Slack is one of those products of our generation that doesn’t require much introduction. Slack’s rise to glory has been an interesting process, and it all started with a basic philosophy of making the working life of individuals “easier, more pleasant, and more productive.”
One of the first things Slack did was to prove to the world just how much we hate emails. Slack facilitates communication in the workplace, helps teams communicate and collaborate across remote distances, and enables the sharing of data. It does all the above brilliantly.
Why is Slack so successful?
There are numerous reasons why Slack is such a big hit, despite not being everyone’s cup of tea. For starters, Slack is a wonderfully designed product: it’s a simple, easy-to-use (especially after the 2020 updates), and well-designed app with a practical GUI.
Through its series of comprehensive features, Slack pretty much put the final screw in the coffin of “internal emails.” The three main Slack features are its search function (allowing users to quickly find what they’re looking for), flawless synchronization (helps users pick up in the same place when they switched devices), and simple file sharing procedures.
Slack is also one of the best communication/collaboration apps for businesses because it has remarkable support for integrations. This means that you can integrate pretty much any app in Slack.
Slack is an ever-evolving product
Slack is also a product that has always evolved. Some of the most recent features are Slack Huddles (which allows users of a group or channel to invite people to join video and audio calls), Slack Schedule Send (pretty self-explanatory feature), Slack Connect DMs (for paid accounts, allows users to invite people who are not part of their Slack groups to send direct messages).
Things were not always so smooth for Slack. For example, one of the biggest complaints of new users was that the GUI was too complex. After the pandemic hit, Slack faced a massive influx of new users and the team decided (quite wisely) to simplify the GUI.
What about drawbacks?
Slack manages to create a functional, fun, and spirited working environment that some business communication apps can only dream of. The fact that it can integrate with pretty much any web app or service is also a huge selling point.
However, Slack might not be for everyone. For starters, left on its own devices when you first install the app, Slack can easily become an over-distracting nightmare. While it’s as user-friendly as an app of this sort can be, users will most probably have to spend a few minutes tweaking the notification settings.
Slack is also one of the most expensive apps of this sort. It comes in three flavors: Pro, Business+, and Enterprise. However, the Free plan is pretty awesome offering users access to all of Slack’s basic features.
Last but not least, while Slack is a successful do-it-all communication/collaboration platform, it’s still not top-tier when it comes to audio and video call quality.
Conclusion
However you may look at it, it’s really difficult to hate Slack. Indeed, there may be better options for some users (such as Microsoft Teams, for instance), but Slack plays well with most teams and most users, especially if you opt for the paid plans.
