On the Slack Line: a Fun and Balanced Communications Tool
September 28, 2019
On the Slack Line: a Fun and Balanced Communications Tool
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Slack
Our department is among a handful that uses Slack as their primary work messaging tool (the organization default is Microsoft Teams). Slack is being used to support direct messaging and group chats between on-premises and remote employees, as well as service providers and vendors. It provides a system-agnostic communications workspace that can easily be ramified into various private and public channels as changing needs demand.
- Slack is a solid chat tool that works across a variety of platforms, with a very low barrier for entry: new users can be invited via email, and can use web-based, desktop, or mobile versions of the application.
- Slack has really captured the zeitgeist of digital culture, including strong support for customizing look and feel (including custom emojis), and a plethora of integrations with popular web-based tools, including Pivotal Tracker and GitHub on the productive side, and Giphy.com on the fun side.
- Slack continues to refine and improve their product, with new features being rolled out just about every month.
- Slack offers a great value in their free version of the app, with most of the tool's functionality available for no cost.
- While their focus on continuous product improvement is admirable, the pace of change sometimes introduces bugs to existing features.
- Some workspace administrative options require logging in to the workspace website -- it would be great to be able to manage all configuration directly from the desktop app.
- Allow me to be petty for a moment: Why can't we have bigger emojis?
- Slack has allowed us to effectively collaborate with a wide range of collaborators, especially outside vendors, contractors, and service providers. Its integrated document sharing and videoconferencing features make it a powerful collaboration tool.
- Until recently, we utilized the free version of Slack, but this version does not support long-term storage of conversations and shared documents. However, as an EDU customer, it was surprisingly painless to move to a premium paid account.
- Slack definitely carries its corporate culture of "fun productivity" with it -- sometimes, the utility of its robust chat feature set can be offset by its ability to distract end-users with silly reaction emojis and meme threads..but this is a risk with any communications tool with a modern feature set.
- Skype for Business (formerly Lync)
Having had to use Skype/Lync in a former life as a Fortune 100 contractor, I can say that Slack's ease-of-use, customizability, and solid integrations with online tools puts it far ahead. It's nice to not be beholden to the Microsoft Stack for every little thing, as well. Slack definitely feels like a "people's group chat system" while retaining a robust, corporate-level feature set.
Do you think Slack delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Slack's feature set?
Yes
Did Slack live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Slack go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Slack again?
Yes