14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has finally introduced Microsoft Teams, a new chat-based workspace available in Office 365 that’s supposed to improve productivity and collaboration by bringing together content that teams are specifically focused on when working on projects.
Microsoft Teams is essentially Redmond’s own version of Slack and the resemblance between the two services is more than obvious when trying the Office 365 feature.
First and foremost, Microsoft Teams looks and feels like Slack, and as you can see in the demo provided by the software giant, it comes with the same sidebar that provides access to files, chats, meetings, and notifications with a click or tap, depending on device. Furthermore, it supports persistent and threaded chats, with team conversations available for everyone by default. Private conversations can be initiated at any moment, Microsoft says.
If you used Slack, you feel like home
The familiar conversation view, also borrowed from Slack, makes it possible to easily add content to a chat, including meetings, files, and notes, all of which become available for the entire team.
Just as expected, Microsoft Teams is integrated with a series of other Microsoft products, including Skype, which makes it possible for teams to start voice and video conferences, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote, Planner, Power BI and Delve.
Microsoft also claims that Microsoft Teams was specifically built to be super secure, so all data is encrypted, and supports key compliance standards including EU Model Clauses, ISO 27001, SOC 2, and HIPAA.
Microsoft Teams will become available for Office 365 subscribers with any of the following plans: Business Essentials, Business Premium, and Enterprise E1, E3 and E5. It becomes available as a preview today, but Microsoft says that general availability should be announced in the first quarter of calendar year 2017. Mobile applications are also available for Windows Phone, Android, and iOS.
Slack’s worried
Slack knows that Microsoft’s arrival on this side of the market could have a big impact on its business, so it turned to a full-page New York Times ad to publish a letter address to the Redmond software giant.
Slack used this method of public communications in order to give a few pieces of advice to Microsoft, while also admitting that Redmond’s new efforts are “a little scary.”
“You'll need to take a radically different approach to supporting and partnering with customers to help them adjust to new and better ways of working. If you want customers to switch to your product, you're going to have to match our commitment to their success and take the same amount of delight in their happiness,” Slack tells Microsoft.
