Best FREE Tools to Download in 2023 for Your Business in Malaysia

In Malaysia, SMEs make up a huge majority of all businesses in Malaysia— around 97 percent, according to reports. And with the ongoing era of digitalisation and modernisation, what has become apparent is the need for such organisations to stay lean and agile, particularly when it comes to digital adaptation.

Regardless of the industry or nature of business, most companies now benefit from the utilisation of digital tools and services. These play a crucial role in the day-to-day of the business, making a direct impact on the running of the company and achievement of key goals and business objectives.  

Naturally, many employers often look for cost-effective options.There are a slew of such options available all over the internet, but the altHR team has compiled 3 must-have options that every organisation MUST have in order to thrive in the digital era in 2023.  

1. Design: Canva

Canva is a must-have tool for any business, particularly smaller organisations and teams that need to create visuals for marketing (and related) purposes. A key strength of the platform is its ease-of-use, combining intuitive elements with a powerful drag-and-drop interface — meaning that those without design backgrounds can still create impactful visual assets and the like.

The best part? Canva is available for free. There’s a “Pro” tier that offers even more assets and video editing and animating capabilities, but the basic free version is plenty powerful.

Visit Canva’s official website here. 

2. Automation: Zapier

Automation is a key element of streamlining and improving business efficiencies. A powerful platform that is used by many SMEs(and even enterprises) is Zapier, a tool that connects different web-based applications seamlessly.  

Essentially, Zapier can be integrated into company workflows, allowing employees more time to focus on important tasks. This also has the additional benefit of reducing errors and saving time.

For example, you can use Zapier to filter emails with a particular keyword and populate the email content into a Google Doc and even have it connected to Slack for real-time notifications.By allowing these applications to communicate with one another through Zapier, you’ll save time and receive important notifications in the most efficient way possible for you.

While Zapier has a free version, there are multiple tiers that service companies of all sizes. Find out more by visiting the official website here. 

3. Communication: Slack 

Every team should also have a communication tool — and this excludes WhatsApp, which is generally designed for personal communication use. With that in mind, Slack is one of the most commonly-used tool for good reason.

Operating on a workspace-based model, the platform allows you to keep updated via real-time messaging and “channels”with your colleagues. Adding to this is the compatibility Slack has with other bots and apps (including Zapier, as mentioned above), allowing for a powerful, yet intuitive system.

Like the other options on this list, Slack is available for free, while there are tiered premium options that come with higher cost (and features!).  

Find out more about Slack on the official website here.