Were you prepared to start working remotely? Due to the current corona crisis, all non-necessary professions were obliged to provide teleworking solutions to their employees. Not all companies have the knowledge and resources to start working remotely. Our offices are spread all over Europe, and we are used to teleworking for many years at Inuits. In this blog post, we will tell you how we were prepared for this crisis, thanks to five free Open Source tools.
1. RocketChat
Website : https://rocket.chat/
Github : https://github.com/RocketChat/
RocketChat is a team chat solution that can be set up in the cloud or by hosting on-premises on your servers. You can create different channels going from direct messages to group chats with all team members. It also allows users to communicate in real-time on web, desktop, or mobile.
Due to the corona crisis, RocketChat organizes daily seminars with best practices. You can follow the workshops here: https://rocket.chat/2020/03/24/remote-work/.
Extra tip:
Install Hubot and add plugins. Hubot is a friendly robot sidekick that salutes us in the morning, takes our lunch food orders, makes it easy to create and follow up on project issues, etc.
2. Nextcloud
Website: https://nextcloud.com/
Github : https://github.com/nextcloud/
Nextcloud is a content collaboration platform allowing you to back-up and store files. The technology combines the ease of use of Dropbox or Google drive but with the security and privacy a business needs. You control the data, and you choose where and how the data is stored. When working remotely, it is crucial that files can be shared amongst team members. Individual files or folders can be shared with colleagues, or with anyone via a simple URL link. Within the platform, you can work on the same document, and with versioning, you never lose your colleagues’ work.
3. Jitsi-meet
Website: https://jitsi.org/jitsi-meet
Github : https://github.com/jitsi/jitsi-meet
Jitsi-meet is a multi-platform - it runs in your browser! - Open Source video conferencing tool. It encrypts all traffic, although not end-to-end, and can be self-hosted. Jitsi-meet will use peer to peer technology when there are exactly two participants, though it will use the server-side bridge when there are more. Jitsi also hosts its own instance, which is completely free to use.
How to use it?
- Go to https://meet.jit.si/
- Give your room a name
- Send the URL to your colleagues or friends
We switched from our daily coffee breaks at the coffee machine to virtual coffee corners via video conference.
4. Redmine
Website: https://www.redmine.org/
Github : https://github.com/redmine/
Redmine is a web application for project management. Issues are the main component of project management, and these are easily created by filling in a form. Problems are categorized as bugs, features, or support, which makes it ideal for software development. Following features are useful for project management:
- Time tracking with Gantt charts and calendar
- Git support
- Integrated bug tracking
5. Zimbra
Website: https://www.zimbra.com/
Github : https://github.com/Zimbra/
Zimbra is an Open Source email and collaboration platform that includes contacts, calendar, tasks, instant messaging, and file sharing. Zimbra can be deployed in the cloud, on-premises, or as a hybrid service.
Questions on how Open Source can improve teleworking? Send us an email
