Amazon is eyeing San Francisco-based instant-messenger Slack Technologies Inc. for purchase somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 billion, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
Slack provides an online collaboration platform that includes instant messaging, file sharing and various other applications to connect employees working in various venues.
Media enterprises such as Time magazine, BuzzFeed and Condé Nast publishing are among its clients, according to Slack’s website.
Bloomberg described an acquisition of the 8-year-old company as a potential move to sharpen its competitive edge against Microsoft and Google when it comes to providing comprehensive e-services to businesses. Amazon, after all, already does billions in business through its Amazon Web Services division, which provides cloud-based computing for enterprise clients.
But another reason Slack is in Amazon’s sights, according to the Atlantic, is the dream of further developing and perfecting its Amazon Echo technology.
“Just think of what bringing all that work data to the Echo’s capabilities would mean for the worker—and the further blurring of any remaining line between work and home,” observed the magazine.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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