This Slack Alternative Helps Businesses Grow by Leaps & Bounds

Slack has been a go-to conferencing platform for businesses, small and large. However, it does not meet several business requirements in a robust way, such as deep integration with office apps and an all-inclusive plan for a suite of apps. This is where a market-leading alternative such as Microsoft Teams comes into the picture.

In this blog post, we will explore how Microsoft Teams is gaining more popularity as a Slack alternative in ways that helps businesses improve their operations and, ultimately, returns.

You can also check out this guide on how to transfer from Slack to Teams .

Integration with Microsoft 365 Suite

Microsoft Teams is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of apps and services, which means it is seamlessly integrated with other Microsoft apps like Outlook, OneDrive, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This integration allows for smooth collaboration across teams and departments and eliminates the need to switch between different apps. On the other hand, Slack does not offer the same level of integration with Microsoft apps.

Check out some of the key Microsoft 365 apps that can be integrated with Teams.

Outlook: Teams can be integrated with Outlook to schedule meetings, share files, and send emails directly from Teams. This integration enables users to stay on top of their email and calendar without switching between apps.

SharePoint Online: Teams can be integrated with SharePoint Online to create, store, and share files within Teams. Users can access SharePoint files directly from Teams, and updates to files made in Teams are reflected in SharePoint.

OneNote: Teams can be integrated with OneNote to create shared notebooks that team members can access and edit. This integration enables users to collaborate on notes and ideas in real-time.

Planner: Teams can be integrated with Planner to create and manage tasks within Teams. Users can assign tasks, set due dates, and track progress, making it easier to manage projects and stay organized.

Power BI: Teams can be integrated with Power BI to create and share data visualizations and reports within Teams. This integration enables users to collaborate on data insights and make data-driven decisions.

Power Automate: You can integrate Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) to automate various tasks, notifications, file management, and workflows. It can also be used to create customized bots within Teams to resolve customer queries.

In addition to these integrations, Teams can be integrated with other Microsoft and third-party apps using the Teams App Store. The Teams App Store has a wide range of apps, including productivity tools, project management apps, and customer relationship management (CRM) apps.

Integrating Teams with Microsoft 365 apps makes it easier for teams to collaborate and be productive. By bringing together communication, file sharing, and other productivity tools into one platform, Teams provides a unified workspace for teams to work together seamlessly.

Though Slack offers a multitude of integrations with third-party applications, it still lags behind in integrating with Microsoft 365 apps that most businesses use for collaboration and productivity.

Better Security Features

Microsoft Teams has superior security features compared to Slack. Microsoft Teams provides end-to-end encryption for messages, files, and calls. Teams also complies with several industry-standard certifications such as SOC 1, SOC 2, and HIPAA.

Though Slack complies with security regulations like GDPR, it does not offer end-to-end encryption , and its enterprise security certifications are not as comprehensive as Microsoft Teams.

CloudFuze is a cloud data migration tool that can effortlessly transfer data from Slack to Teams in the most secure way.

Larger Group Size

Microsoft Teams allows for larger group sizes compared to Slack. With Microsoft Teams, you can have up to 25,000 members in a single team. This makes it an ideal tool for large organizations or companies with a significant number of employees. Slack has a limit of 1,000 members in a single channel , which may not be enough for some organizations.

More Features for Remote Teams

Microsoft Teams has several features that are specifically designed for remote teams. For example, Microsoft Teams allows for virtual backgrounds during video calls, which is great for remote workers who may not have a professional-looking background. Additionally, Microsoft Teams has a live events feature, which allows for large-scale webinars and presentations.?

Slack offers these features only through third-party app integrations or approaches that are not as easy and straightforward as Teams.

Also, in the free plan, Teams offers up to 20 users to be added to video conferencing, while Slack allows only one-to-one video calls for free.

If you are looking forward to a great remote work setup, you can also read about the best practices while migrating from Slack to Teams.

User Interface

Both Microsoft Teams and Slack have distinct user interfaces, and each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Microsoft Teams has a more modern and intuitive interface that is familiar with other Microsoft applications. It has a clean and organized layout that makes it easy to navigate, and the various features are easily accessible through tabs at the top of the screen. Microsoft Teams also allows for customization, so users can rearrange and resize tabs to fit their workflow.

On the other hand, Slack has a rich user interface with multiple customizable features. But the multiple options could overwhelm new users until they get the hang of the platform.

Better Pricing and Value for Money

Finally, Microsoft Teams offers better value for money compared to Slack. Microsoft Teams offers a free version that includes most of the essential features, and its paid plans are more affordable than Slack's (Teams vs Slack pricing). Additionally, Microsoft Teams is part of the Microsoft 365 suite, meaning organizations that already use Microsoft apps can easily transition to Teams without incurring additional costs.

Microsoft Teams offers more storage space for its paid plans compared to Slack. Microsoft Teams offers 1 TB of storage per organization with a file upload speed of 20 GB, while Slack offers only 10 GB with a file upload speed of 1 GB in the higher-end plans.

In conclusion, while Slack is a great tool for team collaboration, Microsoft Teams has several advantages that make it a better choice for many organizations. With its superior integration with Microsoft apps, better security features, larger group sizes, more features for remote teams, and better pricing, Microsoft Teams is a more comprehensive and effective tool for team collaboration.

If your organization wants to switch to Microsoft Teams from Slack but hasn't prepared a streamlined roadmap yet, CloudFuze's data migration experts at CloudFuze can help.