1. Ease of use
   The best productivity software can often come down to which tools are user-friendly, easy to navigate, and not completely over your clients’ heads. Operations software is designed to make life easier and more efficient for businesses, so they should be excited to use it – not intimidated by it.

    

   An intuitive, straightforward user interface saves time, boosts productivity, and doesn’t require your clients to go through an extensive process before getting started.

2. Customizability
   No two people are the same, just like no two businesses are. The best productivity software will be customizable enough to cater to the preferences and workflows of a variety of clients. Flexible operations management software increases user adoption, which goes back to the fact that you want your clients to use productivity software enthusiastically!

    

   In addition to having more people onboard with the tools, flexibility also boosts productivity and happiness by empowering people with the option to work in a way that best suits them.

3. Integrations
   It’s important to keep in mind, especially as you’re bundling operations management tools with other offerings, that the best productivity software can work with other solutions and platforms. It’s part of an efficiency arsenal that should ideally integrate with email providers, calendars, project management trackers, CRMs, and more.

    

   Take your clients and their tech stacks into consideration and prioritize business productivity software with sufficient integration capabilities. Tools that play nice with others streamline workflows and reduce the need for manual data entry.

4. Collaboration capabilities
   In today’s digital, remote-friendly world, collaboration is the key to effective teamwork – and in the last few years, we’ve seen collaboration tools make leaps and bounds. The best productivity software should have collaboration features such as real-time editing, commenting, and sharing, and ideally be cloud-based and functional across multiple devices.

    

   Operations software, no matter what problem is being solved, should make it easier for people to work together effectively and efficiently.

5. Automation
   The best productivity software will liberate teams to be more creative and focus on higher value work. How? Though automating repetitive, monotonous, or low-stakes tasks.

    

   Productivity often hinges upon having operations management software that has the ability to automate and streamline certain tasks to save time. As an added bonus, automation can also reduce the likelihood of small errors and oversights.

6. Mobile accessibility
   We live in a world powered by mobile devices: It’s where business happens and where customers prefer to buy. And considering contemporary work environments are no longer as geographically bound, it has become essential (or simply preferable) to work on-the-go.

    

   The best productivity software should be accessible on mobile devices to accommodate clients who want to work from anywhere, at any time.

7. Customer support
   Even the easiest, most user-friendly productivity software should be paired with the quality support. In fact, reliable customer support is what makes for the best productivity software and puts it a cut above the competition.

    

   Ideally, tools should come with some sort of support team or infrastructure that can help with technical issues, as well as provide some training and guidance. Besides putting clients’ minds at ease in case anything goes wrong or is confusing, it can really help users get the most out of their operations software.

8. Analytics
   Productivity software should be data-driven and based on concrete insights, so the best productivity software includes necessary analytics and reporting features.

    

   Analytics features will provide your clients with insights into their usage, performance, and most importantly, their productivity. In turn, these features will help to identify areas of improvement and optimize workflows for boosted efficiency and better benchmarking.

9. Security
   Safety and security is everything to your clients. Give them peace of mind with business productivity software that includes robust security features that prioritize data privacy and protection.

    

   The best productivity software is nothing without the proper digital security measures such as data encryption, multifactor authentication, access controls, and more as the digital landscape continues to change.

Overall, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s impossible for operations management tools to check every single box. But thankfully, they don’t have to. Create a specific checklist of features that makes sense for your specific clients and their business needs, and then as their trusted expert, advise them accordingly.