Item: Slack
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Slack is used across the entire organization. It is used for collaboration. The biggest thing I see it being utilized for is it is the quickest way for people to get a hold of tech desk. Things like password resets, monitors not working, need for new mouse or keyboard. There's a dedicated channel that is always watched and heavily monitored.

Pros and Cons

Option to thread conversations
Highly customizable
Lots of plug-in support

With slack growing so quickly, fair amount of downtime
Too many channels/workspaces
Heavy notification settings by default

Return on Investment

People like it, so they actually use it
People are often more responsive to a quick IM vs a text or a call
We are highly dependent on it, so if it is down there is a big disruption

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams comes with an office 365 subscription, but we chose to pay for corporate Slack anyway. Teams does not integrate with nearly as many third party tools, and the integration process with the ones that do work is long and cumbersome. Teams is also an ENORMOUS resource hog and will bog down your machine if on a call with many participants. I know Slack can also be resource heavy, but not nearly to the extent of Teams.

Other Software Used

Solarwinds Backup, Asana, Wireshark

Likelihood to Recommend

Slack is well suited for communication within an organization ideally for smaller groups. If two or three people from a group want to have a specific conversation about something, they can begin a new threaded discussion, and their interactions will not clog up the "general feed" for the rest of the users in the channel.

Slack is Best

Overall Satisfaction with Slack