May 13, 2023
Medini Mangala
A conversation came up recently in a group involving people who manage teams across multiple locations, and the topic turned to tools that genuinely help with cross-location communication. The list below came out of that discussion, and it seemed worth sharing more broadly.
IP Phones
Fonality — we paid $40/month/phone across multiple units, including a few taken to India and plugged in directly. Setup required some configuration through their control panel, but nothing complicated. The pricing included unlimited calling across Australia and low-cost international rates.
Dialing our India team on extensions like 6000 made it feel like they were in the same office, just a different desk. Genuinely convenient, since you can just pick up the phone.
Other providers offering similar value at the time included Engin and MyNetFone — extensions, dial-in numbers, and number changes were all manageable through a simple web-based interface.
Communication / Chat
Skype — we used Skype groups extensively across different teams, so status updates and issue discussions stayed visible to everyone on the team.
Google Chat (part of Google Apps) served as a backup when someone couldn't be reached on Skype. Convenient for getting a quick response and staying in touch.
Video Chat
Google Hangout/Chat — used for video call quality. For teams without Google Apps, other options exist worth considering.
Hu.tt — Hu.tt was a very early-stage 2013 startup; likely no longer exists — verify before republishing. — a "Get Started" and you're in; supported up to 3 people free at the time. Its protocol didn't work well on older browsers or Internet Explorer — Chrome or Firefox were required.
Talky offered a similar, easy-to-set-up video option requiring no special hardware.
Video conversations consistently beat phone calls or email for this kind of work — the ability to read expression and tone conveys emotion in a way email simply can't.
Other Project Management / Communication
Link Sharing / Reading — an internally built tool where team members share what they're reading. Set up as a simple way for everyone to help each other stay current in the field, and it worked well across borders for a distributed team.
Basecamp — used for the first two years of the business as a simple, easy-to-set-up project management system.
Asana — used extensively to complement Skype-based team communication, particularly well-suited to task-driven work that's easy for anyone to pick up.
Qwilr — used to create and collaborate on proposals across different locations, with multiple people able to edit and then publish together.
The One Constant
Beyond any individual tool, including customised internal systems and Google Docs, there's one fundamental requirement for geographically distributed teams that no tool alone can substitute for: over communicate.
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