School closures, cancelled ferry routes, flood alerts. Workers encouraged to stay at home - or forced to do so. Public safety of course remains paramount, but the loss to business could be very worrying to team leaders and business owners. The high winds and fierce rains may prevent staff from attending work for one or two days, but if flooding occurs, that could be an even longer close of business, which potentially could undermine weeks of hard work.

What if, though, your staff only need a WI-FI connection and a laptop to be able to continue contributing and collaborating as normal? With web-based software for collaboration and project work, exactly this would be the case. Project management software and online workspaces allow for the virtual office. With the right cloud-based solution, office and project workers can stay at home and be just as productive as when at the office.

Of course, a web-based platform isn't much use if there's a blackout - Storm Abigail has cut power supplies and left hundreds of people seeking out their candles and matchsticks in the dark. But the beauty of an online workspace is that your teams are not restricted by geographical limits.

Remote teams, brought together by a central hub for their file sharing, day-to day communication and task progress, function without the costs of running a traditional office; without the distractions of a typical office environment; respond to challenges with greater flexibility; and are sourced from an infinitely larger pool of talent.

Finally, in the aftermath of an emergency - whether one such as Storm Abigail, or a sudden upturn in business - scaling up or scaling down is a far more straightforward and immediate process when your business is not reliant on a local talent pool or a fixed office location.

Online workspaces and platforms for collaboration are changing the ways we approach business strategy, teams and project management. With the right cloud-based tools for your businesses, not even gale-force winds can stop people from working together.

Wondering what type of pricing models you will encounter in your hunt for new project management packages? Look out for these three.