8 Microsoft Teams Alternatives for stronger team collaboration

Since the onset of Microsoft Teams, more than a hundred new applications & tools have been integrated. This includes audio connections for mobile devices, video calling facility, safe email integration for better team collaboration, and also newer security & compliance features. The company is in talks to merge ‘Skype for Business’ with Microsoft Teams in the near future. However, some underlying features demand Microsoft Teams alternatives. But first, let us have a look at the Team’s features and why is it used between teams?

Features of Microsoft Teams:

The Microsoft Teams service conversations can be private or visible to an entire team. It brings integration with Microsoft Office 365 applications such as One Note, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Extensive Communication: It is also possible to video conference between the team of collaborators via Skype for Business.
Cross-platform Availability: In addition to the web version for Windows (& Windows Phone), the application supports other operating systems like Android, Mac & iOS.
Microsoft Teams allows employees to add and remove files, interact through chat, and give suggestions about projects in progress.
Besides integrating with the Microsoft Office 365 suite, the service allows you to customize the platform. The API enables conflation with Visual Studio, Trello, and GitHub among others.

Unlike some of the Microsoft Teams alternatives, the software lacks a free version. To use this platform you must have an account in Microsoft Office 365. A Home version costs about $99.99 per year and office costs $5.00 per user/month (annual commitment).

Moxtra alternatives — Kanban Board Image Credits: Visual Studio Marketplace

8 Best Microsoft Teams Alternatives

HipChat

HipChat is an instant messenger with differentiated features when compared to WhatsApp, Line, and Viber to state a few is one of the reliable Microsoft Teams alternatives. The product was developed for companies that need a stable and multiplatform internal communicative network among its employees.

The service is free for a group up to five individuals or a small price of $2 per month per user is levied if the user base increases within a group. Available for Windows, Mac & Linux computer platforms, with Android, iOS mobile platforms, and it also has a web version. If you are uncertain about HipChat subscription for your business, you have the opportunity to avail a 30-day trial option for free! After registration, you just have to invite five more people from your team by adding their names and contact information, such as an email address.

After this step, the site identifies the operating system that your computer is currently running on and provides a link to the most suitable version for download. For a better control, you can also access the web version. Whether it is a Web format or an app, you can use your computer and talk to a contact who is running it on a mobile device and vice-versa.

The interface of the program is very similar to that of a large chatroom. On the left side is a lobby menu, which displays the rooms created by the user that was added to their program network. In addition, at the bottom of this menu, the user can configure their profile and their availability status for a chat. Your contacts appear on the right side, just click on one of them to start a private conversation in real-time.

In the sharing center, you can find open rooms available for a contact who you want to chat with. By clicking on one of them, you will be directed to an interface that is very reminiscent of the web-hosting chat rooms that were successful a few years ago. In addition, in the center, appear messages sent by users, while at the bottom, there is a smaller rectangle, where you will write what you want to post. If you want to add a file, click the icon next to it, and then select Send.

After 30 days of testing, you will automatically be a subscriber to the free HipChat plan. If you want to swap plan you just have to log into the service’s website and access the “My account” option, where you can also download the other versions of the app, set up your group and search for new friends. Everything is very fast and easy for users of all levels which makes HipChat the best of Microsoft Teams alternatives.

Azendoo

Azendoo offers a simpler management of workgroups involved in a common project. Its multifaceted accessibility and download features have far-reaching grasp from the web & desktop to Android and iOS accompanied by a fast user registration. There is also a Google Chrome extension available on the Chrome Web Store.

This tool brings resources to create collaborative tasks, schedules, checklists, and attach files, set deadlines in an organized area, create polls and send private messages to each member of the group. You can also keep an eye on your team’s progress in the dashboard. The graphical representation shows all the tasks created, and also the ones finished. In this way, the company culture remains organized and easy to manage.

Open a free account or use your personal one. Make your teams more productive and focused with this unique software. Create a versatile schedule of activities for your collaborators. Find integration with Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, Zapier and 80 other external services without a lag. However, the free version limits to one workspace and 10GB file storage. With a 30-day trial period, followed by monthly fees, the personal and team licenses offer a number of other features. This includes assigning tasks to specific users, creating hierarchies in teams, linking alerts to email accounts, synchronizing calendars and more.

Business/Team member Profile; Image Credits: San Marcos Orthopedic

Available in 12 languages, Azendoo is an efficient tool for managing groups of online jobs. The platform allows you to create an activity schedule for each team member and offers several resources for message exchange, activity flow, and archives. Although Azendoo does not require installation, it allows the user to access it from any computer through its the website or the software available in the versions for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android and iOS. It is quite a suitable Microsoft Teams alternatives.

Slack

Slack is a startup launched in 2014 and currently valued at $ 3.8 billion. It was created to help companies improve their internal communication by reducing the need for infinite email sharing and participation at various meetings. Although Slack is pretty recent, it has grabbed quite a fame already. The company boasts some of its popular users- AirBnB, NASA development teams, and the US State Department.

Sharing information is one of the main points for improving communication within a company. For instance, allocating projects, decision-making processes, easy to find data makes your team more integrated and also improves the development of your product or service. Slack is one of the tools that provide these features. You can organize the conversations of your teams through channels, open-ended or closed. In addition, it offers total flexibility to create a channel to follow the development of a project, discuss a topic or to communicate with a specific team of your company, among other functions.

In order for the Network Manager to know everything that is happening in the group, it is possible to see all those who have viewed the messages and also draw attention in private to those who have not seen it yet. The golden key of Slack is its integration with several online tools that helps it to save tasks.

Slack is available for Android, iOS and desktop versions. It supports unlimited users. Overall, the application works well, without bugs or crashes. However, it charges $8 per month but is a superior application that most of the companies use to enhance their company culture. For this reason and others, Slack makes one of the very efficient Microsoft Teams alternatives.

Yammer

An innovative way to check employee performance, Yammer is efficient and a compelling tool for your enterprise. In a company, it is difficult to control the performance of each employee. With Yammer as one of the best Slack alternatives, the managers now have a much more efficient tool to know everything that is happening in the office. With the Yammer social network, you can increase your company’s productivity considerably.

Yammer social network serves exclusively the corporate world. You must have a company email ID to join the online workgroup. The idea is similar to the microblogging platform used on Twitter. It offers a discrete way of controlling everyday tasks and office routine with a rich context-based search. It is an excellent tool for an open collaboration among various teams.

Share photos, videos and other documents of different sizes, receive notifications and updates on work, assignments, meeting schedules and keep everyone interacting in sync at your workplace. With a 25 multi-lingual support, the message translation is very simplified and the communication proficiency will achieve high standards with Yammer service.

The user will need to create a personal profile with professional information, such as designation and the company details. In short, whatever it takes to establish a contact with co-workers. Yammer is used by both large and small companies in integration with other Microsoft products making it an Microsoft Teams alternatives in 2017.

Skype and Skype for Business

Skype is a VoIP communicator launched in August 2003. It offers the free version, for ordinary users and Skype Business for businesses. Although other services also provide a fantastic communication channel without needing text messages, Skype is the pioneer in the market which was bought by eBay in 2005 and then by Microsoft in 2011.

You have numerous login options, such as the traditional way, which asks the user to sign up for the service. You can connect to the service via Microsoft account (Hotmail, Messenger ou Outlook.com) or with Facebook. A lot of improvement has been made to Skype due to the best Skype alternatives available for free.

But Skype is available cross-platform and it is a very good one out of other Microsoft Teams alternatives. On the other hand, the Linux version has been the focal point of complaints. Skype for Linux has been overlooked even to this day. It has not received the same updates as for the popular Windows and Mac.

Skype Features

Skype is one of the most minimalistic communicators in the market. Its tool appeals to people looking for different types of services and can use it as an instant text messenger, for audio calls between two or more participants, corporate conferences, and high-quality video transmissions.

The modality of calls to mobile phones and landline phones with reduced tariff is one of the chief characteristics that makes Skype a world leader to consider as a stable and more affordable international calling service. Telephone equipment has become a second priority since Skype became part of users routine providing convenient technology with comfort.

The mode of sending SMS follows the same basis and has been generating greater benefits to a business. The software also created Skype Access technology which enabled Internet connections in areas without access and coverage. Impeccably, additional functions include hotspot, expandability options and eliminating connection boundaries for those living in remote locations. This makes it one of the very best Skype alternatives.

The calls are impressive with a clear audio and image on video streams. Depending on the speed and stability of your connection, Skype definitely provides the utmost quality for your conferences, meeting, chat and sharing files, among many other functions.

Google Hangouts

Is your work partner abroad, may be a friend or a family member whom you miss? The Google Hangouts connects you to the world with text chat, audio or video. Besides sharing images and emoticons, it makes your chatting experience a lot more fun. Using the Google+ video chats tool, the software has very interesting features for business and personal usage. This is why it makes the cut as a sustainable & one of the best Skype alternatives of 2017.

You can use your social network, group video hangout, for up to ten people. Work on your mobile device and continue it on your PC or laptop anywhere with the multiplatform messaging service all in sync with Google account like Gmail for example.

The interface is simple which keeps the clean standard of Google in apps like Google+ and Google Keep. To talk to someone, just slide your finger on the screen, select the friend and send the message.

After that, it displays a conversation window and you can open other functions- such as sending a hangout in a group which is ideal for business conferences and meeting or school assignment. Plus, send emoticons to the conversation time. Available for Android, iOS and desktop version, Google Hangouts is one of the most essential free to use application and makes one of the reliable Microsoft Teams alternatives.

Moxtra

Create group share links, videos, photos, texts of all sizes. Take or leave a posting in the content of other participants. Chat online with your team by choosing a category and threaded topic in a separate niche. The Moxtra application interface features a stream of content publications like any other social network. The difference is you can organize whichever content you want to view based on its importance and previous visits.

The application offers a feature to carry out meetings through sharability recordings. It brings VoIP technology and conducts demonstrations from the service while sharing the device screen with a computer. Participants can also interact and respond through videos. This technology is native to Moxtra, which is why it is one of the prominent Microsoft Teams alternatives.

The image editing feature is a very useful tool for projects, like creating markings when you are illustrating a content, highlighting, tagging, deleting, writing, etc. The chat function provides a Walkie-Talkie service. This means that every participant who records a voice message can play it for other collaborators. You can chat with a whole group or with individual members on Android and iOS platforms.

Ryver

Ryver is a tool of communication between large groups. This tool makes a trustworthy part of Microsoft Teams alternatives, which is also free to use in every sense of the word. You can create chat groups to discuss ideas about the company, projects and more. It is important that every participant has an account to have full access to the area and chat.

Additional resources include an interactive in-room chat rooms to facilitate communication of group members which individuals can meet online with the option to create private channels. It makes the conferences and meetings more organized because you can classified debates according to a specified theme.

Another advantage is the complete support for sending files in various formats (photos, documents, videos, etc). Additionally, you can send messages created in a separate window. This can include more detailed information and appended files.