New internal app developed by Ensono plants a tree for every seed of recognition on Slack

London, 23^rd March – Ensono, an expert technology advisor, innovation partner and managed service provider, announced it developed and launched a new internal application that plants a tree whenever colleagues express recognition or appreciation on company messaging channels. Named ‘Treeumph’, the app is triggered when it detects any message on the Ensono Slack workspace starting with the text “New shoutout from”. Treeumph’s Application Programming Interface (API) will then initiate the planting of a tree through the UK-based charity More Trees, which works with local communities to restore healthy forests and reduce extreme poverty. For every tree planted, 0.3 tonnes of CO2 are offset.

Forest loss and damage is the cause of around 10% of global warming according to the WWF, and a significant environmental challenge to overcome. In the United Kingdom, for example, there has been a 14% loss in tree cover since 2000, according to data from Global Forest Watch. The announcement of Treeumph comes in the run-up to Earth Hour on 25 March: a key moment in the year when individuals and businesses are encouraged to take small but meaningful action to tackle climate change.

Treeumph itself is a Slackbot, Slack’s native chatbot features that allow users to customise their experience on the platform. The Ensono team used Slack Bolt, and its simple-to-use API for Javascript, Java, and Python, to rapidly create the app with NodeJS – the Javascript runtime environment. Treeumph is hosted as a Lambda function on Amazon Web Services (AWS), ensuring the application could run smoothly and, if necessary, had the compute resources available to meet user demand.

Treeumph was initially developed at an Ensono Hackathon. Part of a regular series of hackathons at Ensono, this hackathon saw teams across the business tasked with devising a prototype app in Slack that could deliver tangible benefits to the company. The team built an innovative sustainability solution that simultaneously encourages a supportive and inclusive workplace – achieving ESG and inclusivity goals with one user-friendly application. The prototype app received positive feedback from the internal judging panel and got backing to turn the idea into reality.

Christian Francis, Lead Business Strategist Consultant at Ensono Digital, said: “Three months after the idea was initially presented at the Hackathon, Treeumph has exceeded all our expectations. It has been a gratifying and fulfilling experience seeing our idea come to life with the launch of this project. Treeumph is now being used every day to recognise employees’ good work while doing good for the planet. It is a testament to the core mission of Ensono, delivering innovative and creative solutions that help make the world a better place.

“Our small but meaningful efforts to plant a tree with each show of appreciation on Slack helps to bring sustainability into our every day. Climate change is the biggest challenge our generation faces, but through small actions we can help to drive real progress. We’re excited to do our part in making the world greener, and a brighter future for all, one tree at a time!”

To learn more about Treeumph visit: https://www.ensono.com/resources/blog/treeumph-taking-a-hackathon-project-to-product-launch/

About Ensono

Ensono is an expert technology advisor, innovation partner and managed service provider. As a relentless ally, we specialise in helping enterprise clients transform their organisation, innovate new and disruptive technologies and optimise their IT operations to achieve better business outcomes. Our dedicated team works across hybrid environments with services that span consulting, mainframe and application modernisation, public cloud migration and cloud-native development. With certified experts in AWS, Azure and Google Cloud and recognised as Microsoft Datacenter Transformation Partner of the Year, Ensono has over 2,900 associates globally and is headquartered in greater Chicago. For more information, visit Ensono.com.