Facebook, Gmail, and Slack are Becoming More Collaborative

In the modern business setting, collaboration drives productivity. As a result, many software developers are producing software with collaboration in mind. Since these developers are all in competition with each other for market share, they are typically trying to build on more advanced features to outmaneuver the other companies. Some of the biggest names in the industry have recently updated their products to make collaboration a priority. This week we’ll take a look at updates made to Facebook Workplace, Gmail, and Slack.

Facebook Workplace
Communication drives collaboration. Facebook has rolled out a new desktop app to work with the chat element within their productivity network app, Workplace. Called Workplace Chat, the application allows users to easily swap files and share screens for more dynamic collaborative processes. Down the road, Workplace Chat will support third-party applications to improve collaborative function for the thousands of companies that utilize the Facebook Workplace platform.

Apps for Gmail
Google’s strategy is to improve Gmail’s utility in the collaboration-minded setting of the modern business. They have begun to look to third-party developers to find collaborative solutions. Companies like RingCentral, Trello, DocuSign, Intuit and more have working integrations with Gmail, making the email provider better suited for the collaborative business than ever before. With the millions of users that utilize Gmail, and the flexibility Google is offering app developers, it’s no surprise to find out that new companies are actively creating software for the platform.

Slack Adds Improved Screen Sharing
One way to improve collaboration is with the addition of screen-sharing functionality. Slack was designed to promote collaboration in the first place, and has improved it’s screen sharing function to include interactivity. The Slack platform is intended to create employee alignment and a shared understanding of a project; and, with screen sharing capabilities updated for paid subscribers, teams that use the application will benefit from this additional functionality. Users will be able to create temporary notes, navigate through documents better, and edit documents freely, giving the whole interface a substantial upgrade.

What does your organization do to help improve collaboration? If you have a useful application that could be of help to another reader, please don’t hesitate to post it in our comments section below.