Microsoft Teams is Taking Aim at Slack by Offering Free Access Version

Earlier this week Microsoft announced a long-awaited update to Teams, its workplace collaboration software which was first launched last year. The announcement of a free version means Microsoft Teams can directly compete with Slack.

This offer is designed for small businesses and groups of coworkers that don’t have a commercial Office 365 subscription. Now with this free introductory experience, any group can use Teams as their hub for teamwork and discover the value of Office 365 as they grow and become effective using these enhanced collaboration capabilities. 

Microsoft Teams	Slack

Microsoft Teams arrived last year and has been well received by current Microsoft Enterprise and Business users. But until now you had to have a paid-for Office365 subscription to use it. This meant companies that did not upgrade to Office365 or were trying to get a year or more out of an older version of Office software could not use Teams.

This means that Teams’ current user base of several hundreds of thousands of organizations will see even more growth. One of the greatest benefits of teams other than its core functions is its ability to integrate with other products from the same company such as Office, SharePoint and OneDrive; and over 140 app integrations using the Microsoft Store.

The free tier also, as you'd expect, has some limitations compared to the full version. The free version includes the following for up to 300 people.

• Unlimited chat messages and search.
• Built-in audio and video calling for individuals, groups, and full team meetups.
• 10 GB of team file storage plus additional 2 GB per person for personal storage.
• Integrated, real-time content creation with Office Online apps, including built-in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
• Unlimited app integrations with 140+ business apps to choose from, including Adobe, Evernote, and Trello.
• Ability to communicate and collaborate with anyone inside or outside your organization, backed by Microsoft’s secure, global infrastructure.

Both companies Microsoft and Slack offer a free version that are very similar, the real value changes when you move to the paid versions of Microsoft Teams. The extra benefits you get with Office Business Essentials or Business Premium far outweigh the same money you would spend on a paid version of Slack.

Click on the links above to see the detailed pricing and offerings of both services.

• Sign up here and get started with the free version of Teams.
• Sign up here and get started with the free version of Slack.

If you would like to learn more about Microsoft Teams or Slack, contact Chuck Lear at [email protected] or by calling 805-283-7399.