Gadgetory

watch out slack Microsoft has a brand-new work collaboration tool that just may be better than the competition Microsoft teams is a group chat application fold it into the subscription of the office 365 suite of programs think of it as a network to chat with your colleagues at work about projects as an alternative to email it's going to begin slack which many companies have already adopted over the past few years Microsoft teams will benefit companies that already use office products because of how it weaves together other Microsoft tools so you can easily attach a Word or Excel document for editing or jump into a Skype call but it also works with outside third-party applications another perk is that teams supports threaded conversations so you can follow the trail of a discussion that's a feature lacking on slack and it's been a big complaint for many users teams is a free add-on for companies that already subscribe to office 365 but individual home consumers will not be able to try it out it's just for the workplace yet it's not limited to Windows machines Microsoft is also making this accessible to Mac iOS and Android devices teams is launching at the start of 2017 but enterprise customers can preview it now creating networks for companies to collaborate in real time is a hot area right now it's why Facebook recently launched Facebook for work and it seems even before Microsoft teams officially launches slack is worried it took out a full-page ad in The New York Times it made a blog post a friendly advice for Microsoft welcoming the competition it was so awkwardly written you could just smell the fear I am Bridget Carey you can keep up with a top tech stories at cnet.com slash you