For some time now we have seen a shift to more casual and fun business software. E-mail was probably the first example of a personal, social online tool that later became the defacto standard for business communications and software like GMail even made it fun to use. Slack is a recent example. They have helped do this with online chat and, for those who remember, IRC. Slack’s use of channels, emojis, developer app ecosystem and slick user onboarding are examples of what’s to come in the world of enterprise software. In fact, Slack was originally founded as a gaming company called “Tiny Speck”.
Consumer software trends, especially those that are driving the latest generation of online gaming apps, will drive the next generation of enterprise business software. The world deserves business and enterprise software that’s actually fun to use. I hope the future of work will be measured, at least in part, by how much fun daily business tools are to use.