Slack is an online, social messaging platform that is designed for teams of all sizes, so they can collaborate on projects more effectively. Users can create a team in Slack, and then log in to hold group or private chats, share data and links with each member of that team and discuss the project together. All of the communications that are held on Slack are grouped into different Channels, and everything that is created is searchable.
- Project-friendly structure
- Colaborate with teams
- Create chat channels with their own permissions
- Add bots and auto moderators
- Integrate with other tools
- Share files
- Task list management
- Audio and video calls
Slack organizes team conversations into open channels. The great thing about using channels is they can be utilized by everyone; all users have a transparent view of all its aspects.
If you have sensitive information to discuss, users can create private channels and invite a only few team members. Private channels are restricted and no one else can see or join a private channel.
A really useful feature of Slack is the file sharing capability. You can drag and drop files, documents, PDFs, images, and videos to share with anyone and get immediate feedback and discussion via comments. You can also star it for later reference, and all data is completely searchable.Slack also has support for services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box. Simply paste the link to the file and that document is immediately in sync and searchable.
All data in Slack is automatically indexed and archived in order that it can be searched. Whether that be messages, notifications, or files. Slack indexes the content of every file so that you are able to search for data held in PDFs, Word files and other docs.
Slack subscribes to a freemium pricing model, with a free trial available (no credit card required). Slack also provides Standard, Plus, and Enterprise plans. The Standard plan includes everything that is available in the Free plan, plus the following: a searchable archive with unlimited messages, unlimited service integrations, custom retention policies, guest access, priority support, google authentication (OAuth)/Google Apps for Domains sign-on, configurable email ingestion service, mandatory two-factor authentication, user groups, and a beta version of group calls. The Standard plan is priced at $6.67, per user, per month. The Plus plan and Enterprise plan also includes these features and a few more, costing $12.50 per user per month, and $32 per user per month respectively.
Overall, Slack is a superb service that allows teams to communicate in real time together. It offers support for private groups and 1:1 direct messaging. With a crisp web interface and also native apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. So no matter what device or platform a team member may be using, they are always able to keep up. With advanced features including encrypted messaging, and over 100 integrations, with an open API to build more, it’s no wonder Slack is highly respected communications solution.
