Slack Deepens Google Cloud Integrations With New Partnership

Workplace communications app Slack has agreed a partnership with Google Cloud, providing a deeper integration between the two platforms and improved usability.

“Millions of Google Drive files” are already being shared in Slack each month and the partnership will give users access to a host of new features, including a new bot, automatic permission-checking and Google Doc previews.

Slack + Google: Partners at work

The Google Drive bot will send notifications directly to Slack, enabling users to approve, reject and settle comments from Slack via message buttons in the bot, thus removing the risk of notifications being lost in emails.

Also, some of the “peskier permission-checking” will be carried out automatically, as Slack explains: “When a file is shared in a channel, Slack will check that it is accessible to the group you’ve shared it with. If not, you will be prompted to update your sharing settings.”

Furthermore, admins will be able to connect Slack channels to Team Drives. New files will be automatically backed up and Team Drive updates will be shared in Slack, with advanced cloud storage controls also available to those who want to use a Team Drive as the main area of data storage for files uploaded to Slack.

Finally, both new and existing admins will be able to provision Slack for their entire company from the G Suite admin console, something which Slack says is “especially useful for large orgs, as it ensures accounts are provisioned and removes potential for user error.”

In a blog post released today, Slack said: “These integrations will be available for your team to use in the first half of 2017, but they’re just the start. As users of Google Cloud ourselves, we’re thrilled about this partnership and how it will simplify our working lives.”

Slack also recently partnered with Salesforce through a series of integrations providing new messaging and cloud CRM features – amongst others – designed to improve the user experience of customers on the two platforms.

Quiz: Are you clued up with cloud?