Whether you’re a remote worker or want to be able to work remotely, there are plenty of options for how you can get your job done. But which team collaboration software is the best? It depends on what kind of remote work you do and what type of service you need.
But if you find yourself choosing between the most popular options — Skype, Teams, Slack — which one is the best for your company? Learn more about these three popular alternatives in this blog article!
Why Use Team Collaboration Software?
What are the benefits of using team collaboration software? Well, team collaboration software can help you meet your goals. For example, using this for remote work can make it easier for people to create content through closed-door online meetings or brainstorming sessions.
It can also make it easier to do video conferences because chatting over text is hard sometimes.
Microsoft Teams is an excellent option for those who want to collaborate and share information with others. It’s also a good option for those trying to reduce their digital footprint and reduce emailing and group video calls.
However, Skype and Slack allow you to work remotely with people like never before.
All three of the mentioned software serve as a great communication platform for creating a virtual work environment. Despite this, the programs still have minor variances.
Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Skype
Slack is a web-based application that can be used as a chat tool, group chat software or instant messaging service. It offers text messages, voice calls, video calls, group chat, direct messaging, file transfer, and other features. The uniqueness of Slack workspace is that it’s free for open-source initiatives or startups and other Slack users.
On the other hand, Microsoft Teams is a collaboration and communication tool that includes several features for group chat, and instant messaging and integration is available with Microsoft Office 365, Outlook.com, SharePoint, OneDrive for Business, Skype for Business, Dynamics CRM Online and more. Microsoft Teams is suitable both for small and big groups.
Lastly, Skype is a well-known service that has been around for 18 years. The application features include audio calls, video calls, text messaging, and group chat. The uniqueness of Skype is that it can be used both as a VOIP software and as a messaging service. You may call other Skype users by creating your phone number.
User Interface Design and User Experience (UI & UX)
Microsoft Teams and Skype offer similar features, but Skype has a slightly better interface design and user experience. Both systems’ layouts the screen is cleaner and easier to navigate, making it easier for users to find all the necessary information they need.
In contrast, Slack’s layout interface is considered basic and is quite tricky to navigate. This might be due to Slack being a web-based system that is not optimized for mobile devices.
In any case, the best interface design and user experience ensure that users will be able to find the information they need quickly and easily.
Winner in UI & UX: Microsoft Teams and Skype
Video Meeting and Screen Sharing Quality
Video conferencing and group video quality are essential aspects of many businesses. Businesses that utilize video conferencing for both internal and external use are very dependent on high quality.
If we have to compare Skype, Slack, and Microsoft Teams, all of them are good at video call quality, but we believe that Slack is far ahead. Even though Skype and Microsoft Teams users may enjoy great quality, we think that their video calling is still not good enough for business needs.
The video calling feature of Slack is more robust than the other two. This is determined after we evaluated the video calls and video recording quality of all three.
Winner in Video Meeting Quality: Slack
File Sharing and Collaboration
Another important aspect to consider is sharing files and storing files on a computer’s network. Users will be able to exchange files via the collaboration app as a result of this functionality. Everyone knows that sharing a file through the internet is a widespread and significant feature.
Comparing the above team collaboration software, we believe Microsoft Teams will be the upper hand over Skype and Slack. It has an excellent user interface and user experience, making it very easy for our users to use.
The best thing about Microsoft Teams is that it allows the user to integrate the software with other Microsoft tools, such as the file storage system, OneDrive. Users can store all their files and documents in OneDrive and share them with others easily.
Winner in File Sharing and Collaboration: Microsoft Teams
Help Desk and Customer Support
Choosing which platform is best for you can be challenging with the plethora of team collaboration tools available. What makes the tools best is the support available and whether they have a great relationship with their customers. Whenever we, as users, face any problem, we will want to look for customer support.
After some experiments with Skype, Slack, and Microsoft Teams, we found that all three of them provide excellent customer support. Moreover, bots and FAQs are available on all three tools, allowing for seamless assistance. As we all know, all three products advertise that their customer service is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
However, Microsoft Chat Support works faster than Skype Support and Slack support.
Winner in Help Desk and Customer Support: Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams, Skype, and Slack Pricing
Every software has its plan and packages offered to the users. All three-team collaboration platforms provide a free version and a free plan. As expected, they also offer premium and paid plans which include advanced features, depending on the software.
Microsoft Teams is the cheapest among these three. Other than the free Microsoft Teams plan, you get video meeting recordings for $5 per user/per month, OneDrive for Business storage (up to 1TB), and additional Microsoft 365 services. If you are an active Microsoft Tools user, you would like to get the Microsoft 365 Business Standard. You can enjoy collaboration software space that links to all Microsoft’s tools such as Microsoft Stream, Outlook, Publisher, and more.
If you’re looking for more options like screen sharing or sharing audio and video clips, Slack is your choice with its on-premises conference room for $6.67 per user/month via the Pro package. Other than that, Slack Integrations also offers different paid plans such as Business+ and Enterprise Grid, which provide even more additional features.
On the other hand, Skype provides a more unified direct and private messaging experience with video chat and audio chat for free. It also offers many more features aside from the usual IMs, such as chat windows and even instant messaging on the web.
In addition to the free plan competing options, Skype also has a paid plan that provides the user with a unique local phone number. You may use the phone number on Skype to call or send SMS to the local audiences.
Winner in Pricing (Lite User): Skype
Winner in Pricing (Professional User): Microsoft Teams
Conclusion
The best option for remote work is highly dependent on your needs, preferences, and where you are located. With these three seemingly similar productivity tools, there are a lot of factors to consider before deciding which one is most suitable for you or other small businesses. And when you’re done with work, why not treat yourself to some fun and excitement? Play at the top online casinos for Canadian players without breaking the bank. Enjoy your favourite games and feel the rush of winning!
