Top 5 Slack Integrations for Business Value

Slack is a central part of the tech stack millions of people rely on daily. The current situation only amplifies the incredible value and tremendous benefit that this collaboration platform can bring to enterprises across all industries.

 

We’ve previously discussed how Slack can become your enterprise collaboration hub, and why you should explore doing so. Today, we want to take a closer look at five powerful integrations companies are using today to make work life simpler and more productive.

 

If you have never used Slack before, you will come away from this discussion wanting to take another look. If you’re already a Slack user, we hope this list identifies at least one path to even greater productivity and ease in getting your work done. Either way, at the end of the article, we have a very special offer that you’re not going to want to miss.

 

Video Conferencing – Zoom

One of Slack’s native features is a voice/video calling service for one-on-one calls. This can be really helpful and works well in a pinch, especially for quick questions or comments that you’d rather not type out.

 

But, most of us routinely use other systems for planned video conferencing, with one of the most popular being Zoom. Using the Slack+Zoom integration, you can set Zoom to be your default service for calls, allowing you to hop into a Zoom call instantly from within the Slack interface.

 

Once your Slack and Zoom accounts are hooked up, you create a Zoom meeting invite just by clicking the call button from a channel or DM. You can also simply type /zoom in any direct message or Slack channel. Or, paste the link to a Zoom meeting into Slack, and the integration creates a detail-rich invitation with a Join Now button.

 

Finally, if you’ve recorded a Zoom meeting, the download link will automatically share out through Slack to everyone who was on the call.

 

Planning and Executing Work – Jira / Jira Service Desk

Slack integrates exceptionally well with Jira, Atlassian’s leading planning and work management solution. There are also great apps in the App Directory that can help you work more quickly and efficiently.

 

An excellent example is the Jira-Integration+ app by Nextup.ai. It connects Slack with customers across all three Jira options — Server, Cloud, and Data Center — offering the same time-saving functionality to all.

 

With the integration installed, users can access, edit, interact with, and create new Jira tickets, all from within Slack. This saves a lot of time and interruption by eliminating the costly context switching of moving between apps without losing any of the task management power of Jira. Additionally, all the email notifications users currently receive from Jira can be swapped for actionable Slack messages, cutting down on notification fatigue.

 

A similar integration is also available for Jira Service Desk, moving much of the help desk process into Slack, and making the entire process easier and more enjoyable.

 

Customer Relationship Management – Salesforce

A Customer Relationship Management platform, such as Salesforce, is critical to align marketing and sales, enabling organizations to manage and analyze customer interactions, convert leads, and nurture sales within an organization. With the integration of Salesforce and Slack, teams can easily stay up to date on their Salesforce records from within Slack and significantly reduce the time spent toggling between applications and reliance on email.

 

Salesforce for Slack seamlessly integrates these powerful tools to allow users to locate, preview, and share any record in Salesforce using the /salesforce command in Slack. Individuals, teams, and channels can also set up automated notifications regarding specific records or groups of records based on updates, milestones, or other activity, ensuring everyone stays in the know and can work together to help build customer relationships.

 

Scheduling – Google / Outlook calendars

Most of us would be lost without our Google or Outlook calendars. Once again, there’s a simple but powerful Slack integration that can bring the best aspects of those solutions into Slack so you can get more done without hopping around.

 

The Google Calendar integration and Outlook calendar integration work nearly identically. In both cases, your Slack status will update automatically based on what’s on your calendar. You’ll be able to receive and reply to calendar invitations, and receive event reminders or updates right in Slack. In fact, many users find they can shut off email and desktop notifications coming directly from their calendars once they start managing their schedule via Slack.

 

File sharing – Google Drive

Sure, you can already copy and paste a Google Doc link or link to a shared folder into a Slack channel. But, with the Google Drive integration, you can do so much more:

• Create new Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets files
• Import an existing file from Google Drive into a channel or direct message
• Search directly within Google Drive files shared within Slack
• Automatically grant access to the files you share with the right audience
• Get updates in Slack on changes in Drive, like comments, access requests, and new files shared with you
• Reply directly to comment notifications from within Slack and have them posted to the file
• Similar integrations are available for other popular file sharing services like OneDrive, DropBox, and Box.com.

 

The Sky’s the Limit

The five integrations highlighted above are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more than 1,500 apps currently available in the Slack ecosystem, and new apps are being developed daily. Whatever software your workflow currently relies on, you can bet there’s already a way to make your life easier and more productive with Slack, or creating that integration won’t be difficult.

 

“But, I don’t even know where to start. And, I need to make things easier for my team now!”

 

We hear you. And, that’s why we’re thrilled to offer a 5-Day Slack Quickstart Package that will get your remote team up and running with Slack in just five days. That includes implementation of Slack and all the vital Slack apps and integrations you need, onboarding and training to get you up to speed, and success tracking to make sure you stay on track once the Quickstart period is over.

 

So, if you like what you read above, and can really see your team’s productivity skyrocketing with Slack, now’s the time to act.