Softcat Limited

Slack Pro Business+ Enterprise Grid, Encryption Key Management, AI, Sales Elevate, Premium Workflows

Slack brings the team together, wherever you are. With over 12 million daily users, Slack is the channel-based messaging platform that brings your communication and tools into one place so your teams will stay productive no matter where you’re working from. Slack has customer facing teams in London Dublin. SFDCSKS2024GC14

Features

• Organised conversations: Channels bring conversations (and people) together
• Searchable history: Search turns conversations into common knowledge
• Your tools: Work faster with your tools integrated into Channels
• Collaboration beyond colleagues: share channels with businesses you work
• Reduce complex, lengthy, confusing forms with simpler, accessible, guided processes
• Face-to-face and screen sharing with calls from Slack
• Integrated file sharing: Drop PDFs, images, videos, files into Slack

Benefits

• Increased productivity
• Faster communication
• Rapid access to the information you need
• Reduction in communication and information silos
• Better connected organisation
• Increased company transparency
• Increased company alignment

£68.83 a unit

• Education pricing available
• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at psitq@softcat.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

382353856508639

Contact

Charles Harrison
01628 403403
psitq@softcat.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: Slack can be used with a number of features for free, but if you need more features and functionality, we offer two paid plans from a G-Cloud perspective: Standard Plan and Plus Plan.; ; Please visit our pricing page (https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/pricing) to compare plans and features.
• System requirements:
  • Mac app, OS X 10.1 or later
  • Windows app, Windows 7 or later
  • IOS app, iOS 11.1 or later
  • Android app, Android 5.0 or later

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Slack does not provide an SLA with service credits although for Slack Plus Plan we do publicly state a goal of a 4 hour first response time.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: No
• Web chat support: Web chat
• Web chat support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), 7 days a week
• Web chat support accessibility standard: None or don’t know
• How the web chat support is accessible: Live chat is available on line at https://slack.com/help/contact. Please note that the user will have to be authenticated to our service to see that chat option on this page.
• Web chat accessibility testing: Testing has not been performed knowingly
• Onsite support: No
• Support levels: Slack prides itself on providing all customers with great support. We do not offer tiered support models (for example gold / premier) to Slack Standard Plan customers. We do however publicly state a 4 hour first response time goal for our Plus Plan customers.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: For larger customers, Slack's Customer Success team advises and guides a wide variety of customers, ensuring they launch Slack successfully, adopt it widely and are continually driving business value from Slack.; ; Slack's Help Center (https://get.slack.help/hc/en-us) provides user assistance..; ; Slack offers online learning capabilities at https://get.slack.help/hc/en-gb/articles/218080037-Getting-started-for-new-members.; ; In addition, we have the Slack Foundry app for app training: https://slackfoundry.builtbyslack.com/
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: HTML
• End-of-contract data extraction: Workspace Owners and Admins can export data from their workspace. Your export option depends on your Slack plan.; ; Full details are available at https://get.slack.help/hc/en-gb/articles/201658943-Export-your-workspace-data.
• End-of-contract process: Please refer to the response to the end-of-contract data extraction question above. Customers have access to their data at no additional cost.; ; Slack does not provide exit / transition services to support migration to future platforms or services.; ; Export capabilities are available at https://get.slack.help/hc/en-gb/articles/201658943-Export-your-workspace-data

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
• Application to install: Yes
• Compatible operating systems:
  • Android
  • IOS
  • Linux or Unix
  • MacOS
  • Windows
  • Windows Phone
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: Whilst there are subtle differences, Slack's mobile apps have broadly the same end user functionality as the desktop apps.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: Slack users can read and write data Web, RTM, and Events APIs.; ; The Web API (https://api.slack.com/web) interface queries information to and from a Slack workspace.; ; The Real-Time Messaging API (https://api.slack.com/rtm) is a WebSocket-based API to receive events from Slack in real-time and send messages as users.; ; The Events API (https://api.slack.com/events-api) is a way to build apps and bots that respond to Slack activities.; ; Customers on the Plus plan can provision and manage user accounts and groups with the Slack SCIM API (https://api.slack.com/scim).; ; For more information on our APIs, including limitations (e.g. rate limiting), please see our API site (https://api.slack.com/).
• Accessibility standards: None or don’t know
• Description of accessibility: N/A
• Accessibility testing: Testing not knowingly completed
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: Slack users can read and write data Web, RTM, and Events APIs.; ; The Web API (https://api.slack.com/web) interface queries information to and from a Slack workspace.; ; The Real-Time Messaging API (https://api.slack.com/rtm) is a WebSocket-based API to receive events from Slack in real-time and send messages as users.; ; The Events API (https://api.slack.com/events-api) is a way to build apps and bots that respond to Slack activities.; ; Customers on the Plus plan can provision and manage user accounts and groups with the Slack SCIM API (https://api.slack.com/scim).; ; For more information on our APIs, including limitations (e.g. rate limiting), please see our API site (https://api.slack.com/).
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: HTML
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Slack is most useful when all your teammates, tools, and work are in one place. By adding apps to Slack, you can connect your most important tools, centralise all your work, and say goodbye to juggling all those windows.; ; Apps can be built to do just about anything, so no two will work alike.; ; There are two ways to browse for apps: in the App Directory or right in Slack.; ; The App Directory lists every app that can be integrated with Slack. No matter what your area or specialty, there’s an app to help make your work more pleasant, productive, and hopefully fun!; ; If you'd like to see the apps already in use by other members as well as discover new ones, there’s no need to even leave Slack. On your desktop, simply click the plus icon next to Apps in the left sidebar.; ; Workspace Owners have the ability to approve or restrict apps for their members.; ; Are you interested in building a Slack app? Visit the Slack API site (https://api.slack.com/) to get started.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Slack utilizes services provided by its hosting providers (AWS and GCP) to distribute its production operation. Production transactions are replicated among these discrete operating environments, to protect the availability of Slack’s service.; ; In addition, most aspects of the Slack platform are rate limited. Given the variety of different kinds of inbound and outbound APIs made available, how and when rate limiting occurs differs between features.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: See where (either public or private channels) people send the most messages. Sort public channels by metrics like name, total members, or messages sent. Get a snapshot of members’ message activity. We update workspace analytics data once per day.
• Reporting types: Real-time dashboards

Resellers

• Supplier type: Reseller (no extras)
• Organisation whose services are being resold: Salesforce

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: None

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations:
  • United Kingdom
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
  • Other locations
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Managed by a third party
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: Another external penetration testing organisation
• Protecting data at rest:
  • Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v3.0
  • Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
  • Encryption of all physical media
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type:
  • Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
  • Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: On all plans, Workspace Owners may use the Standard Export to export content from public channels only. Standard Exports will include links to files, but not files themselves.; ; On the Plus plan, Workspace Owners can apply to access Corporate Export, a self-serve export tool that permits a Workspace Owner to export content from private channels and direct/group messages as needed and permitted by law.; ; On the Standard plan, Workspace Owners must contact Slack and apply to export content from private channels and direct/group messages.
• Data export formats: Other
• Other data export formats: JSON
• Data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data import formats:
  • Another Slack workspace
  • A text file
  • A third-party app: HipChat, Flowdock, Campfire, or Chatwork

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Legacy SSL and TLS (under version 1.2)
  • Other
• Other protection between networks: All data transmitted between Slack clients and the Slack service is done so using strong; encryption protocols. Slack supports the latest recommended secure cipher suites to encrypt all traffic in transit, including use of TLS 1.2 protocols, AES256 encryption and SHA2 signatures, whenever supported by the clients.; ; Within Slack networks, with Enterprise Key Management (EKM) enabled, all data is encrypted prior to transmission. Without EKM, data may be transmitted without encryption between certain hosts within Slack’s virtual private cloud (VPC). Data routed through the public internet is never transmitted unencrypted.
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Other
• Other protection within supplier network: All communication traffic between the client via the public Internet and Slack is encrypted using TLS 1.2 or below.; ; Not all internal connections are TLS enabled. All Slack production hosts are protected behind AWS and GCP firewalls.

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: The Salesforce Services are designed with the concept of continuous improvement and Trust (e.g. Availability, Performance and Security) in the infrastructure. Salesforce uses commercially reasonable efforts to make its on-demand services available to its customers 24/7, except for (minimal) planned downtime, for which Salesforce gives customers prior notice, and force majeure events. This service leverages Public Cloud region, and uses multiple availability zones. This pattern allows services to withstand up to two different zonal faults and continue to be available. Live and historical statistics on Salesforce system performance are publicly published at: https://trust.salesforce.com/en/#systemStatus, and further detail can be shared upon request and NDA.; ; We’ve designed our SLA to be clear and simple — based directly on the information we make publicly available on the Slack Status page (https://status.slack.com/).; ; For further information including in relation to SLA refunds please visit https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/terms/service-level-agreement.
• Approach to resilience: Slack utilises services from AWS to distribute its production operation across four separate physical locations. These four locations are within one geographic region, but protect Slack’s service from loss of connectivity, power infrastructure and other common location-specific failures. Production transactions are replicated among these discrete operating environments, to protect the availability of Slack’s service in the event of a location-specific catastrophic event.; ; Slack also retains a full backup copy of production data in a remote location more than 1,000 miles from the location of the primary operating environment. Full backups are saved to this remote location once per day and transactions are saved continuously. Slack tests backups at least quarterly to ensure they can be correctly restored.
• Outage reporting: Public dashboard: https://status.slack.com/; X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/slackstatus

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
  • Other
• Other user authentication: Slack provides customers with controls to manage their users and admin users. Customers are responsible for integrating and managing their identity provider (for single sign-on and provisioning) as well as onboarding and offboarding of users (members and guests). SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) gives members access to Slack through an identity provider (IDP) of their choice.; ; For an added layer of security, Slack recommends the use of two-factor authentication (2FA).
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Slack adheres to the principle of least privilege—workers are only authorized to access data that they reasonably must handle in order to fulfill their current job responsibilities.; ; Slack employs multi-factor authentication for administrative access to systems with more highly classified data. At this time, administrative access to production servers requires operators to connect using both an SSH key and a one-time password associated with a device-specific token. Where passwords are used, multi-factor authentication is enabled for access to higher data classifications.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• Access to supplier activity audit information: No audit information available
• How long system logs are stored for: At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: EY CertifyPoint
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: January 25, 2024
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Listing of current exclusions within the ISO27001 Statement of Applicability available to view at https://compliance.salesforce.com/en/documents/a006e000010P47JAAS
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: Yes
• CSA STAR accreditation date: 10/01/2022
• CSA STAR certification level: Level 1: CSA STAR Self-Assessment
• What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover: The available CSA STAR self-assessment covers all points in the latest CCM; version 4.02.
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Other security certifications: Yes
• Any other security certifications:
  • ISO27017, ISO27018
  • SOC2, SOC3 Reports
  • ISMAP
  • IRAP
  • APEC Processors / Controller Certificates
  • FedRAMP
  • TISAX

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards:
  • CSA CCM version 3.0
  • ISO/IEC 27001
  • Other
• Other security governance standards: ISO27017, ISO27018; SOC2, SOC3 Reports; ISMAP; IRAP; APEC Processors / Controller Certificates; FedRAMP; TISAX Leel 2
• Information security policies and processes: Slack has defined roles and responsibilities to delineate which roles in the organization are responsible for operating the various aspects of our Information Security Management System (ISMS). The responsibilities of each role are detailed in Slack’s security documents.; ; At the center of administering our ISMS is Slack’s Security Team. Slack has appointed a Chief Security Officer (CSO) with overall responsibility for the implementation and management of our ISMS. The CSO is supported by the other members of Slack’s Security Team, which currently consists of over 60 security professionals - focusing on Product Security, Security Operations, Computer Security Incident Response, and Risk and Compliance.; ; All members of Slack’s Security Team are active participants in the larger information security community to improve the overall state of the art of information security and to maintain their own expertise.; ; Slack maintains a set of policies, standards, procedures and guidelines (“security documents”) that provide the Slack workforce with the “rules of the road” for operating Slack’s ISMS. Our security documents help ensure that Slack customers can rely on our workers to behave ethically and for our service to operate securely.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Configuration and change management approach: Salesforce has formal processes for placing a system into production. This procedure includes a build checklist, server hardening checklist and pre-production testing. Baseline configurations for servers, network devices, and databases are consistent with industry-accepted CIS (Center for Internet Security) system hardening guidelines. Change control procedures include steps for testing, review, authorization, communication, verification, and back-out procedures. All changes to the infrastructure components are tested in a dedicated environment before being deployed into production.; ; Changes to Salesforce products in pre-production and production environments and data centers, must be managed by a documented change control process and approved change management system.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: Slack’s Security Team operates continuous automated static analysis using advanced tools and techniques. Significant defects identified by this process are reviewed and followed to resolution by the Security Team.; ; Slack operates a public bug bounty program to facilitate responsible disclosure of potential security vulnerabilities identified by non-Slack researchers and reward them for their verified findings. Slack monitors incoming bug reports, prioritizes true vulnerabilities and ensures their timely resolution.; ; Slack has a defined vulnerability management process that will triage vulnerabilities based on severity levels.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: Slack monitors servers, workstations and mobile devices to retain and analyze a comprehensive view of the security state of its corporate and production infrastructure.; ; Analysis of logs is automated to the extent practical to detect potential issues and alert responsible personnel. Alerts are examined and resolved based on documented priorities.; ; All incidents are managed by Slack’s dedicated detection and response team. Slack defines the types of events that must be managed via the incident response process. Incidents are classified by severity. Incident response procedures are tested and updated at least annually.
• Incident management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Incident management approach: Users can report incidents via the app, email or our bug bounty program.; ; Slack has established policies and procedures (also known as runbooks) for responding to potential security incidents. All incidents are managed by Slack’s dedicated Detection and Response Team. Slack defines the types of events that must be managed via the incident response process. Incidents are classified by severity. Incident response procedures are tested and updated at least annually.; ; In the event of a security breach, Slack will promptly notify you of any unauthorized access to your Customer Data.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  Softcat are dedicated to reducing our environmental impact and actively promoting sustainability. Our commitment to sustainability is a core aspect of our business strategy, driving us to innovate and lead in the creation of a more sustainable future for our company and the communities we serve. This commitment is embedded in our policies, operating procedures, and training programs.; ; We are proud to be the first FTSE 250 company to be awarded 5-star status in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ; ; We aim to achieve a Carbon Net-Zero Value Circle by 2040 by prioritising renewable energy, reducing natural resource use, minimising waste, and safeguarding biodiversity in compliance with environmental legislation.; ; At Softcat, we have taken significant steps towards securing renewable energy across our organisation, reducing our scope 1 & 2 emissions. We had the target of using 100% Renewable Energy across all our locations by 2024. We successfully delivered against this target ~2 years early.; ; In May 2023 we took delivery of 15 electric vehicles, replacing all existing fossil-fuelled company cars used by employees for business means. The implementation of the EV pool fleet will see a saving of over 80 tons of CO2e per year. A huge impact on our Net Zero targets.

  Tackling economic inequality

  As a value-add reseller, Softcat outsources the products, services, and solutions through our extensive network of partners, to best suit the needs of our broad client base. We always consider and promote SMEs and local providers where appropriate, particularly for the products and services we offer via the G Cloud framework.; ; We remain dedicated to improving employability and educational awareness across schools, colleges, and universities to help break down the barriers to joining technology organisations.; ; We work collaboratively with many schools that are close in proximity to our offices, to ensure we are actively supporting the community as well as schools from lower socio-economic backgrounds. ; ; We visit the schools to talk about the IT sector and the roles in our organisation, as well as promoting work-experience opportunities during the summer. In particular, we actively encourage students from diverse backgrounds to engage in work experience to appreciate the roles available in our sector.; ; For ambitious school and college leavers, a Softcat Apprenticeship is a great first step into the world of work, with 94% of our apprentices offered a permanent position at Softcat post apprenticeships, which goes to show the amazing opportunity available with us.; ; We were ranked 1st in IT & Consultancy, and 10th overall in by RateMyApprenticeship.com - Best 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2023-2024 list.; ; Softcat now also offer 12 month paid internships to University students looking to complete a year in industry as part of their undergraduate studies.

  Equal opportunity

  Our approach to diversity and inclusion is introduced first during our induction training, as part of our Softcat values, outlining responsibility to uphold our principles. This message is reinforced by our process and policies, networks, Allyship Training and Inclusion Awareness campaigns.; ; Softcat supports diversity and inclusion through various networks including:; - Supporting Women in Business (SWIB); - The Ethnic and Cultural Network; - The Pride Network; - The Family Network; - The Empowering Disability and Neurodiversity Network (EDN); - The Faith at Work Network; - Armed Forces & Veterans Network; These networks aim to create a supportive and inclusive work environment for all employees, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or family commitments.; ; Our allyship programme, Stronger Together, is a mixture of event and workshop-based training available to all staff. Programme topics include, bias, power, privilege, and being a greater ally. ; ; Inclusion Awareness campaigns include race, disability, sexual orientation, gender, faith, and caring responsibilities. These sessions highlight and celebrate minority groups, through panel sessions, Q&A sessions and training, providing an opportunity to discuss and understand ways to be more inclusive. ; ; Our efforts to improve diversity and inclusion have been incredibly successful. Since 2020, the number of female employees below management level has increased to 35%, and the number of ethnic minority employees rose to 17%.

  Wellbeing

  At Softcat, all employees are provided with access to our multidimensional wellbeing programme which includes flexible work arrangements, free nutritious breakfast, mental health support, employee benefits scheme, health and wellbeing week activities, and online workshops.; ; Giving back to the community is an innate part of who we are as a company. All Softcat employees are therefore given two volunteer days per year to support a charitable or community cause. ; ; Each of our 10 regional offices also support local charities through fundraising, donations and events. For example, our Manchester office has raised over £30,000 for the WeLoveMCR charity. This funding has supported young, disadvantaged Manchester citizens in gaining qualifications to broaden their work opportunities and supporting local groups in delivering indispensable services that enable community cohesion.

Pricing

• Price: £68.83 a unit
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: Slack has a free version of its service. Details of what is included are available at https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/pricing
• Link to free trial: https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/pricing/free

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at psitq@softcat.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.