Skype for Business vs. Microsoft Teams

By now everyone knows that Microsoft Teams is due to replace Skype for Business. But Teams is not just the next version of Skype, it is so much more than that.

Teams combines the chat functionality with a wider array of communication and collaboration features. Microsoft is calling Teams a single hub for all your teamwork that brings together chat, video calling, files, and apps into a shared workspace.

In 2016, Microsoft released Teams as a response to it’s rival Slack and in two short years Teams usage surpassed that of Slack’s. In fact, IT pros expect Team’s presence to double by 2020. Currently Teams is a free tool that comes included with the O365 business licenses, so it presents great ROI potential for most organizations.

Teams supports threaded, persistent chat conversations, for both group chat and private messages. That means that users are able to scroll the entire real-time chat history across all devices. The chat environment can be enriched by the use of emojis, GIFs and memes. When necessary, users can jump from instant messaging to a video/audio conference call at the push of a button. While in the meeting, it’s super easy to share your screen and take notes all within Teams.

In addition, Teams allows you to access your Outlook calendar, book appointments, share files/photos/images, collaborate on content, @mention someone to get their attention, and much more. By now Teams also integrates with hundreds of third-party apps and tools, such as GitHub, Asana, Trello, Polly, Twitter, Adobe Creative Cloud and many more.

Another factor that makes Teams a great tool is it’s mobile app. Users are able to use the app on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. It has almost all of the same functionalities as the desktop version with a few minor exceptions. The information in app is updated in real-time, so you can start a conversation on your desktop and continue it while on-the-go. 

All in all, Teams is a solid product that provides fantastic collaboration and communication capabilities and Microsoft has committed to improving it even further. Check out all the new features of Teams in this Teams Blog.