Slack 2.0 Migration FAQ

As of the 23.10 release, Simpplr has upgraded our Slack integration to Slack 2.0. This includes a ton of new features and capabilities! 

Why are we doing this?

Simpplr's legacy Slack integration is built on Slack APIs that have been deprecated, which has caused the integration to break for some of our customers, resulting in a poor experience. There have been many comments and discussions from customers and Simpplr team members about usability issues with the current Slack 1.0 integration.

Our Slack 2.0 integration is built using the latest Slack APIs and fixes the issues customers were having with the unfurl preview no longer displaying. As we built this new integration, usability was our main focus along with adding new features and functionality.

What new features are in Slack 2.0?

When building Slack 2.0 we heavily relied on product enhancement requests submitted by customers to help shape and guide the improvements that we built, which resulted in the following improvements:

• Customize App Name and Icon 
  • This allows app admins to brand the Slack bot to better match their organization.
• Type and search site feed connection
  • Slack 1.0 required users to copy and paste Slack channels to link Simpplr sites to a Slack channel. Now you can type the name, and we filter out non matching results.
• Smarter grouping of site feed settings
  • Grouping of replies and or comments tied to site feed posts gives a better experience.
• Click 2 chat 
  • Users who enable Slack will now have a Slack badge on their profile, which allows quick access to start a Slack DM. Slack badges also display in the Simpplr People list.
• Promote/Sharing flow updates
  • Users can now promote content in up to 5 Slack channels, and share content to 1 channel using the type and filter method. Content promoted or shared will be displayed by the user promoting/sharing (not by Slack bot) to further enhance engagement.
• Unfurl cards
  • We’ve updated and improved most of the rich previews that users will see when copying and pasting links, sharing, and promoting content. Now there's less clutter to present the content in a rich clean preview.
• Disable unfurl for sites
  • Site owners and managers can enable/disable unfurling of content on their sites. This can be helpful for a private site that might contain confidential information. When sharing content from a private site with unfurl previews, we will show a warning message to the user. 
• Threaded responses

What steps are required to upgrade?

We made the upgrade process for App managers straightforward and easy. From the Manage > Application > Integrations > Messaging menu, upon clicking Upgrade in Simpplr, in the background we will disable Slack 1.0 integration, remove Slack 1.0 app bot, install the Slack 2.0 app bot and land the App manager on the Slack authorization page. This results in a migration process that only requires two clicks for the App manager (one click on Simpplr, one click on Slack auth page). There will be no need to disconnect your Simpplr environment from Slack.

What happens after the upgrade?

After the upgrade to Slack 2.0, all sites connected to the legacy version of Slack will need to be reconnected and reconfigured, and all users will need to reconnect their Simpplr profiles to their Slack accounts. The main Slack Integration Knowledge Base article walks you through these steps. End users will be prompted to reconnect their Slack accounts to Simpplr the next time they use the Simpplr bot on Slack. They’ll also receive a Simpplr in-app notification. In addition, all Site owners who have previously configured their sites to Slack channels will receive an in-app notification to reconfigure. App managers will receive a CSV file that shows each site that was connected, the site type, (public or private), the Slack owner's name and email, the current Site manager(s) and their emails.

When will end users receive a nudge to connect?

In Slack, users will receive a nudge from Slackbot any time they copy and paste a Simpplr URL to Slack. The same thing will happen whenever a user attempts to like or favorite from an unfurled Simpplr link in Slack.

What if I don’t want to upgrade?

Slack 2.0 integration is a superior, up-to-date product offering, and Simpplr will be focusing our development efforts only on that integration going forward. We will keep our Slack 1.0 integration active until March 31st, 2024, but will not be doing any development work to enhance it. After March 31st, the legacy Slack app will no longer be an approved application in the Slack workplace. This means you will have an un-approved Slack application in your Simpplr environment. This will lead to a poorer user experience and be considered a high risk for most IT departments.

What happens if I do not upgrade after March 31st, 2024?

If you make no changes to your Slack application, existing connected accounts will still be able to share/promote content, unfurl links, etc. However, no new users will be able to conncet their accounts to the integration. This goes for users who try to reconnect after disconnecting for any reason.

In addition, we cannot guarantee the high level of quality and support service with this connection as we do with Slack 2.0. If your End users begin experiencing bugs or latency, our Support teams will not be able to assist you. If your application gets disconnected, you will not be able to reconnect. You must upgrade.

Is Simpplr using services or an external service outside of Salesforce to make posts from Simpplr to Slack?

Only Apex and our own micro-services comes in picture with Slack. No external or third party service is used.