Year in Review: Our 20 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2017

It’s mid-December, which means one thing: 2017 is coming to a close. If you’re like us, you probably can’t believe the year went by so quickly. For a lot of people, this season is a time to reflect on the past twelve months and plan for the next. And we’re no different; as the new year approaches, we wanted to take a look back at our most popular blog posts of 2017. This year was a big one – Workato experienced some incredible growth (including investments from Storm Ventures and the two leading SaaS companies, Salesforce and Workday) and The Connector was no exception. We got a new look, launched our awesomely curated newsletter re:blog, and we published 103 articles on our favorite topics: digital transformation, intelligent automation, and productivity. If your New Year’s resolution involves any of the previously mentioned items, read on! Related: 5 top-notch Slack integrations

Workflow Hacks and Integrations

6 Ways to Use Zendesk with Slack for Better Customer Service

Smart notifications and the ability to access information from Zendesk without leaving your chat console can revolutionize both your office communications and the customer service team’s capabilities. Here are some of the coolest use cases and features you can utilize thanks to Workbot for Slack – a chatbot that not only talks to you but can also pull information and perform actions across all of your applications.

How We Created a Deal Desk in Slack to Give Sales More Time to Sell

Sales reps are busy selling and rarely keep their deals updated beyond the big stuff, like a new lead coming in and when the lead is closed. That means all the intermediary information which is critical to projecting how the company will perform in the coming months or quarters is poor. To fix this problem, we created a Deal Desk right inside Slack. http:/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfY9Cfrprb4

10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Creating an Industry Survey

Traditionally, research and consulting firms like Gartner and Forrester created industry surveys. But today, lots of SaaS companies do their own surveys as well, because they can be such a valuable tool. If you’re not a professional research analyst or statistician, though, creating a solid survey can seem insurmountably challenging. Thanks to tools like SurveyMonkey, implementation is a lot easier. But before you open an app and start writing survey questions, ask yourself these ten questions.

The Top 5 Integrations to Streamline Your Accounting Workflows

If your business is tech-savvy, you might already use apps like QuickBooks, NetSuite, or Intacct to help save time on your accounting. But using them in isolation undermines your overall productivity potential. By connecting them with other apps, such as your CRM or chat platform, you can do so much more with your data! We’ve rounded up the top five accounting integrations that have worked wonders for us and our customers.

6 Google Suite Integrations That Will Make Your Work Day Easier

Google Suite’s cloud-based model makes it simple to get work done wherever you are. But G Suite is most powerful when it’s connected to your other apps; Google Suite integration can make your workflows more efficient and effective. Here are six real-life integration use cases that will inspire you to revolutionize the way you use G Suite!

Make Slack Your ServiceNow Work Console with Workbot

Providing good customer service is difficult when you don’t have access to the most up-to-date information. By integrating ServiceNow with a chat app like Slack, you can decrease the time it takes to address issues. This post examines eight recipes to integrate ServiceNow with Workbot for Slack. (Hungry for more ServiceNow work hacks? Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.)

6 Bots for Slack You Need in Your Life

Bots of all kinds are popping up for use in the chat app Slack. Some feature incredibly silly capabilities, but others will revolutionize your business workflow. They’ve been taking over the news in the tech space and are of increasing interest to business users. If you’re overwhelmed with the sheer selection of Slackbots available, this post is a great place to start. (And if you love this list, be sure to check out Part 2!)

Featured Video Content: WorkatoJam

How To Create Awesome Slack Approval Workflows – No Code

One of the most frustrating aspects of anyone’s job is asking for—or giving—approval. Whether you’re trying to schedule a vacation or offer a discount to a customer, submitting a request often means manual data entry and switching between apps. Chat apps like Slack make it a lot easier to make (and approve!) requests. Here’s how you can use Workbot for Slack to build seamless approval workflows—without writing a single line of code.

4 Ways You Can Optimize Your Business Processes with A.I. —Today

For many businesses, A.I. seems like a far-off technological advancement that will dramatically revolutionize the workplace. But A.I. isn’t a futuristic technology; it’s already here. Get started with these four ways you can use it to simplify business workflows today!

Interviews and Thought Leadership

Holger Mueller on Digital Transformation and How You Can Catch Up

You may have seen Holger Mueller, VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, on DisrupTV, speaking at various conferences, or on Twitter via his 32.4K followers. He’s a serious expert when it comes to digital transformation and how humans adopt new technologies. In this interview, he shares his perspective on how we’ll work tomorrow, his predictions for the integration market, and how Artificial Intelligence is going to be used to match your average employee – not your best.

Paper and Tech Aren’t Mutually Exclusive: Docparser Founder Moritz Dausinger Explains

Moritz Dausinger, the founder of Paris-based Docparser, is part of Europe’s tech boom. His mission? Taking traditional industries around the world on a journey of digital transformation. With two apps successfully launched, Dausinger offers his take on breaking into tech-averse industries, creating new products, and the future of automation in Europe.

A Note from Our CEO: Why Intelligent Automation Is Essential to Digital Transformation

In July, we announced $16 million in funding from Salesforce Ventures, Workday Ventures, and Storm Ventures. Our CEO, Vijay Tella, shares his thoughts in this post on what this funding means for Workato and for the future of the integration landscape.

Intercom’s Brian Donohue on Good Product Design and the Future of Customer Service

Intercom’s Group Product Manager, Brian Donohue, discussed what it’s been like to be part of Intercom’s wild growth, the company’s vision for the future of live chat, and the status of AI development in the world of Customer Service.

Four Bot-Building Tips from the Experts Behind Workbot

According to a Business Insider study, 80% of businesses plan to use chatbots by 2020. At Workato, we’re no different; we know chatbots are crucial to the future of work. That’s why we launched Workbot for Slack in early 2016. But how does a bot get built? Why does Workbot work the way it does? Members of the Workbot team offer four lessons on what it takes to create a functional bot.

The Future of Work

14 Stats That Demonstrate Why Your Digital Transformation Efforts Are Failing—And How To Fix Them

Research reveals that as many as two-thirds of digital transformation projects fail. Let that sink in for a moment. Businesses feel pressure to implement digital transformation initiatives, but up to 66% of those projects fail. Why is the failure rate so high, and how can businesses ensure that their digital transformation projects are successful? This SlideShare has the answers!

The Future of Customer Service: What Role Will Artificial Intelligence Play?

With a growth rate of about 36% every year, it’s easy to see why companies are heavily investing in AI, especially in the realm of customer service (CS). How can AI-powered bots and AI-assisted human agents improve the overall customer experience?  This post investigates whether AI will be a skills-enabling technology that empowers businesses—and how it could differentiate them from one another.

11 Automation Stats Every CIO and Operations Employee Should See

Most execs already know that streamlining operations is important — according to an MIT Sloan survey, executives at 91% of companies say digital technologies have the potential to fundamentally transform the way companies work — but exactly how does it transform work? This piece covers eight ways automation directly addresses the challenges businesses face every day.

Are Chat Apps Like Slack the Future of Work? Absolutely.

The unavoidable truth is that fragmented collaboration tools—where your lines of communication are separate from one another, and also from your work itself—are outdated. People want the simplicity of a collaboration hub, where they can work together and view documents or photos without switching contexts. But do chat apps really make us better at our jobs?

Can Digital Literacy Really Change Your Life?

Technology is rapidly changing how we work. It’s increasing our productivity, changing the devices we use, and turning us into better collaborators. With this shift, the demand for digital literacy—a term that refers to the competencies necessary to participate in a knowledge economy—has also grown exponentially. For many people, these skills are brand-new. So why invest in digital literacy? And what does it look like for the average employee?

Love this roundup? Get more great content delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to The Connector >