On Wednesday, Reuters reported Google updated its chat tool Hangouts, leveling competition in the workplace software package market. “We want to move toward helping people move faster at work.” Scott Johnson, Director of Product Management at Google to Reuters. Hangouts allows users to link databases like bug-tracking and an employee directory, as well as set up group chats with up to 8,000 users. Slack and Microsoft’s Office 365 offer similar options for businesses and make up 42 percent of the global market for collboration software, says research firm IDC. But Google’s G Suite has secured more than 4 businesses globally that all pay up to $25 per user for its services.
