Slack is partnering with Amazon Web Services to integrate AWS management functions into Slack channels, among other integrations between the two.

The integrations primarily involve Slack incorporating AWS functionality and products into its system in several ways that will benefit organizations that use both Slack and AWS, the companies said. 

Slack also said it “will use a range of AWS services, including storage, compute, database, security, analytics, and machine learning, to develop new collaboration features,” while AWS’ part in the deal seems limited to adopting Slack as its internal collaboration platform.

Behind-the-scenes integrations are just one element of the Slack/AWS partnership, and many elements of the new deal between the two companies will affect Slack and AWS users as well.

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What Slack and AWS users can expect

There are four major things that Slack announced as part of its new integration partnership with AWS, and each will affect enterprise Slack customers who use AWS.

The most invisible change coming as part of the partnership is Slack’s migration of the infrastructure for its Slack Calls video calling and conferencing service to Amazon Chime. Slack said this migration will allow it to eliminate the overhead of maintaining its own video conferencing infrastructure and “leverage AWS’s proven infrastructure to deliver high-quality and reliable user experiences.”

Slack said the Amazon Chime migration won’t have a direct effect on users, at least in the short term. Over time “the move will allow us to add new features, such as mobile video, so users can continue to rely on Slack for secure enterprise communication.”

One thing that Slack users will definitely see is the addition of AWS Chatbot to Slack. While AWS Chatbot already exists and is actively being used, Slack said that the plan is to continue integrating the AWS Chatbot service to incorporate all of AWS’ services “to give developers the ability to collaborate with their teams to manage all of their cloud-based services without leaving Slack.”

The Slack AWS Chatbot is able to send alerts in Slack channels when errors occur, lets developers run AWS command line interface commands, and can provide reports and other diagnostic data, all inside of Slack.

Amazon AppFlow is also getting a Slack integration as part of the partnership. AppFlow in Slack will allow users to transfer data between Slack and AWS services like S3 and Redshift without having to manually download and upload data, and in coming months will support bidirectional data transfer inside of Slack channels. 

Finally, Slack’s Enterprise Key Management (EKM), which has operated on AWS Key Management Service since 2019, is getting additional features that will allow Slack users to automate routine key security processes through integration with Slack’s workflow builder.

Slack said its goal in the partnership is to create an alliance that allows enterprises to unlock their capabilities to innovate. “By integrating AWS services with Slack’s channel-based messaging platform, we’re helping teams easily and seamlessly manage their cloud infrastructure projects and launch cloud-based services without ever leaving Slack,” said Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield. 

“Together, AWS and Slack are giving developer teams the ability to collaborate and innovate faster on the front end with applications, while giving them the ability to efficiently manage their backend cloud infrastructure,” said AWS CEO Andy Jassy.

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