When it comes to team communication, especially for teams that work across departments, different offices, or, yes, even from home, Slack has been a platform that has helped streamline conversations. With the ability to create channels related to departments, projects, tasks, and more, Slack allows users to keep chats relegated to specific topics, which many find help clarify communications and makes it easier to stay on track.
That said, Slack isn’t a panacea. Many companies are working to fix a variety of Slack shortcomings. Some problems with Slack include:
- Asynchronous communication
- Individual users struggling to pinpoint what’s really important (especially in enterprises with so many channels)
- Too much communication
- Figuring out how to best utilize Slack
- Becoming just another communication channel in a sea of communication channels (Whatsapp, Skype, Zoom, email. etc.)
With that in mind, when it comes to enterprises, is Slack the right tool for the job?
Slack and Enterprises
Slack seems to think so. In fact, Slack argues that they were built for enterprise-level organizations. They argue Slack is perfect for enterprises due to:
- Their reputation for almost 100% uptime
- Built-in security features
- Apps and add-ons that expand the capabilities of the product itself
- High engagement metrics
- Ease of collaboration and communication across departments
While Slack seems confident in their abilities, the fact is, unlike in small startups, enterprises have communication happening at many levels. When teams get to be a specific size, there is a concern around social crowding, where channels just get too loud due to too many conversations happening by too many people.
How can an enterprise shut down all the noise and make sure Slack is helping conversations happen effectively?
Slack’s Enterprise Grid
Slack has answered the call of the specific needs of enterprises with their Enterprise Grid. This particular Slack offering allows project managers (in companies of 500-500,000 employees) to automate away routine tasks, keeps data secure, and allows businesses to customize their channels and workspaces in unprecedented ways.
Explicitly designed for complex organizations, Enterprise Grid mirrors how an organization is structured with workspaces provisioned for business departments, units, or even subsidiaries. The solution promises a highly configurable admin that can scale.
It also offers enterprise-grade goodies typical of enterprise players such as Oracle. These include:
Lots of built-in security features such as:
- Data encryption
- Domain claiming
- Enterprise Key Management
- Custom terms of service
- Customizable message retention
And products that cover:
- DLP (Data Loss Prevention)
- Archiving
- EMM (Enterprise Mobility Management
- SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)
Of course, the most significant advantage is creating a new single-layer that will allow users to find and connect with each other across even the largest of organizations. Having that streamlined connectivity will allow for easier connection and communication between teams and subsidiaries in ways most large enterprises just can’t create with other options.
Does My Company Need Enterprise Grid?
Whether your company needs Slack’s Enterprise Grid or not may not just be related to the size or complexity of the company. There could be apps and add-ons within Slack that may already help your teams organize and communicate more effectively without having to trade up.
There are already many app add-ons that can help your company organize itself more effectively with options to closely integrate Slack with Jira, Git, or Trello, for example.
Suppose it is already heavily reliant on Microsoft for other functions. In that case, your organization may also find Teams is a better platform that more accurately meets your needs, and you may not even need Slack at all.
However, suppose you do find you need something a little bit more powerful and can meet your organization’s complexities. In that case, Slack’s Enterprise Grid may be the perfect addition to your company’s communications strategy.
Want to find out how Bitband helps teams all over the world use Slack smarter – especially in terms of Jira integration? Find out all of our great apps here on the Atlassian Marketplace.
