If you're looking for a great communication tool for your business, there are several popular options. The two big players in workplace communication, Slack and Microsoft Teams, each have their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you have a simple technology ecosystem that only uses Microsoft products, Slack is a far better option for several reasons.
7 It is simple and straightforward to use
Slack offers an intuitive, streamlined interface that's quick to learn
Whether you're using the communication tool for the first time or integrating someone new into your company, you'll want to get everything up and running quickly. Slack delivers this with a simple workflow that helps teams adopt the platform quickly and easily.
Slack also offers a cleaner experience, ensuring you don't need extensive tutorials or training to onboard someone. Microsoft Teams has a very cluttered interface that takes a lot longer to get used to. Microsoft Teams also requires more training or tutorials to ensure your employees can get the most out of the tool.
6 Slack excels at communication
That's the purpose of the tool and Slack focuses on that
Slack was built from the ground up as a communication tool and that has always been the focus. Slack recognizes the need for a fast, lightweight communication tool that doesn't impact productivity and tries to avoid feature overload and bloat.
Slack is designed to be the best communication tool possible without burdening you with included features you neither want nor need. A Slack workspace also provides easy ways to share channels between organizations and include single-channel guests, such as freelancers who are hired to complete a specific task and then move on elsewhere.
Microsoft Teams, on the other hand, tries to be everything to everyone. It integrates document sharing and task management features, whether you want to use them or not. Teams also has its own built-in video conferencing software, although many organizations prefer to use Zoom or Google Meet.
These out-of-the-box features mean that Microsoft Teams performs worse than Slack, preventing it from being the lightning-fast communication tool that most businesses need. While Slack does offer video conferencing options to its users, they are lightweight and simple so as not to clutter the app.
5 A more customizable experience
With a variety of apps available, you can integrate Slack with the platforms you want
Slack works well with many different platforms, making your communication experience as flexible and customizable as your needs require. It works well with Google Workspace, Salesforce, Asana, Airtable, and more. In contrast, Microsoft Teams is more tightly integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem. While you can integrate other platforms, it's not nearly as seamless and customizable as Slack.
For those who need to customize the tool more extensively, Slack offers a more customizable custom development API than Microsoft Teams. This allows you to program your tools to integrate with Slack or simply use automation services like Zapier.
Finally, the tool's Slackbot and Workflow Builder help simplify task automation. Even if you don't use something like Zapier, Slack's built-in tools can help you create your own automations based on your team's needs.
4 More effective real-time communication
Threaded conversations, reactions and a better notification system
When it comes to real-time communication, Slack offers businesses a smoother and more organized experience. This has a lot to do with the sensible approach to threaded conversations and reactions. Slack allows you and your colleagues to respond to specific messages within a thread, keeping the main discussion in one channel clean and uncluttered.
This is crucial for large teams that often have multiple discussions at the same time. Instead of overwhelming the entire channel with side conversations, team members can use threads to keep the conversation organized and easy to understand.
While Microsoft Teams offers a similar threaded messaging feature, many users say it tends to feel more cumbersome and cumbersome in practice. Slack makes thread integration feel natural, allowing employees to quickly jump into side conversations without interrupting the flow of the main discussion.
Additionally, Slack's notification system offers impressive granularity and customization options. You can set alerts based on specific keywords, mentions, and even specific channels. This way you will be notified of conversations that are actually relevant to you.
This level of control helps prevent notification overload, which can result in members ignoring notifications altogether. Slack helps people focus on their work without missing important updates. Microsoft Teams, on the other hand, offers far fewer notification customization options.
3 Far better search capabilities and news indexing
When you need to find a specific message or fail, Slack makes it easy
One of Slack's standout features is its excellent search functionality. In Slack, searching through older messages is quick and extremely accurate. For busy businesses, finding specific information quickly is crucial, and Slack excels at it. Search features allow users to search for messages, files, and individual mentions.
Slack's search engine crawls across all your channels and direct messages, streamlining the retrieval of important information. It also offers several useful filters, such as: B. limiting the results by people, time ranges or specific channels. This gives you and your team more control over the search process.
Although Microsoft Teams offers essential search functions, they often seem limited and slower in comparison. Slack's search isn't just about speed, but also accuracy and flexibility. This makes Slack an essential tool for teams that need to access information quickly.
2 Seamless external collaboration when needed
With Slack Connect, companies can easily collaborate with other external teams
Globally networked companies often need to collaborate across organizations. Slack Connect makes this easy and allows teams from different companies to collaborate in a shared workspace. At the same time, your strict security is maintained.
Slack Connect makes it easy to invite external partners, customers, or suppliers to specific channels so they can collaborate just as easily as internal team members. This simplifies communication and project management across company boundaries without the need for multiple platforms or complex access controls.
One of the biggest benefits of Slack Connect is the ability to fine-tune access from external guests. You can control which channels your guests can see, protecting your sensitive internal information. This granular access control ensures smooth collaboration while ensuring a high level of security and confidentiality.
On the other hand, Microsoft Teams handles external collaboration more cumbersomely. Setting up external communications in Teams often requires creating guest accounts or setting up a federation, which can be a complex and time-consuming process. Slack Connect eliminates these additional steps and makes cross-organization work straightforward and efficient. More collaboration and fewer technical problems are the be-all and end-all here.
1 Less dependent on a specific ecosystem
Slack is like the Switzerland of team communication and works well with most platforms
Unlike Microsoft Teams, which is heavily integrated into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, Slack prides itself on being a neutral, flexible platform that integrates well with a variety of tools and services. This independence makes Slack a more versatile option for teams that rely on different platforms for their daily workflows.
Microsoft Teams naturally prioritizes integration with Microsoft tools like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Outlook because it's Microsoft. This can be a limitation for companies that use more diverse tools. On the other hand, Slack works beautifully with Google Workspace, Dropbox, Zoom, and countless other third-party tools, making it an ideal choice for teams that prefer more flexibility.
This neutrality and the ability to remain less dependent on a single ecosystem allows Slack users to combine the tools that best suit their needs. You are not tied to one provider or platform, such as Microsoft 365. The more than 2,400 apps available in the Slack directory include various project management apps, cloud storage platforms, and communication tools.
Always choose the right tool for the job
For many companies, Microsoft Teams will be an excellent communication tool. However, if your group works with tools outside of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, Teams can be far too cumbersome. Then you need a tool that allows you to work seamlessly with multiple platforms and utilities, or one that allows you to easily develop your own custom plugins. Slack offers this capability, making the tool as simple or robust as you need it to be.