From overwhelming email threads to bad PowerPoint presentations, workplace communication has needed a makeover for a long time. Many have tried and failed–including Google’s much heralded office software Wave, which shut down in 2012. Now San Francisco–based startup Slack is bringing a new approach–and fans as well as tech experts say it may have cracked the code.
Unlike its predecessors, Slack melds chat and search in a dead-simple interface, helping it gain a half-million users in just a year. That’s “what gets people over the hump,” explains Forrester analyst TJ Keitt. Slack is free for a basic version but charges for advanced features.
Slack is one of many apps vying for a share of the $4.7 billion-a-year office-software market. Yammer, acquired by Microsoft in 2012, lets workers collaborate on presentations. Another startup, Convo, aims to revamp email by sorting data on the basis of relevance to your projects, not message history. And FB@Work, unveiled in January, is a version of Facebook specifically tailored to the office.
Of course, offices can be slow to evolve, with managers hesitant to abandon tried-if-tired email systems. And employees may be reluctant to change their familiar workflow. Once they try something new, however, they might like what they find.
HOW NEW WORK SOFTWARE CHANGES …
MESSAGING
Slack can help you host chats with either a single colleague or an entire team–an alternative to endless email threads.
INFORMATION SHARING
FB@Work uses Facebook’s algorithms to display relevant information about projects, news or company updates an employee might have missed. It’s still in early testing.
FILE SHARING
Yammer is integrated with Microsoft Office 365, which lets users have group conversations with co-workers in Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.
MOBILE PRODUCTIVITY
Convo’s mobile app can auto-zoom to the exact line of a document flagged by a colleague, making it easier to work with files on phones.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Jane Fonda Champions Climate Action for Every Generation
- Biden’s Campaign Is In Trouble. Will the Turnaround Plan Work?
- Why We're Spending So Much Money Now
- The Financial Influencers Women Actually Want to Listen To
- Breaker Sunny Choi Is Heading to Paris
- Why TV Can’t Stop Making Silly Shows About Lady Journalists
- The Case for Wearing Shoes in the House
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com