Most are either free or very low cost. I have limited this article to online applications, ones that can be accessed from any web connected computer. Also excluded are the obvious ones like the Google and Yahoo mail applications etc.

Online Diagramming, Organisation Charts and Mind Mapping

Useful for creating process flows, procedures, mind maps, network diagrams and floor plans amongst others.

Gliffy comes as both a free and premium version. It is an online diagramming tool that incorporates ease of use and a comprehensive feature set. Even the free version is fully featured; storage, support and other areas are limited though. The premium version is a mere $30 which is very low for such a feature rich and convenient application. It's not Visio or AutoCAD but then it is not trying to be and the vast majority of drawing and diagrams used for illustrating business processes etc don't really need the power of a full desktop application like Visio http://gliffy.com/index.shtml

Cogmaps is an application targeted at creating online organisation charts. It should be viewed as an organisation chart Wiki because all charts created are published to the web, even Microsoft are represented.  You might not want your organisation's structure open to the public, this is why I have included this as an addition to rather than replacement for Gliffy. http://www.cogmap.com/index.php

If you use mind mapping as a management tool Mind Meister provides an online environment for the creation of and collaboration on mind maps http://www.mindmeister.com/

Communications and Scheduling

Instant messaging can be very useful in an incident and in general but requires software to be installed on desktops which may not always be possible.

Meebo is an instant messaging aggregator that provides a web based interface for MSN, AIM, Google Talk and Yahoo. http://wwwl.meebo.com/

PDF

Everyone uses PDF's, there are a number of online services that can convert your existing documents into PDF's. With delivery by direct download or email.

Drawloop converts Microsoft Office documents and converts them to PDF using a sinple online interface http://www.drawloop.com/Home.aspx

Neevia document Converter eXPress supports a wide range of formats but limits the source file to 1Mb http://convert.neevia.com/

PDF Online supports the main office and image file formats and emails the resulting PDF, file upload limit is 2Mb per document https://www.pdfonline.com/convert_pdf.asp

Zamzar is an unusual service in that rather than specialising in creating PDF's it allows an uploaded document to be converted into a wide variety of other formats, PDF included. A range of accounts are supported but the free one allows up to 100Mb per document. In addition to the standard document and image file types it also supports a number of video and audio conversions. Perhaps most usefully it converts Office 2007 to Office 2003. http://www.zamzar.com/

Mapping

We all know about Google maps and have, I am almost certain, looked at our houses!

In addition to this obvious use there are plenty of uses for online mapping

FlashEarth combines the most popular online mapping service into a single view. Where Google might have less coverage than Yahoo, the application allows quick switching to get the best view. http://www.flashearth.com/

Online Collaboration and Project Management

Many organisations have access to SharePoint that integrates seamlessly into Microsoft environments but there are alternatives that exist outside of the corporate IT infrastructure that may be useful for both planning and incident management. Smaller organisations may not have access to SharePoint and these alternatives can be invaluable not only for business continuity management.

These applications have broadly similar features such as project collaboration, discussion, file storage, tasks, custom pages, staff listings and calendars.

They are obviously more general purpose in nature than dedicated incident or business continuity management applications but do have the distinct advantage of being able to be used for other things.

All are online applications, some offer free or trial accounts that are designed for virtual teams.

Basecamp from 37Signals is a well established service, reportedly over 1 million people have signed up. Basecamp provides a powerful suite of communication and collaboration features. http://www.basecamphq.com/

Huddle is a UK based service providing a range of user collaboration, communication and document library features http://www.huddle.net/

Project Spaces is another online workgroup portal featuring a wide range of features in a modern interface. http://www.projectspaces.com/

Web Office from WebEx provides a very comprehensive feature set and established service. Definitely a high end, business class offering. http://www.weboffice.com/

Active Collab, featuring a very clean and modern looking interface and can be purchased for installation on an organisations own IT infrastructure, external or internal, to improve security and flexibility. http://www.activecollab.com/

Colligo is an interesting extension for users of SharePoint, it provides an application framework that synchronises a SharePoint with a local version on a laptop or other off site PC. Whilst not an online service I have included it here because it may be very useful to users of SharePoint. http://www.colligo.com/

If anyone wants this list extending or added to let me know

Document Author: Harvey Fawcett

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