Rationale
As a venture opportunity, Slack Technologies appears to be on the threshold of greatness. The company was founded on the experience of a team that has proven its ability in the digital age. The success of Flickr helped to establish Butterfield and his team as a winning combination for entrepreneurial ventures, and the confidence they have earned from investors - $841 million to date - proves that interest in this company's potential is widespread.
The future is what Slack Technologies makes it. Untapped global frontiers, conversion of new clients, and upgrades of existing clients are to be the focus for continued success. However, there are accompanying challenges to this growth potential. Slack Technologies will need to seek solutions to payment options and data storage for the growing number of customers outside of the US and Western Europe, and it will have to work hard to distinguish itself - and the price of its product - from competition such as Microsoft, Google, as well as a growing number of smaller WSC solution providers. In order to accomplish this, Slack is looking into leveraging their growing amount of user data to improve analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in the hopes of bettering user experience.
In addition, Slack Technologies appears to be aware of the potential that exists in education industries, but has yet to truly capitalize on that potential. As a tool that seeks to streamline the sharing of ideas, it would seem obvious that Slack could benefit teachers, students, parents, schools, and school districts, and help carry learners forward into an age where digital collaboration is the standard in the classroom as well as the workplace.
The future is what Slack Technologies makes it. Untapped global frontiers, conversion of new clients, and upgrades of existing clients are to be the focus for continued success. However, there are accompanying challenges to this growth potential. Slack Technologies will need to seek solutions to payment options and data storage for the growing number of customers outside of the US and Western Europe, and it will have to work hard to distinguish itself - and the price of its product - from competition such as Microsoft, Google, as well as a growing number of smaller WSC solution providers. In order to accomplish this, Slack is looking into leveraging their growing amount of user data to improve analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in the hopes of bettering user experience.
In addition, Slack Technologies appears to be aware of the potential that exists in education industries, but has yet to truly capitalize on that potential. As a tool that seeks to streamline the sharing of ideas, it would seem obvious that Slack could benefit teachers, students, parents, schools, and school districts, and help carry learners forward into an age where digital collaboration is the standard in the classroom as well as the workplace.
Reflection
As a teacher with half a career of experience under me, I have come to understand that teaching is one of the most collaborative endeavours one can undertake. At every turn, a teacher is communicating, cooperating, and learning from any number of collaborators: students, parents, teachers, administrators. The number of projects and objectives that can arise from this myriad of collaborative relationships can be staggering.
Teachers want technology that can not only help learners learn, but also technology that can help teachers teach, organize, prioritize and otherwise manage the countless number of tasks that require resolution daily. A cloud based WSC platform, adopted by key users in an educational setting (teachers, students, parent, administrators), would allow all parties concerned to manage their work streams clearly and efficiently. Slack has proven itself to be a preferred platform for collaboration in the private sector; I think the time is right to invest in Slack Technologies to help bring the power of collaborative efficiency to every work team and work space.
Teachers want technology that can not only help learners learn, but also technology that can help teachers teach, organize, prioritize and otherwise manage the countless number of tasks that require resolution daily. A cloud based WSC platform, adopted by key users in an educational setting (teachers, students, parent, administrators), would allow all parties concerned to manage their work streams clearly and efficiently. Slack has proven itself to be a preferred platform for collaboration in the private sector; I think the time is right to invest in Slack Technologies to help bring the power of collaborative efficiency to every work team and work space.
Resources
Images
https://sinhala.lankainformation.lk/news/sciens-edu-tech?start=80
http://mcochina.com/list/kw-slack.html
https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-4K5I75F&ct=171108&st=sb
https://www.wired.com/2015/08/slack-overrun-bots-friendly-wonderful-bots/
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/slack
https://mycampus.jp/2017/07/19/aono_06/
https://ueno.co/work/slack
https://www.statista.com/chart/6643/slack-hits-4-million-active-users/
http://www.iconswiz.com/icons/teams-icon-e9ddb8.html
http://www.computerhalley.it/eventi/skype-business
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RJZMSsH7-g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS_wpAlkP48
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJXsaLbKxec
Online Print
https://slack.com
https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-4K5I75F&ct=171108&st=sb
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/slack
https://www.wired.com/2015/08/slack-overrun-bots-friendly-wonderful-bots/
https://www.wired.com/2014/08/the-most-fascinating-profile-youll-ever-read-about-a-guy-and-his-boring-startup/
https://www.inc.com/magazine/201704/anna-hensel/day-in-the-life-cal-henderson.html
https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/06/slack-is-the-best-startup-of-the-year-at-the-crunchies/
https://techcrunch.com/2016/02/09/slack-wins-for-fastest-rising-startup/
https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/05/slacks-co-founders-take-home-the-crunchie-for-founder-of-the-year/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slack_(software)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Butterfield
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Henderson