Everything You Need To Know To Export Slack Data
Find yourself wondering how to export Slack data? messages, conversations, channels, workspaces, and more from Slack. In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know to export messages, conversations, channels, workspaces and more.
As the fastest-growing enterprise software of our time, Slack is quickly taking over modern workplace communication. At the click of a button, team members can send a direct message, share a file, start a channel to collaborate on a project, and so much more.
Slack creates an internal hub of collaboration that pushes work forward in a way that never-ending email chains simply can’t. Needless to say, Slack is supercharging organizations’ efficiency in new ways, and most will tell you, they can’t live without it.
While adopting a tool like Slack is beneficial from a productivity standpoint, your compliance and legal teams might be a little unaccustomed to its structure. Like introducing any new technology for the first time, these teams will naturally have a lot of questions. Some common questions might be:
- Is there support for Slack eDiscovery?
- How do I export Slack data?
- How do I export Slack messages?
- Can I export Slack direct messages?
- What do I do if I want to export Slack private messages?
The good news is there are answers to all of these questions, but this article will cover one of the most popular questions which are, “How do I export Slack data?” The short answer is, Slack offers what they call their “Discovery API” (which is only offered on Slack’s Enterprise Grid plan) to export Slack data.
Through Slack’s Discovery API, Org Owners can use approved third-party apps to pull messages and files from Slack and store them in separate data warehouses.
Slack has chosen trusted partners to help organizations export their Slack data for eDiscovery (eDiscovery is the technical term in which electronic data is sought, located, secured, and searched) purposes. We’ll get into how to fill Slack eDiscovery needs in the following section.
Slack eDiscovery
For organizations using Slack plan, it’s essential to have the ability to conduct eDiscovery in a timely and efficient matter. Potential scenarios include issues related to human resources, legal, or finance, for example.
Whether you’re conducting an internal investigation, prompted by litigation, or need to locate information for compliance purposes, having a Slack eDiscovery plan in place is crucial.
First, you need to understand who can conduct eDiscovery for Slack by understanding the two requirements:
- As mentioned previously, you need to be on Slack’s Enterprise Grid plan. (Slack’s Discovery API must be enabled on the account.)
- You need to be a Slack Enterprise Owner or have access to the Owner.
Second, you need to need to understand Slack’s Discovery API. Slack’s Discovery API connects Slack Enterprise Grid organizations to a customer’s partner of choice.
The Primary Org Owner or an Org Owner can request for Slack to enable the Discovery API. Once enabled, it will be accessible to all of your Org Owners.
Third, you’ll need to find a third-party Slack eDiscovery partner. This app will help you pull data, conversations, messages, and files from Slack, and store the information for you to search, archive, or retrieve your data as needed. (Here are the top 10 things to look for in an eDiscovery software.)
By using a trusted partner like Onna (who Slack has invested in), you can use an advanced processing engine that uses machine learning to index your Slack data, making it easier than ever to find and collect exactly what you need.
How Do I Actually Export Slack Data
After talking you through the technicalities above, let’s walk through how you actually export your Slack data. I’m going to use Onna as an example since you’ll need a third-party tool to export the data.
The way Slack’s Discovery API works is it exports data in what’s called JSON format. Third-party tools like Onna pull this JSON file, index the data, and give you access to all the Slack data you need.
It’s pretty simple once you sign up for an Onna account. All you need to do is connect Slack to Onna and start collecting. See what can all be collected here.
For a full breakdown, see — How to collect from Slack Enterprise using the Discovery API.
Summary
While Slack may be important for your organization’s productivity, eDiscovery for Slack is equally as important. Having the ability to export Slack data like public conversations, private conversations, direct messages, files, links, and everything in between is critical for compliance and legal purposes. Setting up a plan will help protect your organization’s information
Learn more in this guide: The Beginner’s Guide to Slack eDiscovery
