Slack Collaboration Platform
Slack is a collaboration platform where teams can have text and voice conversations, share information, and host conference calls. Slack is a productivity app that gives users the freedom they need without sacrificing their speed or accuracy. For further information and pricing on phone systems, click here.
Is Slack Right For Your Business?
Pros
- Free plan accessible for users
- Integration with over 2,500 applications
- Automated workflows included in all paid plans
- Diverse built-in communication features
- User-friendly interface
- Customization options available for individual users
- Advanced search functionality provided
Cons
- Plans are costly
- Message history may become buried over time
- Huddles have limited user capacity
Slack Features
- Integrations with third-party services such as Zapier and Trello,
- Boards for communication purposes,
- Server-side searchable archives of every conversation ever held on the platform (so no more searching through old logs),
- Gamification to keep you motivated while working collaboratively with your colleagues.
Communication
Slack Pricing |
Free |
Pro |
Slack Pro |
Enterprise Grid |
£0/mth |
£5.75/mth* |
£7/mth* |
For the most demanding enterprises |
What is Slack
What Sets Slack Apart From Competitors
Slack’s most significant advantage lies in its ability to archive communication indefinitely, whether it’s in one-on-one chats, group discussions, or conversations during huddles (Slack’s quick video and audio call feature). Where Slack may lack certain functionalities, it compensates with extensive app integrations.
Moreover, Slack extends its collaboration tools to external contributors, allowing you to set up separate Slack workspaces for each client, maintaining communication segregation while including all stakeholders. The platform offers various security levels, including HIPAA compliance for users on top-tier plans.
Widely adopted by businesses, including Forbes Advisor, Slack is highly valued for its ability to keep teams aligned. While it may not cover all productivity needs on its own (often integrated with other apps), it stands out as one of the premier collaboration tools, earning its place among the top 10.
Slack Competition and Integration
Slack’s main competitor is Microsoft’s Skype for Business. Analysts also compared Slack to Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2 and Cisco Jabber 8.5. Slack’s integration with third-party services – such as Zendesk or Trello, which allow teams to assign tasks, share files, and track projects – make it better suited for remote employees than a traditional in-house work communication tool. Slack integrates with all major cloud-based file management tools, including Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox and Box.
Slack Criticism and Analysis
Although Slack has been fierce criticism by other more traditional work communication apps (such as Skype and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2), the criticism is often ill-founded since Slack doesn’t force users to buy into the company’s paid plans.
The Slack API enables developers to build integrations with other applications, servers and services. Slack can facilitate quick file sharing, exposing files stored directly on cloud storage services such as Google Drive, Dropbox or Box in the chat interface. Other features include file previews of images and Office documents, plus notification when new activity happens in shared channels or on shared files.
Slack – Other Useful links
Sugar CRM
Teamwox
Workbooks
Remember to Compare Your Business Costs is here to help your business every step of the way, from business advice or saving you time and money on your business purchases such as:
- business broadband,
- phone systems,
- business insurance,
- business energy,
- private cloud,
- business loans,
- business mobiles,
- invoice factoring
- and much more!
Slack Collaboration Platform
Slack is a collaboration platform where teams can have text and voice conversations, share information, and host conference calls. Slack is a productivity app that gives users the freedom they need without sacrificing their speed or accuracy. For further information and pricing on phone systems, click here.
Slack Features
- Integrations with third-party services such as Zapier and Trello,
- Boards for communication purposes,
- Server-side searchable archives of every conversation ever held on the platform (so no more searching through old logs),
- Gamification to keep you motivated while working collaboratively with your colleagues.
Slack Pricing |
Free |
Pro |
Business + |
Enterprise Grid |
£0/mth |
£5.75/mth* |
£9.75/mth* |
For the most demanding enterprises |
Slack Business History and Infrastructure
Slack is geared toward businesses and was first launched in 2013 by Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield. Butterfield and his team saw the many faults of Skype in terms of its lack of structure and created Slack as a solution. Butterfield and his team began developing the Slack functionality they wanted to use by integrating all of their tools into a single tool, with a simple and intuitive interface. They did this so that anyone in the company could use Slack without any previous knowledge.
Slack, in terms of its infrastructure, has been built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) – more specifically, the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) and the Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). Slack also uses Amazon’s Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS) to help speed up response times and accommodate growing usage.
Slack Features
Slack’s primary function is hosting private conversations that users can access through their computers or smartphone. Slack has various features, such as email integration, third-party integrations with Trello or Zendesk (each company’s own project management software), and searchable histories. Certain security features are built into Slack to ensure that each user always has a private workspace.
The first feature of Slack is the ability for users to use Slack in real time. Slack uses the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) protocol to allow users to communicate with their colleagues anytime, anywhere. Slack also allows users to reach support staff 24/7.
Another essential feature of Slack is the ability for users to send messages when not on Slack. Although this is not the app’s primary function, it is a well-used feature work environment globally. The ease with which Slack sends messages makes it a favourable choice for work messaging instead of emailing through Outlook or Gmail accounts, for example. Users can send messages using channels or groups – either direct messages or as public posts – and send images from other direct channels/groups by adding an image URL into their message.
The basic Slack app operates using a freemium model, with users being invited to use it for free for as long as they like. Once users decide to upgrade to a paid plan, they will invite more users, and their freemium plan will no longer be applicable.
Slack uses Open Source Software (OSS) like Linux, Apache Struts, Apache ActiveMQ and the Cassandra NoSQL database. Slack uses Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) for its cloud hosting and Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), its object storage system.
Slack Competition and Integration
Slack’s main competitor is Microsoft’s Skype for Business. Analysts also compared Slack to Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2 and Cisco Jabber 8.5. Slack’s integration with third-party services – such as Zendesk or Trello, which allow teams to assign tasks, share files, and track projects – make it better suited for remote employees than a traditional in-house work communication tool. Slack integrates with all major cloud-based file management tools, including Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox and Box.
Slack Criticism and Analysis
Although Slack has been fierce criticism by other more traditional work communication apps (such as Skype and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2), the criticism is often ill-founded since Slack doesn’t force users to buy into the company’s paid plans.
The Slack API enables developers to build integrations with other applications, servers and services. Slack can facilitate quick file sharing, exposing files stored directly on cloud storage services such as Google Drive, Dropbox or Box in the chat interface. Other features include file previews of images and Office documents, plus notification when new activity happens in shared channels or on shared files.
Slack – To Conclude
Over 100000 developers use the Api’s in Slack to build tools that allow them to communicate better with their team members by reducing email volumes and improving productivity. Slack’s platform can create a range of products and services, from simple collaboration applications to entirely new business processes.
Other Useful links
Sugar CRM
Teamwox
Workbooks
Remember to Compare Your Business Costs is here to help your business every step of the way, from business advice or saving you time and money on your business purchases such as:
Ally Cox is a dedicated Copywriter and Blogger for CompareYourBusinessCosts.co.uk. In under two years, the platform achieved the esteemed accolade of ‘Website of the Year’. Since its award-winning debut, Ally has been instrumental in fostering organic growth for the website, expanding its offerings to encompass comparisons across a diverse range of over 20 products to help serve all your business needs.