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Slack Expands its Enterprise Business With 'Grid'

Slack doesn't want employees of large companies to fall back to email communication between departments.

 & Tom Brant Managing Editor

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Slack, a popular email killer at companies both large and small, is rolling out a streamlined interface for its largest clients, like PayPal, Capital One, and IBM.

Called Grid, the new interface aims to make it easier for multiple teams across different departments of large corporations to use Slack by streamlining administrative tools and offering new shared channels.

At the heart of the Grid are new unlimited workspaces, which won't seem much different to the average Slack user, but come with better controls, allowing administrators to give each user access to the teams they need, and restrict their access to those that aren't relevant.

If employees need to work on a project with a different department, administrators can create new shared channels, which serve as a bridge between two or more separate Slack workspaces. Likewise, a user can search for coworkers, workspaces, or information across the entire company by taking advantage of a new single layer that sits on top of all the different workspaces. That layer includes search, one-to-one and group direct messaging, and discoverable workspaces.

Although large companies have quickly adopted Slack, they often already have their own in-house collaboration tools, so Slack is also making Grid compatible with the more than 900 third-party integrations in its app directory. Perhaps most notable is SAP, whose Hana Cloud Platform, SuccessFactors, and Concur enterprise chatbot platforms can now be integrated with Slack.

Ultimately, Grid is designed to harness Slack's roots as an email alternative, according to Product Vice President April Underwood. People are used to using Slack with their direct co-workers, but fall back to email to communicate with people they don't interact with as often.

"We wanted to give Slack the flexibility to work as teams, but they were still falling back to email when they worked with each other," she said at an unveiling event, according to TechCrunch. If Grid can change that behavior at large organizations, it will be one more nail in the coffin for email at work.

About Our Expert

Tom Brant

Tom Brant

Managing Editor

I’m a managing editor at PCMag.com focused on PC hardware. Reading this during the day? Then you've caught me testing gear and editing reviews of Wi-Fi routers, printers, laptops, and tons of other personal tech. (Reading this at night? Then I’m probably dreaming about all those cool products.) I’ve covered the consumer tech world as an editor, reporter, and analyst since 2015.

I've covered most major consumer tech events, including CES, Computex, Google I/O, and IFA. I've also appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news.

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rainforests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.

The Technology I Use

While most people buy a phone or laptop and stick with it for years, I’m lucky enough to use devices based on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows daily as part of my job. As a result, I cycle through lots of tech in addition to my IT-issue work laptop. (Yes, that's a ThinkPad.) Personally, I’ve also owned a lot of tech products both cutting-edge and cringeworthy, from the Nintendo GameCube and the original MacBook to the Palm m105 and the CueCat.

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