Slack has become the app par excellence for managing a team through online messaging that works devilishly well. It has been able to grow its user base by 3,5x in 2015, and in a couple of years its value as a service has increased exponentially to become one of the most attractive apps of the moment.
Not surprisingly, Microsoft, a expert in productivity apps, want to enter to compete directly with Slack with what would be a new app. As we know, the Redmond giant is working on Skype Teams, a group chat app for business that links to the Office 365 suite.
skype teams trace the characteristics of the channels Slacks where multiple users can chat publicly. It will support messaging directly, as well as side-by-side conversations, something that Slack lacks. Let's say this feature would allow you to follow and participate in discussions without having to create a separate channel or group message.
The app would also stand out for its ability to share notes and files, as well as making group video calls and scheduling online meetings. It will be integrated with Microsoft services such as Office 365 and OneDrive, apart from offering support to the Skype Bot framework to allow developers to easily extend the functionality of the app with their own services (Slack has some of that too). Finally, it would offer a pretty entertaining look by allowing GIFs, memes and more to be found and added to those conversations.
With all of this laid out on the table, Microsoft could possibly have a good couple of letters for those businesses looking for a solution for group communication. It is unknown when it will be launched and the price that it will have, although it is being said that it will be available to Office 365 subscribers before it is rolled out to everyone.