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Comment by dawhizkid | Hacker News Reader

Interesting. I worked at a healthcare tech startup last year and the reason why we had to use Hipchat is because the self-hosted Hipchat Server was HIPAA-compliant and Slack does not have a HIPAA-compliant self-hosted option. Have no idea what they're going to do (or anyone who needs to comply with stricter regulatory guidelines that prevents use of cloud-based messaging apps).

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Shameless self-promotion: We (Trillian) just received HITRUST certification, provide a BAA, and offer both a SaaS variant and the self-hosted Trillian Server product, both of which run over our own open IM protocol. We're not exactly a Slack/Hipchat clone (having been around for 18+ years, we're more of a traditional IM and group chat solution with some modern stuff like an API, chat bots, and federation capabilities) but have been getting great feedback in the healthcare space with our business offering. More: https://trillian.im/uses/hipaa-compliant-texting/

I still remember (and may still have an installer for...) Trillian back in the days when it was just a multi-IM client.

I like your pricing comparisons for on-premises servers - particularly the comparison to a Skype for Business site license. https://trillian.im/uses/self-hosted-instant-messaging/

Am I correct that you're pretty much focused on just the IM/chat side of things rather than all the calendar/phone/build system/coffeepot/refrigerator integrations that Slack seems to talk up?

We think integrations can be great, and offer a few of our own right now (a proof-of-concept /weather command and a deeper integration with Global Relay for some of our fintech customers, for example). That being said, we're being careful about integrations and making sure they're more than just novelties that do nothing but move email notifications into a group chat. Our primary focus is lean and mean instant messaging, the good old contact list + presence (with ICQ-era fun like invisibility allow lists!), speed (being one of the last few companies offering a desktop chat client written in C++ that chugs along without using 2GB of RAM!), and strong administrative controls. Secondary to that is our focus on integrations that bring clear value to our customers. I expect we'll add more good ones this year!

Looks like it still has the multi-IM feature.

I just grabbed the personal client. It's very lean. Reminiscent of old IM clients, really. That said I haven't entered a chat yet.

Whoa, that's a name I haven't heard in a while.

They seem to be HIPAA compliant now. (No self-hosting yet)

https://slack.com/security

HIPAA compliance doesn't mean anything unless they're willing to sign a BAA with their customers' organizations. Perhaps they're signing BAAs now, but in the recent past (~6 months ago), I asked and they weren't signing them.

Even if they sign BAAs, that doesn't mean that every health organization is willing to go off-prem. On-prem is popular for a reason.

Yes, absolutely. Good point.

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