remote-work – DevopsCurry

Best DevOps Tools in 2020 to support Remote Working

Namrata Joshi — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 13:45:08 +0000

COVID and Remote Working – Best DevOps Tools to Support Remote Work Culture

Working Remotely is the new normal after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Remote working is going to stay here. Many organizations are encouraging their employees to work from home as a benefit for the employees as well as the company.

While working remotely, traditional methods of communication, file sharing, and time tracking are not working effectively. But there are a plethora of innovative and proven tools that help remote teams to increase work accuracy. These tools can be a game-changer that will support remote work culture.

In this post we are sharing some of the popular commonly used DevOps tools to effectively collaborate and work with remote teams within an organisation.

You can also read our post on “How DevOps is acting as an Enabler for Remote Working Culture” here.

Best Tools that support Remote Work Culture

Collaboration/Communication/Chatting Tools:

1. Slack 
→ Slack is a better alternative to email.
→ It features channel or conversations organized by purpose.
→ It helps to streamline communication by having a central space for certain topics.
→ Slack make sure nothing gets lost in the shuffle.

2. Microsoft Teams 
→ Microsoft Teams is a perfect choice if you are using Microsoft products.
→ The features of Microsoft teams are chat, video conferencing, and collab on Office apps like word, excel.
→ Microsoft Teams also integrate well with the existing suite of tools.

3. Workplace by Facebook
→ The workplace is helping businesses to stay connected.
→ It allows you to deliver news and updates to the entire team via a feed.
→ It integrates with other cloud services and tools.

Tasks/Project Management Tools

1. Trello
→ Trello is one of the best project management tools available in the market and also quite popular one.
→ It is a visual software that is powerful, fun, and easy to use.
→ Trello’s work is on board and further divided into lists.
→ All works are listed on cards that are on the list.
→ It is a great software that helps remote teams in managing projects.

2. Microsoft Project 
→ Microsoft Project allows the project manager to enter the tasks details related to a project.
→ It also allows users to create reports that communicate the status and progress of a project.
→ It has multiple timeline view and resource view.

3. JIRA 
→ JIRA is used by many big organizations like Airbnb and Toyota.
→ Gain full context for each task being distributed across the team.
→ You can improve your planning, stay flexible, and integrate with other tools.
→ It is a perfect alternative for teams who use Scrum.

4. Asana
→ Asana is available on desktop as well as mobile.
→ The project can be created and assigned to specific team members.
→ It offers advanced features like project timelines, priorities, forms, project reports, etc.
→ Asana can be integrated with Google Suite, Outlook, and Dropbox.

5. BaseCamp
→ Basecamp delivers an excellent user experience by centralizing your information and helps simplify your planning.
→ The dashboard gives a comprehensive overview of all the projects.
→ The dashboard will also give information about other notable communication across the team.

Video Conferencing Tools

1. Zoom
→ Zoom is an excellent tool to have face-to-face communication.
→ It offers video conferencing for one-on-one meetings or large groups.
→ The program is online. Thus, it is a great tool for remote teams.
→ In addition to video and voice, it has a messaging feature also.

2. Google Hangouts
→ It is a great option considering seamless integration with other Google Suite software.
→ Hangouts are extremely lightweight.
→ You need worry about low network connection while using Hangouts.

3. Appear.in
→ It lets remote teams stay productive with easy video collaboration.
→ Teams only have to create a room link, share the link by email, or chat and that’s it.
→ There is no need to register or download the application.
→ Some of the features of Appear. In are group video conversations and simple screen sharing.

4. GoTo Meeting
→ With this tool, you get all the features of a conference tool.
→ It includes audio, video conferencing, and screen sharing.
→ One of the best features of the GoToMeeting is its mobile compatibility.
→ This tool is highly flexible.

File Storage Tools

1. Google Drive
→ It is the easiest and simplest way to share files with your team members.
→ Google Drive gives user the flexibility for all kinds of files to be uploaded, shared, and organised.
→ It has easy-to-use permissions. Hence, the team can ensure who has access to it.
→ Google Drive and Docs can be integrated with other project management tools.

2. Dropbox
→ It is extremely easy to use.
→ Just save a file to the Dropbox folder and you are good to go.
→ Dropbox is one of the first cloud file storage software.
→ It is reliable and syncs files faster than other similar applications.

3. Microsoft OneDrive
→ OneDrive is another big name in file storage.
→ However, it is not the household name but OneDrive is quite famous as a file storage app.
→ Its subscription comes with a full Office 365 suite and 60 minutes of international Skype call.

Time and Attendance Tracking Tool

1. Jibble.io
→ Jibble is the most interesting one among the other time tracking tools.
→ It operates on a digital timesheet or attendance sheet.
→ An employee can clock in their attendance anytime, anywhere, from any device.
→ It also has a project tracker to track productivity.

2. Kickidler
→ It is the next generation of employee monitoring software.
→ It has a powerful set of tools to increase the dedication of the team.
→ Some of the features of Kickidler are time tracking, employee productivity analysis, efficiency dynamics, etc.
→ It also has an unlimited number of real-time screens and the option to record the history of actions on the computers.

Some Other Bonus Tools

1. Chimp or Champ
→ It is a feedback tool.
→ It allows managers to connect with teams in a simple and best way.
→ It is an anonymous weekly employee happiness meter and helps to improve employee well-being and achieve better results.

2. ToDoList
→ ToDoList is the goto tool, in case you are geeking out on the organization of tasks for a remote team.
→ It includes tasks, subtasks, creates projects, adds notes, uploads files, sets reminders, flags, and productivity charts.

3. Krisp
→ Krisp is a noise-canceling application.
→ It helps remote professionals and teams to be more productive.
→ It removes the background noise on both sides of the call.
→ Krisp can be used with Zoom, Skype, Slack, etc.

4. Wooboard
→ Wooboard is an online platform that appreciates the employees for their good work.
→ The admin can create a reward program for sending and receiving unlimited recognitions.
→ Employees can celebrate their success with the Wooboard social engagement feature.

5. Evernote
→ Evernote is a great note-taking solution for remote teams.
→ You can keep all your notes organized, sync it automatically across all your devices.
→ It can work as a note keeper, PDA, to-do list, and pocket notebook.

So there are most widely used popular Devops tools that are proving to be a boon during these pandemic times to collaborate and manage across globally distributed Remote teams. As we see a pattern shift and more and more organizations adopting and support remote work culture, these tools will gain more adoption and many new similar tools will emerge in the market.

Do let us know if you like the post and also share what tools do you use internally for effective Remote Team management.

The post Best DevOps Tools in 2020 to support Remote Working appeared first on DevopsCurry.

How DevOps is acting as an Enabler for Remote Working Culture

Namrata Joshi — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 08:10:53 +0000

How DevOps is enabling setting up a Remote Culture | Post-Pandemic DevOps Culture Tips

Building and working in a remote environment is the new normal after the COVID 19 Pandemic. Creating a new environment can be challenging, but as per the experts, remote teams can be a masterpiece of collaborations and flexibility. DevOps can help to have a better set-up of a remote team.

DevOps is a culture that requires a lot of tools and methodologies. But it is something that can surely be achieved. Here we have elaborated on how DevOps is helping in setting up Remote Teams and enabling a Remote Friendly work culture within enterprises . Also, take a look at some post-pandemic DevOps culture tips.

How DevOps can build a Remote work culture or Remote teams?

There are 4 primary aspects to this scenario:

1. Cloud Migration 

Cloud migration is the much-needed solution in this uncertain time of the global pandemic of COVID 19. Many DevOps teams have an on-premise environment and others have a mixed cloud and on-premise environment. But now cloud computing is going to stay here for a longer time.

To integrate cloud migration, you can either go for a private cloud provider or choose any popular services like AWS or Azure. On-premise cloud migration will enable DevOps to function in a hassle-free approach. Azure’s side-to-side and point-to-point VPN will quickly solve this problem.  Azure and AWS are some of the best available options for cloud migration.Also you can save a lot of money if use the cloud services wisely.

2. Automated Testing

Tools There are a lot of factors to consider when doing automated testing tools. Also, there are numerous testing strategies for the same. But automated tools are not cheaper ones. Continuous testing is a prerequisite for continuous delivery. Manual code review takes time and is prone to human errors. Manual testing is the last thing to adopt.
If you write your own automation scripts, it might add more pressure to the already hectic DevOps workflow. Instead, you can use some open-source tools like Selenium and Watir. Other most popular automated testing tools are Zephyr and IBM Rational.

3. High-Level Security

The Pandemic has increased remote working and thus there is a high demand for continuous security. It is not a good idea to sacrifice security while working remotely. Keep your security policies updated regularly.   It is crucial to do application deployment and integrate security checks in each phase of automated testing. ZAP is popular open-source tool for automated security testing. Similarily we can use Veracode to find code vulnerabilities. AWS and Azure have their own security tools for the same. Evident.io helps you if you use a private server cloud.

4. Identity Management

It is vital to create concrete plans on identity management in remote working. However, DevOps already have a good, stricter identity management policies. But do not slow down things by restricting the process.  Instead, try out things like automating password management, identity lifecycles, and finding rouge accounts in the infrastructure. This will reduce human errors. Some of the popular Identity management tools are OneLogin for excellent password management and Vigilance AI to find rouge accounts.

Best Practices for Remote Teams

1. Communication is the Key 

Managing a remote team is a tricky task. Hence, it is very essential to communicate with the team daily. Asynchronous communication is effective but Synchronous communication is vital for building relationships.
Tools like JIRA or Kanban works effectively for communication with remote teams. Communication has always been a core talent of any leader. And this does not change in remote working, too. Encourage teamwork, reduce silos, share information, and embrace failures by experimenting, learning, and iterating on new ideas.

2. Give Freedom 

Giving freedom does not mean letting go of your powers as a leader. Freedom creates a sense of trust in the employees. When they are working from home, everything is different. They are not under the CCTV all the time. SO you might think as a leader that some people might take the advantage of the situation.  If you are behaving like a spy here, then be aware. Your employees will not appreciate this behaviour. Give them the freedom to take breaks for household work or just to take a power nap. Freedom of working as per their convenience will also play a major part in working remotely.

3. Make time for Small Talks 

When managing a remote team, it is easy to just talk about the work and jump off the call or end the chat. In some cases, that is exactly what should be done if you are on a deadline or having a quick stand-up meeting. However, if you are doing this every time, you are missing out on a critical part of managing a team.   It is a good idea to ask employees how they are doing, what I going on in their lives, or asking about their families. Taking time to do this regularly will make them feel like they are still a part of the office family.

4. Set Priorities 

DevOps is all about rapid iteration. It is important to break down big projects into small chunks. Setting priorities will help to get things done at a faster pace. Working from home or remotely can overwhelming for the team as well as for the leader,as they are not in the working place or office.
Working remotely can feel like baking a cake while checking the excel sheet. So, set priorities, make a checklist, and get things done on time.

Post-Pandemic DevOps Culture Tips

DevOps used to be a difficult concept for most of the companies. But the Pandemic has changed everything. Now since DevOps is an integral part of our remote working lifestyle, here are some tips to apply in a DevOps culture after the Pandemic:

Prefer videos rather than voice-based communications.
Do not force people to return back to the old ways of doing things.
Ask for feedback on how things can be improved in a remote work environment.
Focus on active listening and communicate daily.
Celebrate every DevOps milestone.
Create a healthy workflow in which people can plan, execute, and deliver excellent work.
Rely on the cloud computing to leverage on easy remote working solutions.

The post How DevOps is acting as an Enabler for Remote Working Culture appeared first on DevopsCurry.