With 2018 rapidly winding down, Zapier has released its annual report of the year's fastest-growing workplace apps.
Zapier — which rhymes with "happier"— connects apps through simple integrations that help users automate their work and be more productive. That means it gets good insight on the fastest-growing apps just by watching which pieces of software its users are looking for.
Placing highly on the list, oddly enough, is Facebook, as well as a tool for managing chatbots — something that some in Silicon Valley had written off as a fad but is still finding an audience.
This year's list points to some general trends in productivity tools. First of all, many of the trendiest tools allow users to customize the way they work. Many of the apps on the report allow users to customize their team's communication tools, their websites, and how they manage projects.
"They really let you customize what you're doing,"Zapier CEO Wade Foster told Business Insider. "I think that's interesting, as you see early adopters get more comfortable with technology. … We're going to see even more of that in 2019."
The report also includes software suites that put lots of tools in one place, and it indicates that users are relying on productivity tools that automate work routines, so that they get more done and can focus on tasks that only humans can do.
Here are the 10 fastest-growing apps of 2018, according to Zapier:
10. Zoho Forms
This tool, part of the Zoho cloud suite, lets users make web forms for users and customers to fill out — for instance, an order form for a catering gig or feedback for a conference session.
9. Mailshake
Mailshake is used for email marketing. It allows users to customize these emails using tools like templates, bulk email, auto follow-ups, and tracking for clicks and replies.
8. WPForms
This is a plugin for the WordPress content-management system that lets users make their own web forms.
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