For companies neck-deep in the Microsoft ecosystem, Slack may not be the best option. To help solve this issue for its Office 365 customers, or perhaps simply to cash in on Slack's popularity, Microsoft has released their new Teams application. Now available in preview for Office 365 Enterprise/Business customers, Teams is tightly integrated with your favorite Microsoft services.

Just like Slack, Teams allows for channel-wide conversations, as well as private messages. Skype voice and video conferences are built-in, and messages are threaded for easier reading. Additional channel content, such as files and to-do lists, are available in tabs at the top of the screen. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Planner, SharePoint, Power PI, and Delve are all integrated into Teams.

Microsoft Teams is scheduled for a Q1 2017 public release, and currently has applications for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and the web.

Source: Office blog