Frontiers 2020: 5 Key Updates Coming to Slack

Slack lifted the lid on its workplace transformation strategy with a slew of new features at Frontiers 2020. The collaboration giant touted the next evolution of video meetings — Video Stories that  take users’ needs into consideration and paves the way for asynchronous communication. 

Slack kicked off Frontiers 2020 on Wednesday with a stellar line-up of speakers that included collaboration industry heavyweights from Zoom, PagerDuty, Box, ViacomCBS, HubSpot. As expected, Slack CEO & co-founder Stewart Butterfield delivered the big keynote that outlined his vision for the collaboration platform and what the path forward looks like.  Let’s check in on the action. 

Here are five key updates from Slack Frontiers 2020:

1. Future Forum

Future Forum is exactly what it sounds like: a platform to assist organizations in their transition to a digital workplace. “The Future Forum is dedicated to the concept that companies need to make a comprehensive shift in how they operate,” explains Slack. It aims to fundamentally realign the way an organization operates by reinventing its cultural and technological aspects. The Forum will conduct studies in association with academic institutions on the impact of collaboration trends, past, present and the future. The company presented its research findings from the Remote Employee Experience Index at Frontiers 2020. 

Future Forum found that:

• Just 12% of knowledge workers intend to return to offices, while the majority (72%) seek a hybrid work model
• The biggest incentives for WFA include financial savings and an improved work-life balance
• Remote work challenges abound, chiefly relationship building with colleagues, isolation and loneliness 

Besides research, Future Forum will also conduct an events series where business executives and industry leaders can share insights and best practices in a closely-knit or public setup.

See Also: 10 Tips to Use Slack Like a Pro (in 2020 & Beyond)

2. Slack Connect & Verified Organizations 

Slack is working on a new business-focused direct messaging feature called Slack Connect DMs through which users can directly connect and interact with people outside the organization. All they need to do is send an invite which allows them to interact securely.  

Ilan Frank, VP of product at Slack told TechCrunchOpens a new window , “You can now direct message anyone in the Slack ecosystem. That means that anyone that has a Slack license can connect to one another.” Frank goes on to say that this feature will be business focused, which will be supported by privacy, security checks through Verified Organizations. 

Verified Organizations will enable admins to substantiate users at the other end, to avoid security gaps. Meanwhile, Managed Connections allows administrators to gain granular control over who gets to connect with whom. Under it, admins can pre-approve requests, both sent and received, for access to channels. It also allows them to define connection policies with the outside world.

Slack Connect Direct Messages, Verified Organizations, Managed Connections will be available next year.

3. Video Stories

Slack is exploring Stories or asynchronous videos for business communications. Stories can help colleagues communicate without having to connect over video meetings.  Asynchronous video allows people to collaborate on their own time instead of at the same time, Slack explained. 

Stories can alleviate the pressure associated with getting in front of the camera for a video conference. It intends to make remote work more flexible by enabling users to pre-record video messages. At the same time, users can also view recorded video messages by others at the time of their convenience. Stories can also help users assuage video fatigue that is on the rise due to lockdowns.  

See Also: Wire Takes On Video Conferencing Rivals With a Next-Gen Meeting Solution

4. Lightweight: Always On Audio

This feature enables users to connect with teams on any channel they’re a part of and have a conversation with anyone who is available at that time. Slack describes Lightweight quite vividly, “Imagine if you could talk live with whoever is available on your team—not scheduled, but totally spontaneous, like sticking your head into an office to get an answer, or starting a hallway conversation that turns into a brainstorm.”

5. Dev Tools, Workflow Automation: Workflow Builder

Workflow Builder is an attempt to streamline user workflows by facilitating  seamless integration of applications without the need to code. It was originally announced at Slack Frontiers 2019. Through Workflow Builder, non-coders can aso build customized applications and automate workflows.  

Additionally, socket mode, a developer tool through which developers can build and obtain application loads from across an organizational firewall was also introduced. This eliminates the need to use HTTP, and that developers can now build apps through Slack APIs.

See Also: Slack User Growth Stalls As Companies Cut Staff

Wrapping Up

The California-based collaboration heavyweight is making significant efforts to gain a greater market presence without leaning into video conferencing to expand the user base. The company is determined to chalk out its own path, even if that means undergoing a slow (but steady) growth arc.

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