5 Criteria that Remote Work Software Applications Must Pass

Nearly every company around the world today is faced with a massive challenge to its very existence: how do we effectively and rapidly tran...

Nearly every company around the world today is faced with a massive challenge to its very existence: how do we effectively and rapidly transition from an on-premise operational model to a remote workforce in the current global climate? The key to this lies in having the right tools for your employees; tools that will help them work from anywhere and be as efficient as they were when working in the office. But what does this entail? Let’s look at four important criteria that a software application needs to meet in order to qualify as a true remote work application that appeals to a broad audience.

5 Criteria that Remote Work Software Applications Must Pass

#1: Functionality - Is it robust and flexible enough to handle various types of workflows?

The first checkpoint for evaluating a software application for remote work is whether or not it has comprehensive tools to handle multiple operational tasks. PDFelement 7 Pro is a great example of such an application because it lets you take full control of your digital and physical document workloads. From being able to digitize all your documents to converting hundreds of file types into PDF to pro-level PDF editing to extensive form-handling tools, PDFelement gives your employees a highly capable utility to manage document creation, modification, conversion, and archiving. It is also well-integrated with top cloud storage services to make it easy to access, modify, save, and share documents across teams. Since PDF is ubiquitous in the business setting, it’s a better tool to have than one that handles limited types of documents.

#2: Accessibility - Is it integrated with the cloud so it can be accessed by anyone from anywhere?

Cloud integration is no longer an optional aspect of operational efficiency in the commercial realm. It is at the very heart of every company’s core requirements, and any software that isn’t integrated with the cloud makes it that much harder to collaborate in a work-from-home (WFH) situation. That’s the reason Microsoft took a huge gamble and moved its entire office productivity suite to the cloud, as opposed to standalone Microsoft Office software that had little to no online capabilities. In a few short years, Office 365 became the most popular SaaS (Software as a Service) product in the world, overtaking more mature ones like Box. Today, any application that’s not hosted on the cloud or, at least, integrated with the Internet and cloud services has a low chance of survival.

#3: Free Trials - Can you try fully before you buy?

Another important consideration, although less so than the others, is whether or not you get comprehensive access to features when trying out a particular piece of software. PDFelement 7 Pro, for example, offers a full-access free trial version where employees can try out the service before their company invests time and money into deploying it organization-wide. Office 365 offers a similar, no-holds-barred trial period without locking down important functions and features. In a competitive landscape where every application has dozens of rivals on the market, this is no longer a differentiator. Software companies that release products with limited features in the free versions are quickly realizing this and changing how they let potential customers get a taste of their products before the invoicing begins or a perpetual license is purchased.

#4: Value - Is it affordable for small businesses and startups?

It is also important to understand the total cost of ownership, or TCO, in the case of proprietary non-SaaS products. While Office 365 pricing is in line with similar products like G Suite from Google (Alphabet, Inc.) due to the competitive nature of the office productivity segment, non-SaaS categories like PDF editors have high-end applications like Adobe Acrobat Pro DC dominating the market against more affordable alternatives like PDFelement 7 Pro, Nitro Pro, and PDF Architect Professional, all of which are equally capable PDF workflow tools. That is changing as smaller companies find suitable tools at much lower price points. However, it is not just the cost that matters in the end: it is about value for money. Today’s business consumer has far more exposure to new and powerful software than ever before, and it is causing a seismic shift in market share for the top players in each segment.

#5: Ease-of-Use - Can our employees hit the ground running?

Transitioning to the WFH model is hard enough as it is, and if there’s yet another hurdle in the form of a steep learning curve, it puts additional pressure in the form of training costs. One way around this that software companies are leveraging heavily is by providing free training. This can be in the form of in-person training, webinar sessions, documentation, online help resources such as tutorials, and so on. When evaluating a software application for company-wide use, make sure that the software itself is user-friendly and comes with all the training resources your remote employees need to hit the ground running. PDF editors like PDFelement 7 Pro and project management tools like Jira and Trello are good examples of products and services that have extensive training and support that they put at your disposal.

And there you have it. If a particular downloadable application or cloud-hosted software suite can qualify on these five criteria - functionality, accessibility, free trial, affordability, and ease-of-use, it is very likely that your organization or company will see an increase in productivity and efficiency after the transition to a work-from-home environment.