5 Things We've Learned Following the Slack IPO
Slack officially launched on the New York Stock Exchange as [WORK] on the 20th June 2019. As the hottest team collaboration property on the stock exchange, let's take a look at what we've learned since the Slack IPO.
We've also just released our Workplace Messaging Report for 2019.
Based on completely independent research, our report shows what IT Managers are suggesting the future holds for Slack and other team collaboration apps like Microsoft Teams and Webex Teams.
1 - Security is going to be paramount for enterprise growth post Slack IPO
Previewed at Frontiers in 2018, Slack launched Enterprise Key Management on 18th March 2019.
It'd been hotly anticipated by IT admins in enterprises with a major focus on security.
Slack Enterprise Key Management
This must be one of many enhancements coming to Slack, especially with recent news surrounding security flaws in other team collaboration platforms.
Rivals Cisco and Microsoft have often been portrayed as having the one up against Slack when it comes to security.
As Slack takes aim at enterprises, further enhancing security is sure to be an area of focus.
EKM augments existing security features by giving customers control over the encryption keys used to encrypt files and messages within their workspace.
2 - New features to improve performance and functionality post Slack IPO
Following the Slack IPO, Slack announced a major improvement to load speed and strain on CPU.
The Slack desktop app now launches 33% faster, so you can jump straight into your work. Calls in Slack are also speedier, so you can join an incoming call with teammates up to 10X faster. This is crucial to potential investors and users alike, following the Slack IPO.
2019 had already seen Slack introduce plenty of security features and additional functionality:
- Dark mode for mobile
- Mobile security updates for Enterprise Grid
- Introduction of Block Kit
- Tips launched for new users
- Faster import speeds
- Channel search
- Shared Channels
- Workflow Builder for non-techies
- Email + Calendars + Slack
- Expanded search
3 - Video strategy is not going to be in-house
An area of the market that Microsoft and Cisco have long dominated is video.
They've spent the last 5 years fine-tuning their crystal clear multi-party video conferencing and currently hold the upper hand in this category.
Rumors were circulating that Slack could be picked up by a video giant to help bolster this functionality, but we've since learned that Slack's video strategy will stem from its own major strength - integration.
Slack and Zoom teamed up for calling capabilities earlier in the year, and have now announced their video partnership.
Initially, it seemed worrying that Slack announced they were due to take away screen controls from video calls...
But the Slack and Zoom integration is already used by 10,000 Slack teams worldwide.
If you're using the Slack and Zoom integration, please let us know how you're getting on.
If you're planning on deploying soon, we'd love to walk through your transition process with you. Reach out in the comments or DM us on Twitter to get talking.
Everybody still loves Slack
According to our research, users and admins still prefer the look and feel of Slack over other platforms.
Whilst we didn't specifically ask respondents if integration was the biggest reasons for them to answer Slack, it's a safe assumption that it played a part.
Slack is renowned for the quality and quantity of integrations available.
We've listed out 36 of the best Slack integrations and categorized them by job function to help you choose the best integrations for your business unit.
4 - In 2019, people care about how they work
The number of team collaboration apps is astronomical and continues to grow seemingly day by day.
We've found over 230 platforms considered as "alternatives to Slack" yet Slack remains one of the most used messaging apps available.
Jack Stewart of Marketplace recently reached out his Twitter audience to find out how big of an impact Slack has had on their workplace:
His conclusion was this...
"Slack is not the only player in the workplace messaging space. It has competition from Microsoft, Google, and Cisco, but Slack seems to have caught the working public’s imagination more than any other platform. "
Slack's NYSE ticker [WORK] may have been a cheeky attempt at suggesting Slack is where work should happen, but it seems it's not too far from a reality.
In fact, research shows that 74% of companies with over 10,000 employees report they are now using Slack.
5- Multi-vendor environments are the norm...and vendors are reacting
Recognizing the future is multi-vendor, Mio CEO, Tom Hadfield, recently commented in an interview with Rich Tehrani for TMCnet:
"The days of one single collaboration vendor are over. Now with modern APIs, you can fully federate all collaboration systems into one unified system."
The Mio Workplace Messaging Report found that 91% of businesses used at least 2 messaging apps.
If vendors refuse to adapt to multi-vendor environments, organizations will be left in utter collaboration chaos.
Fortunately, Slack, along with Cisco and Microsoft, recognizes that a bigger pie means more market capture for everybody involved.
Slack CEO, Stewart Butterfield, has even gone as far as saying he isn't worried about Microsoft Teams' latest figures (13 million daily active users and 19 million weekly active users).
Slack is also interoperable with Google Chat when users sync their accounts using Mio.
Keep up with all the Slack news
There we have it. Post Slack IPO, the landscape looks like this...
- Security
- Continuous release of new features
- Video partnership with Zoom
- Slack becoming the workplace
- Multi-vendor environments
Slack regularly publish their updates and changes in their help center. Keep this bookmarked and follow their Twitter account for the latest happenings at Slack HQ.
Of course, we are always on the lookout for anything new at Slack too. Make sure you're following us on LinkedIn and Twitter to stay up to date.
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