In December 2016, the tech world witnessed the launch of the world’s first chat operating system FlockOS. It enables developers to build bots and integrations on top of Flock, the team messenger. By providing an open platform to the global developer community, it initiated a new canvas for the developers to create intuitive apps.
As it gains its popularity, Telecom Talk had a conversation with Bhavin Turakhia, CEO, Flock. He is a serial entrepreneur and is the Co-founder of Directi, under which Flock is a business unit. With his 18 years of unparalleled technology expertise, Turakhia talks about FlockOS and his vision for the industry.
Q: How does this FlockOS work?
Ans: FlockOS is the World's First Chat Operating System. It is the ultra-powerful platform which enables developers to build apps, bots, and integrations on top of Flock, the Team Messenger. While Flock provides team messaging backbone, FlockOS transforms it into an ecosystem of workplace apps with Flock at the center. These apps built using FlockOS can help users complete frequent tasks like setting to-dos, scheduling meetings, conducting opinion polls, reviewing performance dashboards and much more - all from within Flock.
Q: World’s first chatOS platform, how different it is from any other platform?
Ans: FlockOS is indeed unique, as it provides a first-of-its-kind widgets feature that allows users to have a seamless experience with any Flock app - an experience matching that of any fully interactive website.
Flock also moves beyond just slash commands, providing users other easier and faster options to interact with an app whenever relevant. The meticulously designed app-specific buttons embedded in the interface ensure higher app discoverability, and in turn, boost app usage.
Q: Can the developers just develop apps or integrate already existing apps on the platform?
Ans: Both.
Q: Who benefits from whom?
Ans: With FlockOS, developers can build customised apps, with richer and deeper integrations, giving users a native experience similar to that of a fully interactive website. So both developers and users will benefit from this update.
Q: What’s in it for the developers?
Ans: FlockOS targets one of the biggest pain points of any app developers - that of low app usage and low app discoverability. With app-specific buttons embedded in the interface, FlockOS ensures higher app discoverability, in turn boosting app usage. Since these buttons also allow easy app access, this makes it a win-win situation for both app developers and users.
For readers, here is a video giving introduction to FlockOS:
Q: How do you monetize?
Ans: Currently, we are not concentrating on monetizing.
Q: How do you plan to promote this feature, considering it’s a world’s first and not many Developers know about it?
Ans: We will invest in marketing and PR. Currently, we are focusing on attending developers and tech-centric events and also engage with them by creating an interesting series of hackathons.
Q: At last your thoughts on this particular space and what will it look like in the next 1-2 years to come.
Ans: Undoubtedly, most of our activities now are collaborative in nature, and we rely heavily on the messaging platform for the same. Moving forward, there will be an increasing need of apps and tools that are built on top of the messaging framework. I firmly believe that in the next three to five years chat will soon become the next operating system.
