There is basically no news of significance to me this week as the United States celebrates Thanksgiving a month late.  That’s why there was no Monday update, and why there will be no Friday update this week.  Here are a couple things I found interesting.

Salesforce is Attempting to buy Slack

I usually don’t like to talk about news that isn’t news yet, but something on the order of Salesforce potentially buying Slack deserves an exception.  Slack is a very popular collaboration platform and app that aimed to meld workplace chat, email, collaboration, and work into one app that would serve as the central communications hub for a workplace.  Slack rose in popularity because it was the first app that did what it did.  As time has gone on, there are other competitors moving into the space, most notably Microsoft with its Teams platform that is part of Office 365.  Microsoft has the huge benefit of a massive suite of other applications and systems that can work with Teams, allowing integration that Slack is not able to achieve.  Slack is a one trick pony that does its trick very well, but the tide is turning to the competition.

Salesforce buying Slack would be a huge boost to both companies.  Salesforce is known for cloud based Customer Relationship (CRM) software and related marketing and customer service tools.  Salesforce is probably one of the biggest companies that most people have never heard of, but their platform powers a huge number of smaller companies on the internet.  If Salesforce were to buy Slack and integrate it into its other tools, it could bring a big value add for Saleforce customers, while making Slack part of a wider suite of business tools that will help it not be a one trick pony.

This really could be a win for both sides, and we will see if this does go through.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-slack-tech-m-a-salesforce-com/salesforce-has-approached-slack-with-acquisition-offer-source-idUSKBN2852PA

Satellite Images Show The Impact of the Rise of Online Shopping

A really good article on how the rise of online shopping has literally changed landscapes.  As we all purchase more products online, and want faster delivery, companies like Amazon are building more, larger warehouse facilities, and building them closer to cities.  I find this interesting, as it shows what may be unintended consequences of our move to digital shopping.

https://www.theverge.com/21611862/satellite-images-online-shopping-growing-footprint-warehouses

Square-Enix Becomes the Latest Company to Permanently Move to Work From Home

Video game developer Square-Enix has become the most recent large company that has announced that it has decided to permanently move to a model where employees work from home.  I find this trend interesting, because while I do believe that work from home is a good idea, and there should be flexibility, I wonder how companies will adapt long term, and if in a few years we see any effects that come from people not meeting face to face more often.  I think there is a balance to be struck here, and that balance rests somewhere between “work from home forever” and “no one is allowed to work from home.”  I’m actually very curious to follow this trend over the next several years.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/25/21719219/square-enix-permanent-work-from-home-employees