Warren Knight — November 6, 2017
Gmail has just become a whole lot more intelligent.
Just last week, Gmail made a huge change to their inbox, and one which I am fully on-board with.
There have been many times where I have needed a Gmail add-on/extension to help me become more effective with my emails, and now it’s all in a click of a button, in one central place.
I have been waiting since earlier this year for Google’s announcement to come into play. Google has now introduced add-ons from third-party developers whereby the integration happens immediately.
This means that add-ons will now be directly integrated with your Gmail, so that you can be more productive.
Why Is This Important?
The reason why I have found this change to be so important is because I now do not have to waste time switching between apps. As you can imagine, I use hundreds of different tools so now that Google has introduced Gmail add-on, I can save time (and so can you).
As it currently stands, Google are still adding integrations to their list, and are only working with business-facing add-ons, but I’m sure consumer-facing companies will soon be a part of the fold. Gmail add-ons can be accessed via the web, and android. I am still waiting on news around iOS support.
Current Add-Ons
There are, as it stands, 10 pieces of technology you can use as a part of Gmail inbox add-ons:
1. Asana
With Asana, you can take all communication inside of your Gmail inbox, and turn it into tasks that can be assigned to clients, customers and team members.
2. Dialpad
Send messages, or make a call to your team members on any of your devices. Dialpad will save all communication so that you can view messages, or save a new contact straight from your Gmail inbox.
3. Hire
If you are looking to bring a new team member on-board, take a look at Hire where you can add, manage and upload candidate information and even access full job applications.
4. Intuit QuickBooks Invoicing
If you do not use an invoicing tool that takes away the pain around the time it takes, have a look at Intuit QuickBooks Invoicing where you can send professional invoices directly through Gmail.
5. ProsperWorks
A great productivity tool called PropserWorks allows you to access data, call logs, meeting information and much, much more all from inside Gmail.
6. RingCentral
A slightly more obscure add-on called RingCentral can be used, as long as you are using the mobile version. You can send and view SMS messages, and call history.
7. Smartsheet
With Smartsheet you can add email content and attachments to a safe, and secure document without having to leave Gmail.
8. Streak
If keeping track of email threads is an important part of your business, you can use Streak to do this for you.
9. Trello
My favorite tool on this list called Trello allows me to keep track of both my tasks, and tasks that my team are currently working on.
10. Wrike
Wrike is another task-based tool where you can create, view, update, send and receive tasks and comments from team members.
It is also worth noting that DocuSign will be coming to Gmail inbox add-ons very soon. This tool in particular will come in very handy when you need to sign contracts and agreements.
What do you think about Gmail inbox add-ons, and, will this help you become more productive?
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Author: Warren Knight
Warren Knight is a Social Media Strategist, author of Think #Digital First and one of the UK’s leading professional speakers in Technology, Sales and Social Media.
As an award-winning coach and entrepreneur, Warren has helped thousands of Startups and SME’s grow their business through the strategic use of socially selling… View full profile ›
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