bluChat is a powerful chat and team collaboration application designed specifically for NetSuite-based companies.
As the only NATIVE NetSuite collaboration tool, bluChat uniquely supports on-record, channel, group, and direct message (DM) communications between authorized staff, partners, vendors, and customers.
With bluChat, users can quickly and easily come together to work on any project, make comments, share files, assign tasks, and resolve issues without ever leaving NetSuite or having to use an external chat application. Because bluChat is available on all writable records, including custom and SuiteApp records, it can immediately improve company productivity across all departments.
In bluChat, collaboration happens both directly on individual NetSuite records that require attention or conversation, as well on a centralized bluChat Messages page that includes the user’s channels, groups, and direct messages, as well as any watched, starred, and follow-up chats.
Users can send and reply to formatted messages, share files of any NetSuite supported file type, and create, schedule, and assign tasks, all within bluChat.
Tag users to send a message directly to them. Tagged users receive email notifications, and they can reply directly to the email to send a message back into the chat stream.
A history of all chat streams is always available for review and auditing in NetSuite.
Team collaboration and messaging in bluChat happens both on-record, where the full NetSuite context is available, and also off-record, in Channels, Groups and Direct Messages (DMs).
In addition to on-record chats, there are 3 kinds of off-record chats.
Access to the chat on a specific record is determined by whether the user access to that record. There is no limit to the number of authorized users that can participate in an on-record chat. You can also make on-record chats available to users external to the company, such as partners, vendors, and customers. Internal users can set individual messages as internal or external, allowing you to fully control access to the information shared inside and outside of your company.
External users do not have access to Channels, Groups, and Direct Messages. Channels are open to anyone at your company, whereas Groups are closed chats that users must be invited to join. Direct Messages are between two users.
For the fastest issue resolution of a given problem, on-record chat is generally the preferred path, since the full record context is available, and all authorized stakeholders can directly engage with the issue.
By default, bluChat appears as a collapsible window fixed in the lower right-hand corner of every writable record. Clicking the collapsed menu bar brings up a resizable chat window, which contains the chat for that record. Each on-record chat window includes a toolbar for formatting, file attachments, bullet points, emojis, and task creation.
Users can enter text, drag and drop files, and tag another user from a pop-up list of authorized staff or stakeholders to alert them to a message.
Users can assign tasks to themselves to generate dashboard punch lists to help drive projects to completion.
Users can reply directly to messages that other people have sent, creating a threaded conversation pertaining to a particular topic. With multiple options for sorting and filtering, users can also pull messages out of threads, or change the order in which messages appear in the chat stream.
In addition, users can communicate “off record” by creating or joining a public Channel to discuss topics that are not related to a specific record, use a Group for private chats, or send a one-to-one Direct Message to another user.
Since any authorized user can create and participate in a company-wide public Channel, it is important that companies establish naming conventions to facilitate user searches and to ensure appropriateness. It is also useful to standardize Channel prefixes to help users easily find the right Channel. While most teamwork and communication in bluChat happens on specific NetSuite records, most teams also make use of Channels, and especially Groups, where teams can discuss work and share messages and files. By creating bluChat channels aligned with your company structure and using clear, predictable naming guidelines, you can ensure your workspaces are organized, on topic, and easy to navigate. This will help people ask questions in the right place, find information quickly, and work efficiently.
There are no minimum hardware requirements to use bluChat, beyond those for the company’s deployment of NetSuite itself. Browser-based use of bluChat on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets follows the interface and features of NetSuite on mobile devices.
