Salesforce offers Slack at 90% off to federal government

Salesforce Inc. has announced it will offer its Slack collaboration software to U.S. federal agencies at an unprecedented 90% discount. The significant price reduction is the latest Trump administration effort to reduce government technology costs.

The discounted offering includes Slack Enterprise Grid, designed for large organizations requiring enterprise-grade security, scalability, and centralized administrative control. Additionally, Salesforce provides nearly 70% off on Slack AI for Enterprise per user.

OneGov initiative drives major tech savings with the centralized Slack deal

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the agreement on Monday. It’s the newest push under the federal government’s OneGov Project as part of a strategy to centralize technology buying and save taxpayers’ money.

The GSA said that the new pricing replaces smaller, fragmented discounts that agencies typically negotiate independently.

Josh Gruenbaum, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, said they were on a journey toward smarter buying. He explained that instead of managing hundreds of small contracts, the government was now focusing on larger, high-impact deals that would benefit everyone.

The OneGov concept enables the GSA to deal directly with software vendors on behalf of the entire federal government.

It has already saved millions — and the potential savings could be billions as more companies participate. The agreement with Salesforce, whose products include Slack and other business tools, will likely speed the government’s transition to digital collaboration.

Software giants back federal cost-cutting push

Salesforce is just one of several tech companies giving the U.S. government discounts. In recent weeks, Google lowered the price of its Workspace productivity suite by 71%. Adobe and other software companies have extended similar offers.

These firms are reacting to pressure from the GSA and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)— the recently formed federal bureaucratic body headed by Elon Musk.

DOGE aims to cut federal spending and streamline the government’s tech use. The agency also reported that many departments were overpaying for software licenses they did not use.

In March, DOGE said that agencies were pressuring Adobe and ServiceNow to submit bills for licenses above the number required.

A spokesperson from DOGE said last week that their audits had uncovered waste at every level. They added that the agency was working with the GSA to address the issue.

The action has drawn bipartisan political support. The Senate also revived a dormant bill last week that would overhaul software purchasing at the federal level — making it more competitive and more visible.

To drive even more costs down, the GSA is cutting the number of intermediaries the government uses when it buys software. Municipalities are urged not to hire outside contractors to tailor software for their use but to rely on commercial versions made in advance.

Gruenbaum explained that this was why there were significant savings on large purchases. He noted that integrators often added a mark-up, and the government aimed to avoid those extra costs whenever possible.

However, critics maintain that the relationship between tech companies and government agencies must be tightly monitored.

Government pushes for bigger tech changes

The federal government’s tech landscape is shifting rapidly as more tech companies pile in. And Salesforce’s bid for Slack may only be the beginning of a much bigger change in how Washington deals with software and digital collaboration.

Dave Rey, Salesforce’s head of public sector business, said the initiative wasn’t just about providing cheaper software. He emphasized that it was ultimately about helping the government serve the American people more effectively.

As agencies plan for the next fiscal year, many are reevaluating their software stacks completely — dropping longtime suppliers as necessary. Gruenbaum clarified that no company was too big and no product too small for the government to reevaluate.

The message was clear and bold: to continue doing business with the U.S. government, vendors would need to offer better value, more useful features, and greater flexibility.

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