New in Mio: January - August 2023 Product Updates
This year has been an exciting one for us at Mio.
From our Google announcement to an extensive list of feature updates, our team has been working hard to empower enterprises to unlock their collaboration potential.
Today, we’re rounding up all of our biggest product updates from the first half of 2023. With so much more of the year to go, the sky’s the limit and chat interoperability is just the beginning.
Table of Contents
August 2023
Cross-platform Slack group chat updates
Back in May, we announced that cross-platform group chats for Slack users were now supported by Mio.
Now, we’re excited to share some exciting updates to cross-platform Slack group chats.
Previously, users could not add or remove members of cross-platform group chats. Now, membership updates are partially supported in the following situations:
- When a cross-platform group chat is created on Slack, Slack users will be able to add new members at any time.
- When a cross-platform group chat is created on Microsoft Teams or Webex, Slack users will be able to add and remove members at any time.
Additionally, group chats created on Microsoft Teams or Webex will be received on Slack as a private channel. Mio assigns this channel a unique name that can be changed by the Workspace Owner or users assigned as Workspace Admins.
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As a reminder, users must respond to the Mio app’s sync prompt in order for group chats to work. Mio will prompt unsynced users who create a group chat containing at least one synced secondary account.
Cross-platform Slack group chats support all of the ways you chat, including:
- Sending, editing, and deleting messages
- Sending pictures and files
- Threaded messages
- Rich text formatting
- Emojis and reactions
Happy group chatting!
An all-new Mio Admin Hub
We are excited to introduce our new and improved Mio Admin Hub. The new design features a revamped UI/UX, making the process of connecting platforms, syncing channels, and configuring user sync an intuitive and efficient process. At the heart of this transformation lies a focus on administrator control and automation.
The major changes include: an overhaul of the layout/design, improved connect platforms flow, intuitive channel sync flow, improved user management (with a larger focus on Auto Sync), and accessible activity metrics.
Design and Layout
The new Mio Admin Hub places user experience at the forefront with an intuitive design and layout. Navigation has been simplified, ensuring that administrators can seamlessly traverse between features using a tab system. Information is presented in a logical manner, enabling quick comprehension and effortless task execution.
This screenshot shows the new horizontal layout of the Hub, where you can navigate through the different Hub features along the top of the page.
Within each tab, there will be subcategories that allow you to easily move across workflows.
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Connect Platforms
With the revamped Connect Platforms tab, you will gain more control over each platform’s connect workflow. The process is now more granular as each workflow contains more information to tell you what is needed, why it’s needed, and what will happen when you authorize Mio.
Depending on the platform you want to install, the steps will be different. To adjust for this, the Mio team has built a special workflow for each platform. You can see the different workflows for Microsoft and Webex below:
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Channel Sync
The Mio Admin Hub introduces a structured table format for the Channels tab. This format offers at-a-glance visibility into synchronization status and settings across platforms. You can swiftly identify discrepancies, adjust mappings, and maintain a synced chatting ecosystem.
As you can see in the screenshots below, the overall flow for connecting and syncing channels is similar. You will need to import channels from the platforms, then sync the channels across platforms.
You can select the Teams you want to import (MS/WX) or import the entire workspace (SL/ZM/GL).
Once channels are imported, you can select which platforms you want to create a sync with:
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Finally, you can see the list of channels and map any channel across platform:
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User Sync and Auto Sync
As the admin, you will now have a clear view of who is synced, who is pending, and who is undefined in their organization. Additionally, reprompting and editing users’ sync status is more efficient.
The overall flow of importing teams and view users in a table format is very similar to what you just saw in channel sync. However, with the new user table, you can filter and reprompt with ease:
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Additional features that are included on the user table are: the ability to download users as a .csv file, remove users, and easily change the primary/secondary account.
Auto Sync now has an entire tab dedicated to it, giving you the ability to configure settings, run auto sync, and automate the user sync process entirely.
Following our 4 step process (3 if you don’t use Webex), you can set up Auto Sync with ease:
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Enhanced Activity Metrics
Understanding the impact of cross-platform collaboration plays an essential part in understanding Mio’s business case. The revamped Mio Admin Hub introduces improved activity metrics, delivering comprehensive insights into user engagement, message flow, and platform interactions. These metrics empower you to make informed decisions, refine strategies, and optimize collaboration processes with Mio.
Here is an example of the enhanced activity metrics:
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June 2023
SharePoint integration visual update
Mio’s Slack and Microsoft Teams SharePoint integration is getting an exciting visual addition.
We’ve added file-type icons to provide end users with a supportive visual experience.
Previously, all cross-platform files were sent and received with the same general icon. It looked like this:
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Now, supported file types will be represented with different icons, like this:
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Supported files types include:
- DOC and DOCX
- TXT
- HTM and HTML
- PPT and PPTX
- MP3
- WAV
- WMV
- MOV
- MP4
- JPG and JPEG
- PNG
- GIF
- PSD
- SVG
- Ai
- SIP
- XLS and XLSX
May 2023
New in Mio: Cross-platform group chats for Slack users
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We’re excited to announce that cross-platform group chats are now supported for Slack users.
Slack users can stay in Slack and create group chats with colleagues on Microsoft Teams or Webex. They can also be added into group chats initiated from either platform.
The following features are supported in group chats between Slack and Teams or Slack and Webex:
- Plain text messages
- Sending pictures and files
- Threaded messages
- Editing and deleting messages
- Rich text formatting
Group chats play an important part in the workplace communication ecosystem. They are a space for multiple people to privately send direct messages. Group chats differ from channels, where a team collaborates publicly on specific topics or tasks, and 1:1 direct messaging.
April 2023
SharePoint integration in Slack channels: Collaborate on cross-platform files
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We’re excited to announce that Mio now supports Microsoft SharePoint integration in Slack channels
By leveraging Slack’s Bookmarks API, Mio allows any Slack user to collaborate on Microsoft SharePoint files shared across platforms.
Let’s take a closer look.
What is Microsoft SharePoint?
SharePoint is a cloud-based file storage tool included in the Microsoft 365 suite. When a channel is created in Microsoft Teams, a SharePoint site is assigned to that channel.
All editable files shared in the channel are immediately uploaded to its SharePoint site for organized collaboration. Members of the channel can access and edit the file in SharePoint.
Now, what happens when you add cross-platform collaboration to the mix?
How was Mio sending files before?
File sharing between Slack and Teams has been supported by Mio for quite some time.
To do this, Mio would send a copy of a file from Teams to Slack. This posed a number of issues:
- Files were not stored in one place.
- Users could not simultaneously collaborate on files.
- Several copies of the same file could be floating around, with the possibility of files quickly becoming outdated.
- Companies would have to spend money on a file storage solution outside of SharePoint.
So how does this new feature alleviate these problems?
How does Mio’s SharePoint integration work?
When a Slack-Teams channel is synced, Mio automatically creates a Slack bookmark titled SharePoint.
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When a user clicks this, they will be taken to the shared folder for that channel in their Teams account. All editable files shared across platforms will be accessible in this folder. This works in both directions–files uploaded from Teams and Slack will all appear in this folder.
Teams primary users can visit the channel’s SharePoint site to view all of the files sent and received across platforms. The contents of the SharePoint site mirror the contents of the shared folder bookmarked in Slack.
The Slack channel will also display a message from the Mio bot explaining that members can access shared files via the SharePoint bookmark. An Open SharePoint link will be included.
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Sending files from Teams to Slack
When an editable file is sent from Teams to Slack, Mio sends a message on Slack with a link directly to that document.
Slack users can click this link to begin editing the shared file in their browser.
The Teams user who initially sent the file can find it in the Teams SharePoint site or in the Files tab of their channel. They will be able to view all changes made by their Slack colleagues.
The Slack user can revisit the file at the SharePoint bookmark in the Slack channel or the link included with the file. They will be able to view all changes made by their Teams colleagues.
Sending files from Slack to Teams
When an editable file is sent from Slack to Teams, Mio uploads the document to SharePoint.
The Teams user receives the file natively and can click on it to begin editing in their browser. They can also find the file in their SharePoint site or in the Files tab of the channel. Users will be able to view all changes made by their Slack colleagues.
Mio also sends a follow up threaded message to the Slack user who initially sent the file. This message includes a link to open the file and edit in SharePoint. The Slack user will be able to view all changes made by their Teams colleagues, and can access this file at the provided link or at the SharePoint bookmark in their channel.
March 2023
Slack Account Sync is here
We are thrilled to announce that Slack Account Sync is now live.
We take feedback seriously and are aware that larger corporations prefer messages to be posted with existing fully licensed Slack accounts.
We have been working hard on an alternate solution to bots and are excited to share that we are now leveraging full Slack accounts.
This update allows for a better UX experience for end users and prevents duplicating entries.
Direct messages with cross-platform users no longer appear under the “Apps” section of your Slack sidebar. Now, they appear under “Direct messages” the same way that other Slack DMs do. Nativeness in file sharing and reactions is also improved.
Export User Sync data as a .csv file
Keep user adoption organized and optimized with our new .csv export feature in User Sync.
Admins are now able to export data that includes name, email, primary platform, secondary platform, and sync status.
We’ve built this feature for two primary reasons:
- To offer a report to keep admins and upper management informed of user adoption progress.
- To offer admins an easy way to gather the emails of unsynced users to remind them to complete the sync process.
February 2023
General scope updates
Mio only ever asks for the bare minimum scopes required, and updates to application scopes have made it so that we can request even fewer than before.
This change will have no impact on Mio’s existing functionality. Messages will still work as expected in DMs, channels, and group chats.
New scope model to replace Teams service accounts
Previously, Mio used an admin-created service account and delegated tokens. Now, updates to Microsoft Graph APIs mean that Mio no longer requires service accounts from Teams orgs.
Instead, Mio will use application-level scopes that require admin-level authorization.
Join Mio at Enterprise Connect 2023
Mio will be exhibiting at this year’s Enterprise Connect, taking place in Orlando, FL from March 27-30th.
Having exhibited for the past few years, we’re excited to return to the conference to showcase our advancements in chat interoperability.
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January 2023
Mio Hub upgrades
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From Connect Center updates to new automations, we’re proud to start our year with features that streamline the admin experience.
All-new Activity Dashboard
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Our Mio Hub includes an exciting addition. The new Activity Dashboard is a valuable resource for user metrics to organize and optimize your organization’s chat activity.
The Activity Dashboard is broken down into two sections: Deployment and Usage.
The Deployment section includes data on the number of synced users and active users. You can also see a list of pending users – members of your organization who have not accepted the Mio prompt to sync their secondary accounts. A useful guide on boosting user activity provides you with best practices for your organization.
The Usage section shows data on the total amount of messages sent over a period of time. In addition to the total number of messages sent, you can see your organization’s Channel, Direct Message, and Group Chat message counts as well as number of files shared.
For further granularity, message and file counts are broken down per platform. Data on most used channels and most active users is also available.
Have you ever heard of toggle tax? A study by the Harvard Business Review found that the average worker spends 5 weeks per year simply toggling between applications.
Toggle tax is calculated as savings made by reducing time switching between apps – an objective that Mio directly helps to achieve.
View quantitative data on time and money saved by chat interoperability in the toggle tax section of our Activity Dashboard.
Advancements in nativeness
A native chat experience is one where an app is used exactly the way that it was meant to be used.
As of the end of 2022, our nativeness score improved from 67% to 82% on Webex and 66% to 76% on Microsoft Teams. We calculate these scores by taking the available APIs on each platform and comparing them to the number of APIs that we actually leverage per platform.
Interoperability for Zoom Team Chat users increases in nativeness with the addition of two exciting new features:
- Native threaded replies in DMs and Group Chats
- Reaction deletion
And that’s not all – Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Slack users will now be able to send native threaded replies.
Auto Heal: token expiry notification
Mio uses encrypted tokens to send messages from one platform to another. Occasionally, external changes in a customer’s environment cause tokens to expire. To prepare for these situations, we’ve been hard at work on a solution for uninterrupted chat capabilities.
Introducing Auto Heal, a new automation to bridge your organization through token refresh periods.
This feature first detects the external conditions that necessitate token refresh.
Depending on the situation, Mio then automatically sends a notification to either admins or end users requesting re-authorization.
Examples of these conditions include the following:
The purpose of the end user prompt is to resync secondary platform accounts, similar to when Mio was initially deployed.
Once an end user has resynced, they will receive confirmation from the Mio bot and are free to continue chatting.
The admin notification is sent in response to a Conditional Access Policy that blocks Mio from obtaining user tokens.
After reviewing CAP, admins will receive confirmation that their platform has been successfully configured to work with Mio. After end users respond to the reauthorization prompt, admins will also receive confirmation that a user’s token has been successfully refreshed.
Reactive prompting for unsynced users
We recently streamlined our prompting approach in response to feedback on Mio’s bot messaging logic. Now, prompting by the Mio Bot is broken down into two categories: Proactive and Reactive.
Proactive prompts are manually sent by admins from the Mio Hub in order to initiate specific actions from an end user. For example, after clicking the “Sync” icon in User Sync, end users will receive a prompt from the Mio bot requesting account authorization.
Reactive prompts are automatically sent to initiate an action from end users whose accounts meet certain criteria. In this case, an unsynced user who attempts to send a cross-platform DM will receive a message from the Mio bot prompting them to sync their accounts.
We are confident that this new automation will increase adoption and simplify the deployment process.
And coming soon…
Reduced number of required scopes for Microsoft Teams
To adhere to the PoLP (Principle of Least Privilege), Mio will no longer ask for Groups.ReadWrite.All, and will instead ask for GroupMember.Read.All, GroupMember.ReadWrite.All, and Sites.Read.All.
This change will have no impact on Mio’s existing functionality. Messages will still work as expected in DMs, Channels, and Group Chats.
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