Microsoft announces Teams to Challenge Slack: Check out its Features

To take on the likes of Slack and other professional messaging apps, Microsoft has announced its newest productivity app, known as Teams. The new chat-based app is integrated with the familiar Office applications and is built from the ground up on the Office 365 global platform.

A direct rival of Slack, Microsoft Team is a proper chat-app meant to keep you and your team productive.

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Let's find out more about the Microsoft's newest global product.

Designed to offer an open digital professional platform

With Microsoft Teams, the company aims to create a more open, digital environment that makes work visible, integrated and accessible across the team. The app supports threaded chats to keep everyone engaged. The conversations are, by default, visible to the entire team, but you can also conduct a private discussion.

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Besides, Microsoft Teams also ensure that the conversations and work you do on platform is secure. Teams provides the advanced security and compliance capabilities and data is encrypted in transit and at rest.

Support for Outlook and Office 365 apps

What gives Microsoft Teams an edge over Slack and other productivity apps is the fact that Teams already runs Outlook and Office 365 apps. The popular office apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote, Planner, Power BI and Delve are all built into Microsoft Teams.

Besides, Microsoft Teams also integrates Office 365 Groups, the company's cross-application membership service that allows participants to move naturally from one collaboration tool to another. It is worth mentioning that Teams requires appropriate commercial Office 365 subscription to use the services.

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Deeply integrated with Skype

We all use Skype and it comes deeply integrated in Teams. The participants can start a voice call and can also conduct video conferences.

However, it is noted that Slack also offers support for Skype services.

Support for Emojis, Stickers and GIFs

Teams also support fun elements to add personality to your digital workspace. The participants can send emojis, stickers, GIFs and custom memes to make it their own.

With Teams, you can also address individual team members or your entire team to get attention.

Availability

As per Microsoft, Teams is available in preview in 181 countries and in 18 languages to commercial customers with Office 365 Enterprise or Business plans. The general availability is expected in the first quarter of 2017.

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