The 2018 Task Management Software Landscape
It has been more than 10 years since the release of the first iOS, and since then we’ve seen the number of productivity apps and software as a whole has skyrocketed. Recently, major tech players have been adding productivity tools to their app portfolios through both internal development and acquisitions. We’ve organized the current task management software landscape into 4 broad categories by function, analyzing overall trends as well as trends within each category, and added a fifth, emerging category: AI-powered Task Management.
To-Do-Lists
To-Do-List apps have become more and more feature-rich over time. Given the rise of mobile, it’s no surprise that multi-device support is one core feature of all major to-do-list software, although most lightweight to-do-list apps operate only on mobile. For more powerful apps, collaboration and integration support is critical and expected. Many team-oriented to-do-list apps also support real-time communication via commentary on tasks. Transferring calendar events and tasks to and from different platforms is also getting easier through new automatic import solutions.
General Note Taking
Note-taking apps are and have always been relatively simple and feature-bare. For most users, OEM software such as Notes on macOS and iOS have been sufficient. Ability to access notes on multiple devices via cloud is a must-have, and that accessibility remains a competitive advantage for large tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple, whose hardware and software ecosystems make that easy. Recently, Google has released the note keeping app, Google Keep. Although it was well-received, Microsoft OneNote still remains the favorite amongst diligent note takers. For smaller developers, UI and design are often key to differentiating their product.
Project Management
In recent years, there has been a large shift in project management methodology towards Agile, not just in IT, but across many different business functions and industries, including marketing, sales, finance, and construction. Some common attributes in project management released in recent years include support for faster communication, and rapid and continuous output from projects. This shift has led industry leaders like Atlassian to acquire or build their own software that utilize this new framework.
Industry Specific Task Management
Most industries requiring task management are well served by general task management software, but some niche industries require specific solutions for their needs. Software in these niche industries have traditionally faced less competition – not a surprise given its smaller market. Software for niche industries usually include task management only as part of a larger, comprehensive business management solution.
GipsyBot – AI-Powered Time Management
Many new and existing apps are beginning to implement AI in minor features, such as natural language processing. We want to do more. GipsyBot starts with the basic idea that we have multiple lives – personal, work, social, etc – and multiple people to coordinate with, but only one timeline. Hence a truly effective task & time management solution needs to capture every explicit and implicit task, self-assigned or delegated, from inbox to other apps, and intelligently schedule these tasks on an ongoing basis. This can only be done with the help of machines – and our smart engineers behind them 🙂