Salesforce unveils Quip Collaboration Platform, extending teamwork in live documents

At Dreamforce 2017 on Monday, Salesforce unveiled the Quip Collaboration Platform, beefing up Quip's functionality with custom app integrations and new workflow templates.

Quip, which originally focused on collaborative document sharing and word processing functionality, was acquired by Salesforce in late 2016. Now, with the help of Salesforce, Quip's offerings are expanding.

The custom app integrations are known Live Apps, according to a Salesforce press release. These Live Apps are "custom-built applications that can be embedded directly into any Quip document," the release said. For a given project, the Live App will bring relevant information from the app into the Quip document, so users don't have to constantly switch between multiple apps, tabs, or windows to get to the information they need.

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"This is the future of team collaboration--the results are immediate and teams can be more nimble and productive without using email or switching between dozens of apps and looking for lost files," Quip CEO Bret Taylor said in the release.

Some examples of Live Apps include a calendar app, one that brings in Salesforce records, and another called Kanban Board, which is used for project management and to optimize workflows, the release said.

A Live Apps API is also available to partners that want to build their own Live Apps for integration, the release said. So far, Atlassian, DocuSign, Lucidchart, and New Relic have all begun working on Live Apps that bring features of their apps into a Quip document.

In addition to the Live Apps, Salesforce also announced Workflow Templates for Quip. These are pre-made Quip documents and spreadsheets that are configured for certain projects, team functions, or by industry, the release said. They each contain a layout, and the most relevant Live Apps for their specific purpose. One example could be a Workflow Template for a product roadmap.

Salesforce integration with Quip was deepened by the introduction of Salesforce Files Connect for Quip. "Now, live Quip documents and spreadsheets are natively integrated into Salesforce, enabling users to attach Quip documents to Chatter feeds, groups, or business records--ensuring everything in Quip is always accessible in Salesforce," the release said.

Also see

• Salesforce splurges on Quip: What to make of the deal (ZDNet)
• Salesforce brings digital transformation to field workers with AI, analytics tools (TechRepublic)
• Quip revamped with new UI, Salesforce integrations (ZDNet)
• The Complete Salesforce Administrator Certification Course (ZDNet Academy)
• Salesforce's Quip acquires startup Unity&Variety (ZDNet)