Love them or hate them, it’s a given that there are certain tools and software products that business professionals can’t do their jobs without. However, which tools are most essential for workers may have likely changed in 2020, along with the nature of work.The COVID-19 pandemic has tightened many businesses’ budgets, driving many to closely consider which products they currently use are “must-haves” and which can be left on the cutting room floor. It’s also led many businesses to develop a greater appreciation for digital tools that make remote work possible. TrustRadius is taking this opportunity to recognize those products which are most essential to our community with the Tech Stack Essentials award. 

Announcing the Tech Stack Essentials Award

The 2020 Tech Stack Essentials award recognizes those B2B products that play the most critical role for businesses. This award is based on survey input from the TrustRadius buyer community, who each wrote in which specific product is most essential to their day-to-day jobs. 

In order to win the Tech Stack Essentials award, a product must earn more than 2% of the write-in vote, or more than 1% of the vote and be validated by the TrustRadius Research team using reviewer feedback.  Out of more than 17,000 products on TrustRadius, 105 products were nominated as the “most essential” products in professional’s work lives. Only 23 were able to earn the status of Most Essential. Congratulations to this year’s winners!

Tech Stack Essentials Winners

23 products have won the 2020 Tech Stack Essentials award. All 23 products are listed below in alphabetical order:

• Amazon Web Services
• Asana
• Basecamp
• Connectwise Control
• Google Workspace (formerly G Suite)
• Hubspot
• Jira Software
• Keap (formerly Infusionsoft)
• Marketo
• Microsoft 365
• Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Visual Studio Code
• NetSuite
• OneNote
• Procore
• Quickbooks Online
• Salesforce
• Skype
• Slack
• SQL Server
• Tableau Desktop
• Visual Studio IDE
• Zoom

 Five products rose to the top of this elite group with an outpouring of community support, meriting special acknowledgement. 

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 retains Microsoft’s legacy position as a leading Office Suite in the business world. It has historically set the standard for office suite products, and retains its position as an essential part of many businesses’ operations. This ubiquity is reflected in community feedback that Microsoft 365 is essential for professionals across departments, industries, and company sizes.

Slack

Slack has emerged in recent years as a popular intra-organization messaging platform. However, it’s successfully crossed the threshold from “useful” to “essential” for some groups. It is most essential among marketers and engineers we surveyed. The strong presence of these two groups in particular demonstrates that Slack is particularly essential for groups that heavily prioritize being able to automate and integrate other programs and apps into Slack, making it a critical communications hubs for these departments in particular. 

Google Workspace (formerly G Suite)

Google Workspace, until recently known as G Suite, has created its own loyal following in the Office Suite space. Interestingly, the TrustRadius community found Google Workspace to be most essential among SMBs and very large companies. Google Workspace’s ease of use and low overhead makes it a core technology offering for SMBs, particularly those with 1-50 employees. At the other end of the spectrum, Google Workspace is also essential for a number of users in companies of 10,000+ employees, suggesting that the product either offers some unique hyperscaling options for large enterprises or is highly favored by specific segments of larger businesses. In either case, Google Workspace cements itself as an essential platform across many different use cases.

Microsoft Teams

With the rise of remote work in 2020, web and video conferencing platforms have become more essential than ever before. While other web conferencing solutions have earned this award, Teams was the most-voted for solution within the category. It was highly prioritized by the midmarket, such as midsize and large businesses, and in particular by those in the IT department. In fact, nearly all votes for the product came from IT professionals. This, in conjunction with the high rate of IT reviews of Microsoft Teams on TrustRadius, suggests that the product is particularly indispensable for professionals in the IT space. 

Salesforce

In what will come as a surprise to very few, Salesforce is regarded as essential by many on the revenue side of businesses. Marketers and sales professionals came out en masse to speak to the necessity of Salesforce, with a notable percentage of professionals in accounting & finance also speaking to how essential the CRM platform is. Salesforce’s robustness, customizability, and multitude of integrations all combine to make it a mission-critical platform for many organizations’ field teams.

For more information about TrustRadius awards, please contact pr@trustradius.com. 

About TrustRadius

TrustRadius is the fastest growing, most trusted customer voice and insights platform that helps tech buyers make great decisions and helps technology vendors acquire and retain great customers. Each month, over 1 million B2B technology buyers use verified reviews and ratings on TrustRadius.com to make informed purchasing decisions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, TrustRadius was founded by successful entrepreneurs and is backed by Next Coast Ventures, Mayfield Fund, and LiveOak Venture Partners.