Google has launched Hangouts Chat as an alternative to Slack. The new app will be made available to all users over the course of seven days starting February 28th and it is the latest addition to G Suite. Its main goal is to help companies communicate with employees from different parts of the world through a simple platform integrated with the Google products they already own.
All G Suite users will enjoy support for over 28 languages, and every Hangouts Chat room can accommodate over 8,000 members of a team. The app offers a wide variety of customization options so users can exploit its features to fit their every need.
These new features allow developers to install bots with integrated services into the app, meaning that this tool can be easily employed with other Google partner apps like Xero, RingCentral, UberConference, Salesforce, Zenefits, Trello, Wrike, and Kayak.
Hangouts Chat: An integrated platform to help your team stay aligned on projects and make decisions quicker. https://t.co/VK7MlPbQXV pic.twitter.com/vMsQqLimLE
— G Suite (@gsuite) March 1, 2018
What is Hangouts Chat?
Hangouts has been widely popular thanks to the rise of online jobs since opting to work remotely even through different platforms is possible due to Google’s high compatibility with its own system partners. Now Chat plans to expand on the collaborative aspect of a tool built for modern-day companies.
In fact, the very core idea of Hangout Chats has been inspired by the evolution of employability which consists in providing the employee with the comfort and ease of working from home. Since rising companies have diversified due to globalization, international jobs in companies have become commonplace both for bosses looking for new talent and employees looking for opportunities.
With new Hangouts Chat features, "global integration with your entire organization is well within your reach." More from @Forbes ↓ https://t.co/Pa4YPlMTSv
— G Suite (@gsuite) March 2, 2018
How does Hangouts Chat compare to Slack and Microsoft Teams?
Google’s Hangouts Chat is a new application for a market in which the company’s current position is not the best. The leader at the moment is Microsoft’s Teams holding 37 percent of shares in the global market of collaboration software, with rival Slack behind holding a 5 percent share.
The short leader board clears out the fact that Google’s Hangouts Chat is a direct competitor to Slack, their current adversary for the runner-up spot. Google’s extensive integrations and features may be a threat, but Slack has carved itself a worthy spot in the tech scene as more than a communication tool.
Slack features a cloud-based support for its collaboration tools for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. It has been characterized for applying the marketing philosophy of accessibility through every platform, and it recently became the only collaboration tool made available for the Apple Watch.
Source: Google
