"I'm always looking for tools that are going to help our teams work better together," said Mark Warshaw, Co-Creator and Executive Producer of the Emmy-award-winning animated series Lost in Oz.
“We're constantly exploring new technologies to see how best they can be utilized to tell better stories and connect deeper with our audiences, as well as connect all our audiences around the world."
Mark's never-ending search for new technologies that empower creative work while improving productivity isn't unique to the entertainment industry. Every company around the world is seeking creative solutions to boost productivity and set themselves apart from the pack.
Fast Company's recent list of "The Next Big Things in Tech" highlights technological breakthroughs that promise to shape the future of industries and the way people work. In the spirit of innovation, we wanted to take a sec to shout out six companies paving the way.
Powering the Creator Economy
Creativity is the engine that powers the modern Internet economy. The tools we rely on to express ourselves and share our stories have evolved and multiplied, leading to new forms of expression and innovation.
These tools are simple, powerful, and accessible; we now have immediate, unlimited access to others' creative work through smartphones and our computers. The combination of ease of use and instant access to content has provided a new opportunity for businesses, individuals, and brands to unlock their inner creativity at scale.
The right tools empower you to harness all that creative potential into actionable, tangible growth.
With that in mind, here are Fast Company's six leaders in workplace productivity:
Bluescape
Look ma, we made it!
Bluescape is honored to be included in this round-up of heavy hitters increasing productivity for people across the board, whether they work in big global industries, small agencies, or solo. Used by everyone from major film studios to the federal government, Bluescape makes remote collaboration feel just like being in the same room.
Bluescape offers a secure workspace where teams can share and collaborate on high-resolution images, documents, and videos. It accelerates creativity with built-in image search, best-in-class whiteboarding, productivity templates, and more to support faster workflows and speed to market.
"We are honored and excited to be recognized as an innovator," says Peter Jackson, CEO. "Innovation is a north star for us. We strive to power innovation by unlocking creativity and making collaboration effortless. Our partnerships with innovators like Amazon, Getty Images, and Wacom are helping to make this possible.
"In addition, the recent launch of Popsync delivers on the promise by providing creative teams with a better search experience that lets them search multiple stock photo libraries at the same time to increase efficiency."
This is Bluescape's second Fast Company recognition. In 2021, Bluescape was named to Fast Company's annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies.
Canva
Canva is so much more than a garden variety design tool off the web.
Canva has been historically known for enabling anyone with access to a web browser to create stunning graphics for social and beyond. However, the design platform now helps teams create impactful videos just like the pros.
Its Canva Video Suite includes templates, stock imagery and audio, and other elements that let anyone piece together professional-looking mini-movies with a few clicks. Since Video Suite's introduction in October 2021, Canva's 85 million users have embraced it and used it to create millions of videos daily.
By equipping the world with video editing capabilities for free on any device, Canva is enabling millions of people to share their message with the masses. Everything from TikTok ads and marketing campaigns to corporate training and how-to videos can now be created through Canva Video.
Giide
Audio slideshows are often a great format for presentations and tutorials, but they often require complex video-editing software or custom programming.
Enter Giide. Giide is an audio-led interactive multi-media tool that takes the pain out of audio slideshows by enabling anyone to combine voice recordings with content like images, text, and web links, then share it online—no coding required.
Level
You work hard for your job benefits; why should accessing them require a riveting act of HR gymnastics?
Level lets employees easily track benefits through a single app and provides a business credit card to pay for eligible purchases across categories. For employers, an admin dashboard makes it easy to track and tweak offerings.
Level makes it simple for employees to pay with their benefits. It cuts out restrictive networks, frustrating billing processes, multiple logins and payment cards, and transaction confusion. Essentially, it's a one-stop shop that gives both employee and employer the transparency to manage benefits in one unified app.
Moth+Flame
Virtual reality (VR) has grown from a hokey, pixelated, motion-sickness-inducing experience to a new immersive strategy perfect for educational purposes.
Moth+Flame uses VR technology to build better diversity training courses with a "hands-on approach" feel – without getting your hands on anything. They worked with the National Urban League to use virtual reality and natural language processing to build realistic simulations that better capture what it's like to have difficult conversations in the workplace, making training courses more impactful and practical.
It's also complete with performance tracking and real-time data, allowing organizations to make critical training decisions to measure and improve outcomes.
Tango
Picture this: a world where work is easier to get done, learning on the job is frictionless, knowledge-sharing helps teams flourish, and no one is slowed down by a lack of know-how.
That's the world the folks at Tango are driven to make a reality. Tango enables the seamless creation of documentation with a nifty browser extension that captures images as you work. You can then edit and annotate these images to create quick how-to guides without breaking your workflow.
Spending less time on documentation gives you the freedom to focus on streamlining existing processes and simplifying the onboarding process for new team members.
Just the Beginning
These six tools are just the tip of the iceberg; there are thousands of productivity tools on the market to help you turn your biggest ideas into a movement.
You can check out Fast Company’s entire list of “The Next Big Things in Tech” here.