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Skype Teams could be Microsoft’s answer to Slack for group productivity

Only a short time ago was it reported that Microsoft wanted to buy messaging app Slack for $8 billion, but according to a new report, the company has scrapped these plans and made a decision to go it alone. That’s according to a report by MSPoweruser. Users will also be able to start video chats both within channels and in private messages.

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“Skype Teams is the future of collaboration and messaging”, said the posting, which doesn’t mention Slack or any features of the forthcoming Skype Teams offering.”This is an influential role on an influential team, and you’ll be expected to work across the entire engineering team as needed to be successful”, the Skype Teams job posting said. It has a number of features now found in Skype, including video and voice calling.

Then there’s SharePoint, which lets teams operate sites where they can post blogs, collaborate on documents and do a whole host of other things. While all these address some component of what Skype Teams is trying to do, none of them compete directly with the hot products in this space.

Skype Teams has group channels, direct messages, and threaded conversations that helps to keep everyone up to date. Instead, they made a decision to turn their sights on building up their current video calling software Skype.

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It’s not clear when Microsoft plans to roll out the service, though it might make an appearance at Microsoft’s Ignite conference at the end of this month. But the $8 billion dollar figure didn’t pass approval by neither Bill Gates or Satya Nadella at the time. Another feature the app will reportedly include is Threaded Conversations, something Slack now doesn’t support.

Microsoft is reportedly working on a Slack competitor