By Swatil Binte Mahmud, Blogger, Lava Protocols
I have been using Slack for almost 5 months now. Every day I learn something new about it and it ends up making my life easier. The app works smoothly on my laptop and my phone, this way I am always connected to my team and manager. Oh, the status option on the app is a lifesaver, as I can update it at any time and let everyone in my team know what I am doing if I am busy or not, or I am attending a meeting.
Do you know about Slack? Does your organization use it?
If the answers are no to those questions, then you must consider at least knowing more about it. Keep reading and you can decide for yourself whether Slack can be an integral part of your company.
What is Slack?
Slack is a communication tool used worldwide by companies. It is a single place for tools, files, and messaging. Slack has an instant messaging system with two methods of chat; you can directly send a message to a person or you can create channels to talk to multiple people at once. The channel option can also be made public, meaning anyone can join and see that channel or it can be made private. On the other hand, direct messages are always kept private.
All the actual conversations happen in the chat windows. Slack allows you to reply to messages, set reminders, add gifs and emoji reactions, add in notifications, and lots of other tools which will make the process of internal communication in your organization smoother and easier. The best part about Slack more than any other feature is that you get to talk to people.
Why is Slack so great?
When Slack hit the market, there was nothing like it. But yes, there were some competitors, other chat apps, and workplace apps owned by technology giants. Slack turned out to be an underdog because of its unique features and usability. When Slack started its journey the lack of its corporate size turned out to be its greatest benefit. Slack is small enough to be highly responsive and quick when it comes to new features. The emoji reactions options are loved by all users and the 2-factor authentication is great for admins.
Slack is a boss when it comes to two things: understanding user-specific needs and ease of design. These are two bases for great apps and it is surprisingly difficult to achieve. But Slack does it phenomenally well. Slack’s logo is unconventional as it looks like a confetti cannon that has gone off. It was bright colors like yellows, blues, purples, and green. Slack’s vibrant colors, its typeface, and emojis are truly different from the other professional chat apps which are available.
Oh, another thing that makes Slack so great is that the privacy and security of users are given high priority. Slack administrators cannot read or export messages without the consent of the users.
How Expensive is Slack?
Slack allows you to start for free! However, if you try the free version, you can only access the 10,000 latest messages. There are other limitations too when it comes to channels and administration features. If you get the Slack Plus edition, all the options and features will be available for you and your organization. Slack costs about 12 dollars per user, per month if you get the annual subscription, and 15 dollars a month when you get the monthly subscription.
What is the relationship between Slack and Salesforce?
Salesforce acquired Slack this year as it aims to expand its operations into workflows and collaborations. Slack just became the front end of Salesforce’s Customer 360 efforts. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce mentioned that the integration of Salesforce and Slack is the next generation of the Customer 360 where there will be a superb user interface, services of different channels, collaborations, and effective interactions and integration. He also mentioned that with Slack and Salesforce merged together everything will be better, bigger, and more exciting. Also, Slack Connect will be an extended version of Slack where employees can safely collaborate and with suppliers, clients, partners, and customers.
Offices, sales, and meetings have gone virtual since the pandemic and it is highly likely to remain this way for some time. Slack integration with Salesforce, the biggest customer relationship management platform can only mean that it will get better and bigger! I am personally excited about the new features and cannot wait to try them at work. I hope you will too!
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Lava Protocols is an authorized Salesforce Partner. Want to get Slack and Salesforce for your Business? Drop us an email to: hello@lavaprotocols.com.