We all need a little help to be productive. From tools for collaborating with colleagues to services that keep our data secure, these are the best resources to ensure businesses stay productive.

1. ‘To-do’ or note-taking apps

Organising all the information you need on a certain subject (for a specific project, for example) can be a difficult task and it’s easy to quickly lose sight of the end goal. A note-taking app such as Evernote or Simplenote allows you to store notes, web pages, images and documents – pretty much everything you need.

Users can tag, edit and comment on anything that’s saved to the service, which makes organising everything quick and simple. And most services are cloud-based, meaning entries can be synced across multiple devices.

2. Cloud-based storage

There’s nothing more frustrating than wasting time e-mailing documents or transferring them to a USB stick so you or a colleague can work on them on another device, such as when travelling or working from home. Services like Dropbox, Box, Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive (to name just a few) offer storage, syncing and sharing capabilities that really help with productivity.

3. Contact databases

They may seem like an afterthought to many people but business card management tools can prove to be a great productivity resource. A well-maintained contact management solution, such as the one offered by Sansan, will enable an organisation to stay on top of its contacts. This means employees will be able to look up contact details quickly and easily; no more wasting time by searching through a desk drawer for the right business card!

A cloud-based is even better as workers can share contact information across the business with a single click. That means that everyone throughout the business – sales and marketing included – can make contact with the right person whenever they need to.

4. Password managers

Most of us have many different username and password combinations to keep track of. Some estimates suggest that the number is as high as 19 passwords per person, but some of us will have far more. For ease of use and to save time, many people also reuse the same password over and over again. That, however, is one of the worst security mistakes one can make.

Using a password manager is a great way to save time when logging into websites or services while remaining secure, thanks to unique passwords that are long and hard to crack. Choosing one that allows for cloud-based, multi-device support also helps when working from different machines and in different locations.

5. Cloud-based tools for collaboration

Although e-mail remains the main tool for communicating with colleagues, there are many alternatives available that are far better for group collaboration within an organisation. Tools such as Slack, HipChat and Skype combine instant messaging, group chat, direct messaging, video and image sharing and more – and they are searchable as well.

For companies where collaboration plays an important role (which really should be every company), tools such as these work extremely well as they are designed for group work. Cloud-based tools also mean workers can collaborate from wherever they are.

There are great resources out there to help with every facet of productivity from storing and sharing documents to collaborating with colleagues and simply staying on top of what needs to be done. It only makes sense to make the most of them!