Earlier this week, Microsoft announced the launch of Microsoft Teams, a new feature of Office 365. The chat-based collaboration service is available for preview now and is expected to be delivered in Q1 2017.
Touted by many as the alternative to Slack, Microsoft is calling Microsoft Teams “a digital workspace for high performing teams”:
Microsoft Teams brings together the full breadth and depth of Office 365 to provide a true hub for teamwork. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote, Planner, Power BI and Delve are all built into Microsoft Teams so people have all the information and tools they need at their fingertips.
Some analysts say the competition with Slack may not be as direct, however, pointing out that Slack is a 
product, while Microsoft Teams is a service within Office 365. That distinction makes each solution attractive to different markets.
Let us know in the comments: How do you think the launch of Microsoft Teams will affect the market for chat-based collaboration tools? If you’re currently using Slack, do you plan to make the switch? Why or why not?
