Businesses depend on messaging apps just as much as individuals. Smooth business operations require instant, clear communication between employees, and messaging apps help make that happen. These apps are designed specifically for corporate use cases, with features like multimedia sharing, chatbot integration, and multi-platform compatibility.
When seeking a business messaging app, you may get overwhelmed by the abundant choices. Amid numerous options, the ‘best’ one depends on your unique business needs. For example, a large company of 500+ employees needs a different solution than a small company with fewer than 20 employees. A healthcare firm handling sensitive data needs a HIPAA-compliant solution. There are many variables.
Yet, there are also core features to seek when selecting your business communication tool. Ideally, your platform should have most, if not all, of these features, which we’ll explore below.
1. Advanced encryption
With businesses sharing sensitive information through messaging apps, advanced encryption is essential to prevent unauthorized third parties from accessing this information.
Your business messaging app should incorporate end-to-end encryption, where data is encrypted on the sender’s device and decrypted only on the recipient’s device. This system prevents intermediaries, including the messaging app’s operators, from reading messages.
Your messaging app should also incorporate Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption to secure data in transit and AES-256 encryption to secure data at rest.
AES-256 has a 256-bit key length, meaning there are 2256 possible encryption key combinations (or 115792089237316195423570985008687907853269984665640564039457584007913129639936 to be exact). No current computer can brute-force its way through this extremely large number of key combinations, so information remains safe from brute-force attacks. There’s also AES-128 encryption, which uses 128 bits, but AES-256 is the standard used by messaging apps.
For U.S.-based healthcare companies, any messaging app must comply with HIPAA encryption requirements to protect sensitive patient data. The app should explicitly acknowledge its compliance with HIPAA, which includes the AES-256 and TLS encryption protocols.
2. Third-party integrations
Business messaging apps don’t foster collaboration alone. They work together with other software tools to enable employees access data, interact with customers, and perform other duties.
For example, your messaging app may need direct integration with your customer support software. Then, when a customer opens a ticket via the support software, a message will be automatically sent to support staff to resolve it. In the process, the support personnel can chat with the customer right from the business messaging app and sync data from the support tool. They won’t have to juggle multiple apps, making the process convenient.
A messaging app can also be integrated with your project management software. Then, employees can receive real-time message updates when tasks are created and edited. Users can create and assign tasks directly from the messaging app, and assignees will be immediately notified. Employees can track task progress via the messaging app, instead of constantly juggling between the messaging app and the project management platform.
Before signing up, check a messaging platform’s third-party integration library to know if it has direct integrations with your other digital tools. If present, it signals a good choice that’ll help ensure smooth communication.
3. File sharing
Team members don’t only text each other. They need to share important files, from project briefs to spreadsheets, keynote presentations, video tutorials, and more. Your business messaging app should allow sharing multimedia files, including large ones of 1 GB or more. If it doesn’t have built-in file sharing, it should have direct integration with an external file sharing platform like Dropbox.
Business messaging apps usually restrict storage based on pricing plans. This is understandable because storage space requires physical servers, and these apps can’t provide infinite storage. You can always choose a plan that provides the required storage level.
If your business is already subscribed to a cloud storage platform, like Dropbox or Google Drive, select a messaging app that is directly integrated with the platform. This way, you wouldn’t have to pay high amounts for extra storage space– you’ll simply use your existing cloud storage platform to share large files on your messaging app.
4. Multi-platform compatibility
An ideal business messaging app should be compatible with multiple operating systems and also be accessible from a web browser. For example, Slack is accessible from a web browser and also has native desktop and smartphone apps. You can download the app on a Windows, macOS, or Linux PC, or an Android or iOS smartphone.
Multi-platform compatibility ensures employees can access the messaging app conveniently, from their preferred method. A web browser may be the most common way to access messaging tools, but native desktop and smartphone apps offer better performance while consuming fewer computing resources. Users can manage high message volumes better with a native app than a web browser.
5. Automation
In the current artificial intelligence (AI) era, automation is more crucial than ever for businesses. Employees need tools to automate their communication workflow, like chatbots to answer routine inquiries while they focus on complex ones. Businesses often need to send automated messages triggered by customers’ actions (e.g., an order notification or a welcome email). Employees can use LLMs to generate content right on the messaging platform.
Research automation and AI features when selecting your business messaging app. These features raise productivity by freeing up time employees would have spent on routine tasks. Recently, many messaging apps have gone all-in on AI, so you wouldn’t have problems finding such features.
Which business messaging app should I choose?
You have many options, like Slack, Zoho Cliq, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Teams. The best choice depends on your unique business needs. For instance, Zoho Cliq is renowned for its affordability, and Microsoft Teams is known for its seamless integration with other Microsoft Tools. Google Workspace is known for its user-friendliness, though it’s costlier for large teams. For more information, you can view our detailed guide to the best enterprise messaging platforms of 2026.
