Read on Twitter
1/ lots of people have “enterprise blindness” and it’s stopping them from seeing the . @SlackHQ + @salesforce acquisition as the masterstroke that it really is...
2/ for those of us on the outside, “the enterprise” is this huge, nebulous blackhole
but the more I work with enterprise companies, the more I see how radically, mind-bendingly different it is to the world of startups and SMBs:
but the more I work with enterprise companies, the more I see how radically, mind-bendingly different it is to the world of startups and SMBs:
3/ digital transformation is not passé - it’s still happening, and on a scale I thought was impossible
(e.g. I talked to a company with a 500-person sales team that was still using... spreadsheets) https://twitter.com/thinking_slow/status/1255874409086287879?s=20
(e.g. I talked to a company with a 500-person sales team that was still using... spreadsheets) https://twitter.com/thinking_slow/status/1255874409086287879?s=20
4/ the products that are too corporate and uncool for SMBs (i.e. everything Microsoft) are the absolute backbone of the enterprise
every enterprise NDA and RFP we get comes through in a Word Doc
every enterprise NDA and RFP we get comes through in a Word Doc
5/ this “enterprise blindness” is why most regular normal non-enterprise humans have no freaking idea what Salesforce is: https://twitter.com/TimHerrera/status/1333900379285753857
6/ Salesforce solves problems we don’t have, in ways we can’t relate to
...but despite a veneer of familiarity, Slack is the same type of product
There are orders of magnitude more revenue and growth potential in the enterprise. That’s the REAL market they’re going after
...but despite a veneer of familiarity, Slack is the same type of product
There are orders of magnitude more revenue and growth potential in the enterprise. That’s the REAL market they’re going after
7/ From the SMB perspective, this acquisition sucks.
We don’t use Salesforce and it’s a move away from supporting our pet use cases, like niche “communities:” https://twitter.com/saikofish/status/1334263468548034572?s=20
We don’t use Salesforce and it’s a move away from supporting our pet use cases, like niche “communities:” https://twitter.com/saikofish/status/1334263468548034572?s=20
8/ but the thing is... Slack is an enterprise tool masquerading as SMB-friendly
its usefulness to SMBs (free, easy to adopt, integrations aplenty) is a byproduct of an bottoms-up enterprise sales strategy, not a feature
its usefulness to SMBs (free, easy to adopt, integrations aplenty) is a byproduct of an bottoms-up enterprise sales strategy, not a feature
9/ and despite @stewart’s bravado, Teams is eating Slack’s lunch
it’s a no-brainer: a fully-integrated suite of complementary tools (Microsoft)
...or a hodge-podge of kinda-sorta-integrated tools (Slack, G Suite, Salesforce, etc.) https://www.zdnet.com/article/as-microsoft-touts-teams-growth-slack-ceo-says-its-not-a-competitor/
it’s a no-brainer: a fully-integrated suite of complementary tools (Microsoft)
...or a hodge-podge of kinda-sorta-integrated tools (Slack, G Suite, Salesforce, etc.) https://www.zdnet.com/article/as-microsoft-touts-teams-growth-slack-ceo-says-its-not-a-competitor/
10/ but @Benioff realises that the problem of being a “hodge podge” is only a couple of (relatively) small acquisitions away, like...
11/ https://www.troops.ai/
Slack and Salesforce feel a little disconnected... until you realise that there’s an entire ecosystem of smaller companies that exist solely to bridge this gap
Slack and Salesforce feel a little disconnected... until you realise that there’s an entire ecosystem of smaller companies that exist solely to bridge this gap
12/ Companies like http://Troops.ai and people like @britton have already solved the “connect Salesforce and Slack” problem
Acquire Troops, and Salesforce has a seamless two-way acquisition channel, bringing Slack users into Salesforce and Salesforce users into Slack
Acquire Troops, and Salesforce has a seamless two-way acquisition channel, bringing Slack users into Salesforce and Salesforce users into Slack
13/ Salesforce is the system of record, Slack is the front-end interface, and companies like Troops provide the feature set
Buy a few companies like Troops, and Salesforce has a truly integrated ecosystem... one that can compete with Microsoft
Buy a few companies like Troops, and Salesforce has a truly integrated ecosystem... one that can compete with Microsoft
14/ Heck, Troops predicted this in 2016:
“We believe that messaging or conversation will be the de facto UI for a growing number of software applications”
Salesforce has famously dated UX; what better solution than using Slack as the next-gen front-end? https://www.troops.ai/blog/introducing-troops
“We believe that messaging or conversation will be the de facto UI for a growing number of software applications”
Salesforce has famously dated UX; what better solution than using Slack as the next-gen front-end? https://www.troops.ai/blog/introducing-troops
15/ Tl;dr - Slack buying Salesforce is a smart move. The only people that don’t benefit are the people that aren’t either company’s primary audience
Oh - and @Benioff and Salesforce are about hoover-up a whole bunch of smaller startups
Oh - and @Benioff and Salesforce are about hoover-up a whole bunch of smaller startups
