ExplainerUC&C15 Jun 2020 · 3 min read

Slack, AWS Set to Take on Microsoft Teams

Slack and AWS deepen integrations for enterprise collaboration, AWS resource management, Amazon Chime and EKM, as Slack takes on Microsoft Teams. Published on U

Ian Taylor

The multi-year agreement between Amazon Web Services, Inc., (AWS), and Slack Technologies, Inc., will deliver new solutions for enhanced enterprise workforce collaboration. In a statement, Slack and AWS said the duo wants to help distributed development teams communicate as well as become more efficient and agile in managing AWS resources from the Slack client. Slack will enable voice and video calling to Amazon Chime, AWS's communications service that lets users meet, chat, and make business calls.

Slack and AWS are set to extend deeper product integration that allows interoperability so teams can manage AWS resources from within Slack channels as well as Amazon Chime chat rooms. In a statement, AWS said Slack will also leverage its global infrastructure to support the growing pace of user adoption of its platform and offer data residency. Stewart Butterfield, CEO, Co-Founder, Slack, said the future of enterprise software will be driven by the combination of cloud services and workplace collaboration tools, adding:

“By integrating AWS services with Slack’s channel-based messaging platform, we’re helping teams and manage their cloud infrastructure projects and launch cloud-based services without ever leaving Slack”

I'm told, the integrations include connecting Amazon Chime infrastructure with Slack Calls. Through the integration, Amazon Chime SDK (software development kits) will soon power audio, video, and screen-sharing capabilities in native Slack Calls. Slack will integrate with AWS management service, forming Slack Enterprise Key Management (EKM). The integration will enable Slack to harness AWS’s advanced security options, including the distribution and control of cryptographic keys.

"The integration's designed for security-conscious and regulated enterprise customers who seek increased visibility and control over their data in Slack," Slack said in a statement. The company's reporting over 90 companies currently using the solution to manage encryption keys. Amazon AppFlow integration with Slack is all-new and enables Slack users to transfer data between Slack and AWS services as they would via Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) or Amazon Redshift.

[caption id="attachment_27537" align="alignright" width="200"] official stewart headshot 1 Stewart Butterfield[/caption]

Earlier this week I spoke with industry analyst Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Principal Analyst, ZK Research who argued the UC and collaboration space grew out of video conferencing, audio calling, and chat, further stating - if Slack wanted to remain a player in the current landscape, it would have to scale up its capabilities with a strategic partnership, or an acquisition. It seems today, Slack's taken greater strides toward realizing a full-stack via its latest partnership and in enhancing the end-user experience.

Slack's raised the bar, and can now compete with the likes of Microsoft Teams which boasts 75 million daily active users as of last month. The two have solutions that millions rely on to power their workdays, and the competition just got a bit more interesting as a result of Slack's much-needed platform upgrades. The collaboration company has yet to report up-to-date user stats. We can, however, assume the company's seen an increase during the COVID-19 period, as many others in the collaboration industry have. Slack last reported user data in 2019 when it said it had 12 million daily active users.

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