The Slack Platform Roadmap

We know that being a developer is hard, and building on a platform is not a decision to be made lightly. Many platforms have burned developers and we frequently see that risk highlighted. This is our response.

An ecosystem, a real platform, is shared. We are growing fast, but no one company alone could grow fast enough to meet the amount of potential in front of us. We are working hard, but no one team can work hard enough to meet the demand that lies before us all. Instead, we are building a platform where this potential, this demand, is shared. As we grow, developers are able to succeed with us; sharing our customers and joining us in changing the way people do work. In turn, our customers are delighted, new customers have even more reason to use Slack, and the cycle continues.

An ecosystem in its healthiest form creates a virtuous cycle. Platforms do fail. We’ll make mistakes, but we’re building for something much greater. We are building for a future where Slack is dwarfed by the aggregate value of the companies built on top of it. This is our success as a platform — when the value of the businesses built on top of us is, in sum, larger than we can ever be.

So, today we’re sharing our platform product roadmap. It is a small step in equipping you to claim this opportunity with us. There are three major platform product themes to highlight: app discovery, interactivity and developer experience — you can see more on this card.

We’re also sharing what we’re calling an Ideaboard — a list of useful ideas that could be built into Slack apps per conversations we’ve had with our customers. Our App Directory debuted in December with 150 apps and now we have over 385. On top of that, those apps are being used by Slack customers — 90% of our paid teams on Slack actively use apps. The goal of the Ideaboard is to continue this momentum by creating a bridge between our developer community and our customers’ needs.

If you are building on Slack, install our brand new Slack Platform News App to stay in touch. Add the app to your team’s Slack and you’ll stay in the loop, receiving news from us every two weeks to the channel or DM of your choosing.

Come, transform teams, and build the future of work with us. You can always reach us on Twitter @Slack API, or start building at api.slack.com.