By
Oren Todoros,
Updated on February 26, 2024,
21 min read
One of the most critical tools that companies with a remote workforce need is proper instant messaging. When deployed and used correctly, an instant messaging tool for business can be a vital piece of your ability to stay in touch with your employees and colleagues while also fostering productivity.
In this article, we take a look at some of the best solutions for instant messaging in the workplace and lay out their pros, cons. As new solutions come to the market, we will continually update it, so bookmark this page and check it often. Technology software moves at a fast pace, so the best solution for today might not be the best solution for tomorrow.
What is Instant Messaging?
Instant messaging may be ubiquitous in the age of the smartphone, but that doesn’t mean we all understand exactly what it is and how it works! At its core, Instant messaging (IM) is a form of communication that allows people to exchange text-based messages in real-time. It enables two or more people to have a conversation through a chat window or interface, regardless of their physical location.
It negates the need for cell phone coverage, relying purely on the internet, and is often used in place of email, SMS, and phone calls. It can be used for personal or business communication and is an extremely popular way to communicate with friends, family members, colleagues, or customers.
Finally, to protect user privacy and prevent unauthorized access to messages, instant messaging platforms typically use end-to-end encryption. This means that messages are encrypted on the sender’s device, transmitted in an encrypted format through the server, and decrypted only on the recipient’s device—simple, right?
How we Chose the Best Instant Messaging Apps for Business
We considered the following criteria when choosing the best instant messaging apps for business:
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Collaboration – Does the app provide a platform for collaboration, such as file sharing and project management?
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Ease of use – Is the app easy to learn and use?
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Design – Does the app have a modern and user-friendly interface?
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Security – Is the app secure and confidential?
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Supporting platforms – Is the app cross-platform, so that users on different devices can communicate with each other?
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Pricing – Does the app have a fair pricing plan?
Discover:
Want iMessage for PC? We’ve got the Solution for You
11 Best Instant Messaging Apps for Business
1. Spike
Spike is an all-in-one productivity platform that delivers business chat for teams as part of a wider suite of work tools. It excels at serving as an instant messaging software in business because it’s built on top of something every business already uses: email.
Simple and Secure Business Chat
Spike turns your average inbox into a supercharged instant messaging tool that’s easy to use because it looks and feels like a messenger application. The simplicity of email, a tool that practically every employee is already comfortable with, has been brought into the 21st century by stripping away all the unwanted clutter like headers and signatures.
What’s more, because Spike is based on email, it can work internally and externally with all stakeholders – no closed-silo communications here. This means whether you’re talking with colleagues about the latest project or doing customer support for your most important client, Spike’s got you covered.
Collaboration Goes Beyond Communication for Effective Businesses
Spike includes collaborative online notes with synchronized real-time editing available to both Spike users and anyone outside of your company who needs to be part of the project. Spike users can edit their Notes inside the Spike app, while non-Spike users can edit right inside of a web browser.
Spike also offers Groups, which allows your business to divide contacts by team, project, or anything else. These groups are then able to collaborate through email chat, file sharing, pictures, videos, GIFs, and more, and have the option to send voice messages or jump on a call at the tap of a button.
Align With Team Members for more Streamlined Collaboration
In the modern workplace, there are often things pulling us in a thousand different directions, which is in addition to our personal lives. Spike allows you to get your work life in order using tasks and to-do lists, so you can spend less time worrying about what’s on your plate.
Spike also enables users to align all their calendars in a single place to save swapping back and forth between different apps. All your team can then easily align their calendars from within their Inbox, where they’re already chatting!
Business Chat using Voice Messages
Instant messaging is a fantastic tool for businesses of any size, but nothing holds a candle to actually speaking when it comes to more complex communication. However, in the modern world of work, teams can be distributed across different cities, states, and time zones, so finding a time to talk can be impossible.
This problem is where Voice Messages shine! There is a reason there has been a steady growth in audio-only services in recent years, and business communication is no exception. Spike offers Voice Messages for when you need to be more expressive, all from within the same chat platform.
Business Chat with Video Meetings
Video meetings and business chat are used for two very different things. One is simple and fast – a quick and clean way to communicate something with a few lines of text. The other is useful when a topic needs further explanation, or a lot of back-and-forth discussion is inevitable.
They are different tools for different jobs. That’s why with Spike, you can seamlessly switch between the two. In the middle of a chat with a colleague? Simply hit the Video Meeting button if you need to hash out some details quickly.
Intuitive Design for Better Business Communication
Spike offers a simple modern design that creates a digital workspace with all of the tools needed for any business, including email, chat, group chat, file sharing, online Notes with collaboration, and more.
Through the use of a clean interface with all tools readily available, all employees can quickly and easily get to grips with Spike. Having everything in a single place, nobody gets lost in the web of apps other digital workspaces are based upon.
Business Chat – Where You Need It When You Need It
Spike is also cross-platform, meaning it works seamlessly on Mac, PC, Android, iOS, and even a web version so those on Chromebooks can use this instant messaging tool in the workplace. Spike has a free version for personal use and offers plenty of flexibility with pricing for business users.
Simple and Secure Business Chat with Spike
Spike is fast to deploy because a user only has to sign in with their existing Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 login to get signed up. A company IT department can easily deploy the Spike app to company devices to have everyone chatting in no time.
What’s more, once deployed, this business chat is always secure. Spike is ad-free and doesn’t rent, sell, distribute or monetize your data. Furthermore, message data is encrypted using AES-256 encryption, and the whole platform has passed a security audit by an independent security evaluator.
How Good is Spike as a Business Chat App?
Let’s use our criteria to have a quick overview of how Spike stacks up as a business chat solution.
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Communication – internal and external communication through chat as well as video calls, voice calls, and voice messages.
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Collaboration – Online Notes and Groups allow for quick collaboration between team members and people outside your organization.
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Ease of use – sign in with any email and use it as an instant messaging service for ultimate ease of use.
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Design – clean, straightforward design makes Spike easy to use and a pleasure to work in.
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Security – Spike offers a host of security features, including chat message encryption.
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Supporting platforms – Mac, PC, Android, iOS, and the we
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Pricing – Spike offers a completely free version as well as business account options.
MessageDesk is a shared team inbox built around business text messaging, website chat, and forms. The platform’s user-friendly interface and integration capabilities make it a versatile tool for businesses and organizations aiming to streamline their communication processes, improve customer engagement, and enhance operational efficiency.
Who’s MessageDesk best suited for?
MessageDesk works well for small to medium-sized businesses with teams that communicate primarily using SMS. It’s well-suited for organizations and teams looking for efficient ways to communicate with their customers, members, or clients.
It provides tools for mass texting, group messaging, and automated communication workflows, making it ideal for those who need to manage high volumes of messages or want to maintain personalized communication at scale.
MessageDesk texting platform for businesses
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Communication – MessageDesk offers business text messaging, internal team chat with comments, website chatbot, and forms for starting conversations.
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Collaboration – MessageDesk built its shared team inbox around collaboration with granular inbox notification settings, conversation settings, and team permissions.
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Ease of use – The platform is user-friendly and best supports smaller teams of between 2 and 50 within organizations.
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Design – MessageDesk’s interface is clean, simple, and easy to navigate.
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Security – MessageDesk uses SSL/TLS encryption to ensure secure communication and data transfer.
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Supporting platforms – MacOS, Windows, and Linux, as well as on tablets and smartphones running iOS and Android., PC, Android, iOS, and the web
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Pricing – MessageDesk pricing starts at $27 per month for 1 user and 500 SMS credits. Plans for larger teams and enterprises are also available.
Slack has become a popular choice for teams and groups looking to use instant messaging software for business. It’s a responsive solution for fast-paced working environments, but it has some significant limitations, mainly because it is only a chat app.
Third-Party Integrations to Boost Features
Slack does an exceptional job of third-party integrations, so you can create automations to send an alert to a Slack channel when a crash is observed in software or when an e-commerce store completes a sale, for example. This is in addition to other integrations that boost features such as Google Drive for file sharing.
Multiple Communication Channels
As with other business chat platforms, Slack has realized the power of incorporating other communications channels into its offering. In this case, Slack now provides video and voice calls between employees at a company from within the platform, making it simpler to jump on a call when a topic requires more discussion.
Unfortunately, for more robust video conferencing tools, Slack still requires third-party integrations from the likes of Zoom, Cisco Webex Meetings, or other providers. This means more subscriptions, more costs, and more hassle when navigating and remembering the various single-tool apps.
Staying Secure Under Salesforce?
Slack includes robust security features, but many Slack customers are concerned about how the platform might evolve now that a large company, Salesforce, has taken ownership. Pricing is usually a concern for existing customers when a larger corporation purchases a smaller one.
The Simplicity of Operations
From a simplicity perspective, Slack can be more complicated for teams to learn. It can be confusing what a direct message is and what is in a channel, and the privacy implications around that reality. If something is said in a channel on one day, a person could be added to the channel the next day and then see all that was said previously.
Does Slack Let You Communicate with Customers?
Slack is mainly aimed at internal communications, but it did recently build a solution to chat externally. However, it was panned for the lack of control for receiving messages from unwanted people.
That said, for internal use, Slack does work cross-platform, so it is available to your whole team regardless of whether they’re working on Mac, PC, Android, iOS, or through a web browser.
Slack as a Business Chat App
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Communication – Slack is very focused on text chat but now offers video and voice calls as well. However, they are all for internal communication.
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Collaboration – Slack users can collaborate on work through the use of third-party integrations.
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Ease of use – there can be some difficulty in using Slack if your employees don’t have experience in a channel vs. DM platform.
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Design – the design is clear but can be a little busy, especially as things expand
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Security – Slack offers very robust security
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Supporting platforms – Mac, PC, Android, iOS, and the web
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Pricing – Slack offers free accounts, with Pro users paying from $6.67 per account/month and Businesses from $12.50 per account/month.
Microsoft Teams is one of the newest solutions on the market as an instant messaging tool in the business world. It was developed as a response to Slack becoming so popular in the workplace. Since Microsoft already has Microsoft Outlook, they now have multiple products aimed at communication, with Outlook focused on external communication, and Teams focused on internal communication.
Part of a Whole Ecosystem, but Somehow Still Separate
Microsoft Teams is part of an organization’s Microsoft 365 subscriptions, so it’s not nearly as easy to purchase if you are already using Google Workspace or other productivity tools since it is part of a larger solution.
What’s more, since Microsoft Teams is part of a multi-app suite, deployment becomes slightly more cumbersome. Employees have to learn and understand different products and check multiple apps throughout the day. Having too many places to check slows down other work as employees just spend their time keeping their inboxes from overflowing.
Video Conferencing
The other major component of Microsoft Teams, apart from chat, is video conferencing, and it does this very well. In addition, it offers powerful internal and external communication tools, including integrations with the other office apps for presenting work.
That said, it is one of the more confusing video meeting platforms out there with a relatively steep learning curve. In addition, users must have other Microsoft services integrated for some of the more advanced features, which can quickly become very challenging.
A Calendar in Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams also offers an integrated calendar, which can be used to organize employees’ time, specifically by planning video meetings on the platform. While different calendars can be combined, it is a challenging process for even the most tech-savvy members of your team.
Microsoft Teams is available cross-platform, so regardless of the types of devices your workplace uses, Teams is available as a native app or Microsoft 365 web edition.
How is Microsoft Teams for Business Chat?
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Communication – Microsoft Teams offers chat channels as well as video and voice calls. While chat is internal, video conferencing can be used with anybody.
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Collaboration – the most powerful collaboration tools come if your business integrates Office applications such as Microsoft Word.
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Ease of use – Teams is considerably harder to use and deploy than other chat apps
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Design – The design of Teams, when considered as a standalone platform, is clean and modern.
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Security – Microsoft Teams is considered a very secure chat platform
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Supporting platforms – Mac, PC, Android, iOS, and the web
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Pricing – while Teams is technically free for Outlook users, most will get it as part of an Office 365 package which varies massively in price.
Billed as business chat app that’s designed to go beyond team communication, Rocket.Chat packs in plenty of features that make this open-source technology a versatile entry to our list. This means that it’s a great choice for businesses with the ability and will to tailor the app to their needs, particularly where data security is concerned.
Rocket.Chat Inside and Out
One of the core features of Rocket.Chat is that it enables users to connect with external partners and customers regardless of the specific channel they use. This means you can have your fully customized company chat reach out to your partners fully customized chat and enjoy all of the functionality the app provides.
Video Conferencing and More
Rocket.Chat allows for in-chat video conferencing on the go using integrated apps—and of course, third-party app integration doesn’t stop there. Offering unlimited integrations with apps such as Zoom, Google Drive, Salesforce, and Hubspot, you have a world of functionality at your fingertips. Additionally, developers can create apps specifically suited to your business needs.
Rocket.Chat as an IM Business App
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Communication – Rocket.Chat delivers multiple chat channels as well as video and voice calls through third-party apps.
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Collaboration – Excellent in-house collaboration with the option of extending chats to outside of your business.
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Ease of use – Because of its open-source nature, Rocket.Chat may be complex to set up for your specific business needs without developers.
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Design – The design of Rocket.Chat is extremely flexible, allowing you to create your own IM app.
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Security – Secure and compliant platform that allows you to own your data
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Supporting platforms – Mac, PC, Android, Linux, and as SaaS
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Pricing – Pricing varies considerably depending on the particular type of installation or service.
Sometimes original is best, sometimes it’s not—and for Webex the jury is still out. Generally considered among the first companies to offer video conferencing and instant messaging directly targeting businesses, the app has now expanded to feature voice calls, meetings, and events in the cloud.
Webex as Trusted App
The Webex IM business app plays host to a boatload of Fortune 500 companies, making it one of the most high-profile instant messaging platforms around. With this is mind, the app has expanded its feature set to interactive webinars for up 100,000 attendees, alongside a streamlined interface for team messaging and file sharing both inside and outside your business.
Webex IM for your business
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Communication – Webex messaging allows you to chat and share files both internally and externally on a range of devices.
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Collaboration – Virtual presentations an excellent feature of video conferencing that allow seamless connection to apps such as PowerPoint.
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Ease of use – Some users find the user interface to be a little tricky to learn intuitively
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Design – The design of Webex flexible enough to allow the use of APIs across most functions.
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Security – Webex claims it is secure by default, but certain vulnerabilities have been exposed in the past
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Supporting platforms – Mac, PC, Android
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Pricing – You can get a very basic IM from Webex for free, but if you want basic video conferencing the price starts at $13.50 per month.
Trusted by organizations and companies such as NASA and Nike, is a team communication and collaboration app that helps teams to communicate, collaborate and manage projects more efficiently. It offers features such as instant messaging, task management, file sharing, and video conferencing, as well as advanced Kanban boards and to-do lists.
Chanty with AI chat
Chanty boasts several unique features that set it apart from other team communication and collaboration tools. Among them is the use of uses AI technology to suggest responses, making communication faster and more efficient. In addition, you’ll find unlimited search history where all communication and files are stored and searchable, making it easy to find information and revisit past conversations, as well as customizable workspaces.
Chanty instant messenger for businesses
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Communication – Chanty easily integrates with popular tools such as Slack and Teams, meaning communication is not limited to the Chanty IM interface.
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Collaboration – Kanban boards and to-do lists supported by customizable workspaces for teams makes collaboration on individual project simple.
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Ease of use – Some users may find the user interface of Chanty to be less intuitive or less polished compared to other tools, and chats across multiple apps can get lost.
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Design – The Chanty mobile app may have limited functionality compared to the desktop version, and some features may not be available on mobile.
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Security – Provides end-to-end encryption and permissions controls.
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Supporting platforms – Mac, PC, iOS, Android, and web
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Pricing – Starting at $3 user/month for businesses, Chanty is very affordable.
Ryver is a team communication and collaboration platform that combines elements of chat, task management, and team email. It is designed to help teams communicate and stay organized in one centralized place. In addition, you’ll find file sharing and storage, customizable workspaces and task boards, and integrations with other tools such as Google Drive, as well as video and audio calls.
Ryver a balanced choice?
Ryver’s combination of chat, task management, and team email gives it an edge over some less complex instant messenger apps, however, it doesn’t really excel at any of these. It may be a good choice for businesses that don’t need support for custom integrations, reliable video and audio conferencing, and limited support for mobile applications.
Ryver IM platform for businesses
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Communication – One app for all you communication makes instant messaging simple and effective.
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Collaboration – Group messaging is simple with unlimited chats and topics, additionally, simple task management tools help with project management.
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Ease of use – Some users have found functionality and usability could be improved.
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Design – The Ryver app is clean and uncluttered, and users find it easy to use. However, there is no app for Mac OS.
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Security – Provides encryption in transit and at rest using SSL/TLS and AES-256 encryption.
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Supporting platforms – PC, iOS, Android, and web
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Pricing – Starting at $69 per month for up to 12 users with enterprise packages available on request.
Formerly a staple of call centers around the world, Ring Central has now branched out into instant messaging. The app allows users to communicate in real-time with other users within their organization and offers features such as group chat, file sharing, and screen sharing. This does, however, rely on the Ring Central ecosystem, meaning its closed off to email communications.
Easy integration for call centers
For call centers and other phone-based companies using the Ring Central cloud-based communication platform, Ring Central IM may be a good option. This means video and voice calling across the app, as well as instant messaging for businesses with file sharing and screen sharing.
Instant messaging for businesses from Ring Central
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Communication – Excellent communication within the Ring Central ecosystem. Good choice for call centers.
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Collaboration – Group messaging is available in the basic packages.
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Ease of use – Requires and understanding of the Ring Central cloud-based communication platform.
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Design – The Ring Central has received good reviews from mist users, with good support for mobile.
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Security – Provides industry-standard encryption technologies with simple compliance with HIPAA, SOC 2, and PCI DSS.
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Supporting platforms – Mac, PC, iOS, Android, and web
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Pricing – Starting at $19.99 per month/per user for the Essential package and rising to $49.99 per month/per user for the Ultimate package.
With instant messaging, audio and video calls, file sharing, task management, and screen sharing features, Troop Messenger provides a comprehensives platform for teams to collaborate and communicate. It aims to provide a centralized location for team communication and collaboration, making it easier for teams to stay organized and productive.
Is Troop Messenger a good Instant Messenger?
Troop Messenger provides a comprehensive set of features for team communication and collaboration, and its screen sharing feature is particularly useful. However, it may not be the best choice for businesses that require advanced features such as custom integrations or a mobile app with offline access.
Troop Messenger IM platform for businesses
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Communication – Troop Messenger provides instant messaging and audio and video calling features to facilitate team communication.
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Collaboration – The platform offers a range of collaboration features such as file sharing, task management, and screen sharing.
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Ease of use – The platform is user-friendly and easy to navigate.
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Design – Troop Messenger’s interface is modern and clean, with customizable themes available for users who prefer a more personalized experience.
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Security – The platform uses SSL/TLS encryption to ensure secure communication and data transfer.
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Supporting platforms – MacOS, Windows, and Linux, as well as on tablets and smartphones running iOS and Android. It is also available as a web-based application.
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Pricing – Troop Messenger offers a free plan for small teams. For larger teams or customized enterprise solutions, the Premium Package comes in at $25 user/mo with Enterprise solutions at $5 user/mo. A new Superior Package begins at $9 user/mo.
11. Flock
Flock is a team communication and collaboration platform that offers powerful features including chat, video and audio calls, file sharing and storage, customizable workspaces, and integrations with other tools such as Google Drive. Its goal is to keep teams organized and efficient by providing a centralized location for communication.
Is Flock a well-rounded choice?
Flock offers a range of features that are useful for team communication and collaboration, but it does not excel in any one area. It may be a good choice for businesses that do not require reliable video and audio conferencing.
Flock IM platform for businesses
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Communication – Flock provides a unified app for team communication, making instant messaging easy and effective.
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Collaboration – Unlimited chats and channels are available for group messaging, and task management tools are also provided to assist with project management.
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Ease of use – The platform is generally user-friendly, although some users have reported issues with functionality and usability.
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Design – Flock’s interface is clean and straightforward, making it easy to navigate. However, there is no desktop app available for Linux users.
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Security – Flock uses SSL/TLS and AES-256 encryption to ensure secure communication, both in transit and at rest.
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Supporting platforms – MacOS, Windows, and Linux, as well as on tablets and smartphones running iOS and Android. In addition, Flock provides a web-based application.
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Pricing – Flock offers a complimentary plan for teams of up to 20 members, with the Pro Package priced at $4.50 per user per month. For teams exceeding 100 members, Enterprise Packages are available upon request.
Pros and Cons of Instant Messaging for Business
Before your business dive into the world of chat apps, consider closely the key features outlined as well as some of the overall pros and cons:
Pros
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Faster response time which means faster problem solving
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Smoother communication for teams even when working remotely
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Easier file sharing and storage
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All around quicker than traditional email
Cons
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If not built into email, it requires an entirely new software solution
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Additional training and onboarding requirements
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It can be overwhelming because it’s another inbox to manage and check
Summary
Having the right instant messaging app for your business can differentiate between a productive remote workforce and a non-productive one. The right balance to find for your team is a solution that allows for seamless collaboration without becoming a burden.
Some of the effective use of instant messaging software for business will come down to culture. An essential tip for all teams to remember is that instant messaging in business should be viewed as asynchronous. If a teammate is focused on a project, they can’t be expected to respond to every instant message as it comes in.
Oren Todoros
Oren is a strategic thinker with over 20 years of experience in the marketing industry and is the current Head of Content Strategy at Spike. He's also the proud father of 3 beautiful daughters and a dog named Milo.