Slack has revealed that its app will undergo a redesign that mirrors Microsoft Teams, with improved efficiency and focus on task-based collaboration.
The redesign also includes a unified Home view, which means users can access all channels, direct messages, and apps from one location, rather than having to switch between workspaces for accessing them.
Users can now control their workflows with dedicated views like Activity, Direct Messages, Later, and More, which provide granular notifications to balance head-down time and online collaboration. The Search functionality is also being updated to make finding information more accessible.
Slack, a company owned by Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams often compete by mimicking each other’s features and filing complaints with regulators. This is advisable for users who value both services, as it ensures faster updates and more affordable pricing. Slaack has announced that it will revamp its app to give it fewer ways to stay organized and focus on simpler tasks, while also offering quicker access to tools and improved productivity.
A unified Home view serves as a base of operations for all your channels, direct messages, and other apps. Slack claims that the interface is similar to its current interface, but it appears more like Microsoft Teams than ever before. This benefit is exclusive to Enterprise Grid customers who are part of multiple workspaces and cannot access different workspace types.
A major redesign of the tool is dedicated views that allow for workflows to flow without interruption. For example, the Activity view provides a visual representation of online activity with relevant items. Direct Messages summarizes your unread messages, Later allows you to save and return to later actions, and More offers centralized access to more apps by quickly opening and closing tabs on any screen.
The app is also promoting the use of its tools and utilities by Slack. It is emphasizing some of these features, such as the Create button that allows users to start typing new messages, create a canvas, start assembling huddles, and create multiple channels. The goal is to provide Slackers with fewer clicks on various tasks, manage audio and video output, etc.
The Search feature is also being updated. Instead of clicking on search results, users can now view the entire context of an item instead of having to open it separately and then returning to re-open something that may not be their final result.
Slack has emphasized its dedication to its application, stating that it has made over 100 changes in the last year alone. The new redesign will be available to new teams starting today, and existing customers can expect to access it in coming months.