One of the largest IT service companies in the world, and consulting partner of both Slack and Salesforce, IBM is receiving the Digital HQ Excellence Award for using Slack as its digital HQ, innovatively leveraging the platform to transform its operations, automate the future of work and stay on the cutting edge of technology.
IBM is one of Slack’s largest customers with 250,000 global employees who send an average of 9.2 million Slack messages per day to facilitate work. Since 2015, the company has installed more than 3,500 off-the-shelf and custom apps and uses 3,400 workflows each month. In a display of their commitment to operating from a digital HQ, IBM’s executive team also uses Slack during ‘ask me anything’ sessions.
‘We use Slack every day at IBM. The fact that I can connect my Salesforce opportunities inside Slack and see exactly what’s going on from one single source of truth is invaluable.’
IBM’s CIO team drives the company’s implementation of Slack, led by director Konrad Lagarde and Slack product technical owner Guillermo Valdivia. ‘Thanks to Slack channels, workspaces and integrations, Slack transformed how IBM does business’, says Valdivia. ‘It’s magical. And then there’s Slack Connect, where you can collaborate and connect with external organisations right away, without waiting for emails.’
IBM has also deployed Salesforce Service Cloud across its service organisation, Salesforce Sales Cloud for its global sales function, and Salesforce partner management solutions to thousands of IBM business partners. These optimised solutions, with Watson AI-powered integrations, are speeding up problem resolution, improving insights and increasing business outcomes.
In relying on Slack to ensure that its teams and individuals stay connected and productive from anywhere, IBM is redefining the modern workplace and setting a new bar for IT service organisations. ‘People just gravitate toward Slack,’ says Bob McDonald, IBM’s Vice President of CRM Experience. ‘It’s so effective and intuitive that teams naturally want to use it. With Slack, you can deliver business results inside the company – as well as extend those to customers and partners.’
