Mio is integrating with Google Workspace to provide cross-platform collaboration between Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, and Slack.
Describing itself as the “leading provider of chat interoperability solutions”, Mio believes that Google Workspace will help it to improve productivity and streamline communication for enterprise customers.
Furthermore, by removing communication barriers, Mio is able to facilitate effective collaboration between teams, no matter which platform they choose.
Tom Hadfield, CEO of Mio, spoke about the new integration: “Mio is proud to work with Google Workspace to revolutionize cross-platform collaboration.
“Our efforts will provide a unified experience for users of Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, and Slack, enabling them to work and connect effortlessly.”
Growing demand for chat interoperability
Hadfield told UC Today that 85 percent of large enterprises use multiple team collaboration apps and his company rarely encounters an organization with over 10,000 employees only using one chat app.
For those with multiple collaboration vendors, he frequently comes across management difficulties, however.
Guest accounts are not a good option, Hadfield explained to us, and monitoring multiple chat tools is usually a negative experience for all parties because it results in replying delays or missed messages.
The effect of “toggle tax”, can also mean a loss in terms of productivity, which impacts company finances too.
Now, Mio can offer an alternative in which users can opt for their preferred chat application and still collaborate in real-time with their colleagues, whichever app they happen to be using.
Google Chat Integration
Mio’s integration with Google Chat allows users to utilise cross-platform direct messaging, group chats, and spaces.
According to Hadfield, this year Google has built new chat APIs to enable Mio’s chat interoperability solution.
Ilya Brown, Vice President of Product Management for Google Workspace, commented:
“Together with Mio, we can extend the reach of Google Chat and empower users to collaborate seamlessly across different platforms.”
Mio’s Google Chat integration is currently in beta and will be generally available in early 2024.
In September 2021, Mio made Zoom Chat interoperable with Slack, Teams, and Webex.
At the moment, Mio is mainly focused on medium to large enterprise customers that use multiple team collaboration apps for their internal communication.
Coming soon, Hadfield revealed to UC Today, Mio is developing external federation capabilities to enable cross-platform chat with external contacts, like vendors and clients, who are using different chat apps.
How does Mio work?
Mio allows Google users to chat with colleagues who are using Slack or Microsoft Teams without leaving the Google Chat client.
Google users can search for their colleagues in Google Chat and send them a message, as per normal.
If the recipient uses Microsoft Teams or Slack then Mio will deliver that message to the recipient on their preferred chat application.
When they reply, Mio delivers the message to the original sender in Google Chat.
Mio remains invisible to the end user so it is a native cross-platform experience for users on both platforms, and they don’t have to install any new software or change their behaviour.Moreover, Mio synchronises chat messages between different chat platforms.
All the basic chat content is supported, including threaded replies, emoji reactions, at mentions, file and image uploads, editing and deleting messages, and more.
Mio also supports cross-platform direct messaging, channels, and group chats.
In May 2022, Mio raised $8.7 million in Series A funding, with investors including Zoom and Cisco.
