp. It allows teams to stay connected through video calls, instant messaging, file sharing, audio calling, and screen sharing.
How Slack improves business communications
- Track progress and get insights with analytics.
- Help teams stay focused via integrations with third-party task management apps.
- Find earlier conversations quickly with searchable archives.
- Streamline communication with separate channels for each topic or project.
Customer testimonial:
“Slack is the thread that allows our team to work together around the world, authorizing 200,000 microloans in a year, getting crowdfunding campaigns live, and reaching out to everyday lenders.” - Kathy Guis, VP of investments, Kiva
3. Google Workspace
Best for: Project management and collaboration
G2 rating: 4.6/5
Notable customers: Aerotech, Broadcom, Colgate-Palmolive, Nielsen, Salesforce
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is a suite of cloud-based productivity tools designed to help companies stay organized and connected.
It includes Calendar, Chat, Docs, Drive, Gmail, Meet, Slides, and Sheets.
How Google Workspace improves business communications
- Chat instantly using Google Hangouts without having to leave Gmail.
- Collaborate with real-time document editing and automated notifications.
- Integrate with Google Analytics, Google Ads, and more.
Customer testimonial:
"We believe Google Workspace is helping us break down our geographical barriers and work together quickly, from anywhere — keeping us on track to help build what we call ‘the winning workplace.’" - Mike Heim, CIO, Whirlpool Corporation
4. Microsoft Teams
Best for: Team collaboration
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Notable customers: Toyota Motor North America, United Airlines
Like Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams is a collaboration hub where employees can stay connected through chat and video calls. It integrates with Office 365 and other Microsoft tools to provide an all-in-one solution for workplace communication.
How Microsoft Teams improves business communications
- Use the drag-and-drop feature to share files.
- Customize channels to organize conversations by topic.
- Integrate with other Microsoft tools like Outlook, SharePoint, and Skype.
- Collaborate and edit using apps like Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
Customer testimonial:
“Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 became the crucial collaboration tools we used to build a hybrid culture that reflects the flexible nature of our business.” - Jason Birnbaum, senior vice president and chief information officer, United Airlines
5. SharePoint
Best for: Storing and sharing content
G2 rating: 4/5
Notable customers: Coles, Goodyear, Hershey, NASCAR, Qantas
SharePoint is a content management system that allows enterprises to store and share data among colleagues.
It’s designed for teams to collaborate on projects, with features like document libraries, shared calendars, and workflow automation.
How SharePoint improves business communications
- Create custom dashboards to view project progress.
- Create team sites to store and share documents with colleagues.
- Integrate with Microsoft Office to streamline document collaboration.
- Share company-wide announcements, news, and events with the “News” feature.
Customer testimonial:
“Starting on Day 1, we wanted to begin to create a shared culture that reflected our values. A new intranet was a key part of representing the combined company to our employees. SharePoint allowed us to meet very aggressive deadlines and helped bring our organizations together successfully.” – Kevin Schramm, head of IT strategy and operations, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
6. Zoom
Best for: Video conferencing
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Notable customers: Nasdaq, Formula 1, Blue Yonder, Capital One, WWF
Zoom is a leading video conferencing tool businesses use worldwide for meetings and webinars. It also offers collaboration features like annotations, polls, breakout rooms, and whiteboarding.
How Zoom improves business communications
- Record meetings for playback later.
- Chat in groups for real-time collaboration.
- Use high-definition (HD) audio and video for meetings.
- Share screens to present slides and documents.
- Integrate with other tools like Google Calendar, Salesforce, and Slack.
Customer testimonial:
“The COVID-19 pandemic only helped to accelerate our need and dependence on Zoom as a communications solution. In fact, Zoom made going to work from home simple, and it was easy to pick up where we left off in the office.” - Dorien Weijts, senior vice president and chief information officer, Blue Yonder
7. Workplace from Meta
Best for: Professional social networking
G2 rating: 4/5
Notable customers: AstraZeneca, Club Med, Delivery Hero, Memorial Health, Virgin Atlantic
Think of Workplace from Meta as Facebook for your business. It’s an internal social network that allows teams to stay connected and collaborate on projects.
It includes features like file sharing, group chat, and video conferencing.
How Workplace from Meta improves business communications
- Share documents, images, and video content quickly.
- Engage employees with polls, Q&As, and live streams.
- Schedule meetings, select attendees, and check availability with automation bots.
- Encourage cross-team collaboration with group chat and group video calls.
Customer testimonial:
“Workplace has brought us great connectivity. People go live all the time, leaders communicating consistently with people in a very engaging way, and by allowing people’s initiatives to boil up.” - Roeland van der Heiden, digital director of global corporate affairs, AstraZeneca
8. Confluence
Best for: Wiki-based collaboration
G2 rating: 4.1/5
Notable customers: Audi, HubSpot, LinkedIn, NASA, The New York Times
Developed by Atlassian, Confluence is a wiki-style collaboration platform for enterprises to share information, store collective knowledge, and work better together. Once synced, you can edit and organize content, monitor your team's activities, and provide feedback.
How Confluence improves business communications
- Centralize knowledge with a searchable library and tagging.
- Collaborate with inline comments and notifications.
- Connect with other Atlassian tools like Jira, Bitbucket, and Trello.
Customer testimonial:
“Confluence has enabled anyone in the company equal opportunity to participate, ask questions, and use their voice towards building a company our employees’ grandkids can be proud of.” - Katie Burke, chief people officer, HubSpot
9. Sprout Social
Best for: Social media management
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Notable customers: Atlanta Hawks, Benefit Cosmetics, Gymshark, Grammarly
Sprout Social, a social media management platform, helps you reach your followers faster. It allows you to streamline your efforts, track performance, and engage with customers across multiple channels.
It also includes real-time collaboration features, so your team can work together in one place.
How Sprout Social improves business communications
- Route messages to alert team members in-app and via email.
- Respond to messages from customers quickly with automated tools like chatbots.
- Automatically send messages to specific team members based on task progress.
- Keep team members aligned with Sprout's message approval workflow.
Customer testimonial:
“The A/B testing we’re able to do in Sprout has afforded us a lot of flexibility from our partners. They trust us when we decide to try new things.” - Katie DuPre’, social strategy manager, Atlanta Hawks
10. Asana
Best for: Team projects and tasks management
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Notable customers: Amazon, Autodesk, ClassPass, Google, Quora
Asana, a project management platform, helps teams stay organized and on time. It allows managers to assign tasks, track progress, set deadlines, and collaborate with colleagues and team members. It also allows teams to discuss tasks without leaving the app.
How Asana improves business communications
- Create custom templates to assign tasks quickly.
- Create boards and tasks to keep track of progress.
- Use a timeline to create a plan and manage deadlines.
- Collaborate via group chat, live status updates, and comment threads.
- Communicate in channels and direct messages to keep conversations focused on a single task.
Customer testimonial:
“In terms of speed, we really see that Asana brings us huge efficiency wins when managing a project. It’s very intuitive to use and easy to learn — the team was able to start using it all by themselves without the need of a training.” - Tamas Kadar, business development manager, Air France KLM Group
11. Ziflow
Best for: Review and approval of workflow management
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Notable customers: Electronic Arts (EA), McCann Worldgroup, Overstock.com, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Toyota
Ziflow is a review and approval workflow management platform designed to streamline feedback and approval processes.
Team members can conveniently track progress, see comments, and quickly make decisions in the app.
How Ziflow improves business communications
- Track who has seen, read, and approved content.
- Use discussion tools (annotations and comments) to give feedback on all types of creatives.
- Get approval from multiple stakeholders with customizable review and approval workflows.
Customer testimonial:
“We appreciate the amazing support Ziflow is providing ALSAC (American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities). They’ve really made this implementation and onboarding process amazing and have been wonderful to work with.” - Julie Abrahams, director of marketing operations technology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
12. Dropbox
Best for: File sharing and storage
G2 rating: 4.4/5
Notable customers: Arizona State University, International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), National Geographic, News Corp, Sundance Institute
Dropbox, a cloud-based file sharing and storage solution, helps teams access and collaborate on files in one place.
It allows team members to manage files securely without clogging up their computers or risking the loss of important data.
How Dropbox improves business communications
- Collaborate on the same document with Dropbox Paper.
- Keep everyone in the loop with notifications when someone shares or updates a file.
- Organize team folders to keep projects up-to-date and centralized in one place.
- Share large files (up to 100 GB) with colleagues and partners with shared links.
- Get legally binding documents signed with just a few clicks through the Dropbox Sign feature.
Customer testimonial:
“With Dropbox Business, we’re able to provide the best legal advice to our clients because we have instant access from anywhere to all the information needed to put together the most compelling case possible.” - Lara Finkbeiner, deputy legal director, IRAP
13. Zendesk
Best for: Automation of customer service operations
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Notable customers: Siemens, Mailchimp, Tesco, Khan Academy, Stanley Black & Decker
Zendesk is a customer service software designed to help teams stay organized. It allows employees to create tickets, track requests, and respond to inquiries — all in one place.
How Zendesk improves business communications
- Organize employee tickets in one place to ensure a quick response.
- Prioritize and organize customer inquiries for faster response times.
- Set up automated help desk systems that quickly respond to common questions.
- Integrate with other communication tools like instant messengers and email clients to keep employees informed.
Customer testimonial:
“We wanted a solution that integrated all channels, and that gave us the flexibility to implement in the way that we needed.” - Orlando Gadea Ros, global VP of customer experience transformation, Stanley Black & Decker
14. Airtable
Best for: Creating relational databases
G2 rating: 4.6/5
Notable customers: Autodesk, Cole Haan, Fast Company, Netflix, Shopify
Airtable is a relational database platform designed to help teams create and share databases in one place. While it looks like a spreadsheet, it's much more powerful and can track progress, manage projects, and store data, allowing better collaboration with team members.
How Airtable improves business communications
- Easily share progress updates with customizable dashboards.
- Store all employee resources in one place for quick access to information.
- Connect initiatives happening in different departments in a single place to keep teams aligned.
Customer testimonial:
“Airtable saves us a lot of back and forth; we think of it as a fail-safe to make sure things aren't falling through the cracks.” - April Mokwa, executive managing editor, Fast Company
How to pick the best enterprise communication tools
Here’s a breakdown of what you should consider before choosing communication software for business.
- Use cases: Each tool has features designed for different use cases. Some are better for customer service and support, while others are great for project management or file sharing. Consider the type of use case you need.
- Communication channels: Not all platforms offer the same channels. Some might provide only one-on-one chats, while others may have video conferencing or group chats. Consider how you want to communicate with your team.
- Social collaboration: Many communication tools come with social collaboration features, like chat rooms, discussion boards, and team calendars. These can be great for keeping everyone up-to-date and creating a collaborative environment.
- Pricing: Consider how much you're willing to spend. Usually, the more features you want, the more expensive the platform will be. Make sure you get the features you need without paying for extras you won’t use.
- Integrations: Find a tool that integrates with what you already use, whether that’s Gmail, Jira, or Salesforce.
- Security: Make sure the tool you choose has robust security measures, such as encryption, access control, and multi-factor authentication, to keep your data safe.
Which enterprise communication tool is right for your business?
We've discussed 14 of the best business communication platforms, how they can improve your business, and what you should consider when choosing a tool.
If you're looking for a trusted solution that combines the power of collaboration, communication, and enterprise social networking in one place — go with Happeo!
Schedule a personalized demo to see how Happeo can help your business.