Slack Technologies Inc. today introduced a collection of new features for enterprises, including a capability called Slack Connect DMs, that will enable workers to directly message people at other companies.

The features debuted at the team chat provider’s virtual Frontiers event. They will advance Slack’s efforts to replace the traditional inbox, while potentially also making its platform more appealing to the large enterprise customers that contributed over half its revenues last quarter. 

Slack, whose platform is primarily used for internal communications, expanded its focus to external communications in 2017 with the launch of shared channels. Shared channels enable workers to connect with people at outside firms such as a company’s suppliers. Slack Connect DMs, the messaging capability announced at Frontiers, refines the concept by allowing workers to message external users directly without the hassle of setting up a shared channel.

The feature is paired with controls that will let enterprises regulate correspondence with people outside the organization. One such control, Managed Connections, makes it possible to limit which external companies and users are allowed to connect with employees. A complementary feature called Verified Organizations will add a checkmark to the profiles of trusted third parties. 

Slack has long positioned its team chat platform as an alternative to email. However, most companies primarily use Slack as an internal communications tool, meaning it serves as a only a partial substitute for the traditional inbox at those firms. Adding more features for external communications makes the platform a more robust email alternative and thereby strengthens a core pillar of its value proposition. 

Shared DMs and the associated controls are set to launch in 2021. At Frontier today, Slack executives also detailed a number of experimental features under development that are expected to arrive further down the road. One of the main projects in the works, Slack Chief Executive Officer Stewart Butterfield told The Verge, is a tool similar to Instagram Stories would allow users to post brief videos alongside chat channels.

In addition to the user-facing communications features, Slack today debuted enhancements for developers. The biggest enhancement is rolling out for Workflow Builder, an automation tool capable of performing actions like sending a chat greeting to new hires. Developers can now code “custom steps” for Workflow Builder that make it possible to automate a broader range of tasks, such as creating employee surveys and sending support requests to the information technology team.

The large customers to which Slack’s more advanced features cater are also a focus for its rivals. Last month, Microsoft Corp. introduced new discounts for companies that purchase Microsoft Teams with an Enterprise Agreement license. Shortly thereafter, it announced an update that expanded the collaboration features in Teams.

Photo: Slack