Task management startup Trello is today launching a new Power-Ups Platform to make its app more powerful and useful through the integration of third-party tools.

Meanwhile, the company also announced in a blog post that it now has more than 12 million users, up from 10 million in September.

Image Credit: Jordan Novet/VentureBeat

But the platform has strategic importance, as well. It’s aimed at making Trello the central part of an ecosystem, instead of just another tool that’s open while you’re working. Slack and Atlassian’s HipChat have also been pursuing this area in recent months.

In this case, Trello is showing off new Power-Ups, or optional integrations, for users to turn on: Zendesk, SurveyMonkey, Giphy, Join.me, Harvest, Corrello, Elegantt, Publicate, and FogBugz (from Fog Creek Software, which first developed Trello in 2011 before spinning it out as its own company in 2014).

Trello has had a working application programming interface (API) for more than four years, and Power-Ups have been available for almost three years. But there’s definitely space for a wider selection of third-party integrations.

In September, Trello showed off Power-Up integrations with Evernote, GitHub, Salesforce, and Slack for its Business Class premium tier of service.

Image Credit: Trello

Those being featured today are important, if for no other reason than that they give Trello a couple of Slack’s most compelling features: native video conferencing (Slack picked up that technology by way of the Screenhero acquisition) and a fun animated GIF search widget (messaging app Telegram recently announced a Giphy-powered bot that can do something similar).

Companies using Trello include Adobe, Conde Nast, Instacart, and Lonely Planet.

Developers interested in building apps for the Power-Ups Platform — which are all listed on a dedicated page — can start by asking for access to Trello’s API.

Disclosure: I am one of Trello’s users. Pretty much my entire life lives in Trello.