Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) vs. Slack

Skype is useful for collaborations across distances, including work from home, as well as a more convenient way to communicate with a large group of people. Skype is also useful to communicate with specific parties quickly, rather than relying on cellular service in areas where not as available. Skype is less useful if the team does not use computers , tablets, smartphones, etc in daily workflow as it would rarely be used.

Incentivized

Slack is really effective for smaller teams to use as an internal communication platform. I think that it's still suitable even for companies of up to 500-1000 employees, but for larger teams it's less appropriate (or would require more aggressive organization, e.g. keeping channels protected and on an invite-only basis). It's really helpful for small team-to-small team communication too (like in our case where we create external channels to support POCs/business partnerships). It's not great for direct collaboration (e.g. it's hard to iterate on a project spec or a document together, directly in Slack) but it's well suited for conversational coordination, like planning meetings or asking informational questions.

Incentivized

• Group Chat option allows multiple people to have a conversation away from the main presentation
• Integration with Microsoft Office allows easy usage of excel, PowerPoint and other MS programs
• Easy calendar integration for Microsoft Outlook
• Mobile interface is very easy and intuitive

Incentivized

• Huddles Run smoothly without any interferences.
• Smooth individual calls quick and easy without any interruptions.
• seamless notifications across multiple devices
• The ability to easily tag a team member to urgently attend to a specific escalation.
• Slack being user friendly and able to integrate easily with other platforms and apps.
• How to easily open up different channels for different escalations and needs.
• a safe direct messaging option.

Incentivized

• Probably the biggest area is the video element as it has historically struggled in this area.
• The need to be forced to federate with another organisation by providing yours and enabling the other organisation settings is a bit tedious but once done, allows for simple collaboration between third-parties.
• Functionality wise, as it's an older product and being superseded by MS Teams, it feels as if it's run its course but was very good for what it does/did at the time.

Incentivized

• Undoubtedly Slack’s search function is powerful but sometimes it is difficult to find specific messages or files in very active channels with high message volumes. This needs an improvement.
• I have experienced notification issues on my phone. I am not receiving notifications and have missed important updates as a result. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app, but the problem still persists.
• The Business Plus plan does not include support for data loss prevention or offline backup providers.

Incentivized

I honestly feel that with most people using iPhone nowadays, it's easy to just call or use FaceTime if you need to be in touch with a client. Unless you need to have a conference call, there are plenty of ways to get in touch with a client otherwise besides using a somewhat inefficient program.

Incentivized

Slack sitll lacks in functionality. It's better than Skype for Business in many ways, but it is still another chat/message board app. It has limits in free version and paid versions. Also Windows app has errors that bother me, for example, I see number on one of my team's icons. It suggests that one of channels has unread messages; I check all channels - no unread messages, but that "1" still appears

Incentivized

Very easy to use. Even though Microsoft Teams has a lot of features and integrations, as a user I feel completely comfortable on finding what I need, getting information about the app extensions and using them. It's a very comprehensive tool, intuitive design and does not make me feel tired to be using it. I am glad with the current experience.

The product is fantastic, it keeps everyone connected and ensures detailed connection.

User interface of Slack software is very is very straightforward no need for training.

Availability of unlimited tutorials and demos.

Slack can be easily tailored to perform specific tasks.

Incentivized

Yes, the app works 24/7. I don't even recall having any period that we could not use since the implementation. Even the maintenance periods are barely noticeable and our work is not impacted by it when it happens.

Incentivized

Slack is a soft app, we don't have many issues with it. I recall one or two people complaining about something during our usage period, but I didn't have a bad experience. When the app is slow, usually the problem is with my computer or my internet. The app works just fine.

Incentivized

I have only had to reach out to the Support team at Skype for Business once with an issue, and I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the quickness and thoroughness of their response. The wait time was short and my question was dealt with politely and clearly, so I would say the support team has it together.

Incentivized

Whenever I've had to troubleshoot an issue with Slack (which, to be honest, has not happened very often), their online documentation has been easy to locate, easy to understand, and effective in resolving my issue. Slack's ever-growing popularity also means that there's a large community of practice out there that can be depended upon.

Incentivized

Skpe for business is utilized company wide in regards to my company. Everyone not only uses it, but uses it often. It is an effective way of communicating. It also integrates very nicely with outlook and all conversation history is pushed to a folder within the outlook system. We also have it so that if someone misses a message, they are sent an email reminder saying that there is a message that went unread.

Incentivized

I was not part of the implementation team, but I recall being 100% happy and excited to learn and use a new tool. I'm still am to be honest.

Incentivized

Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams is just better for us since we were already a Microsoft productivity suite (Office) user. No additional cost when we went from traditional product license model to SaaS. Continuous integration and upgrades with MS 365 make it even easier to use and therefore stickier.

Incentivized

I like Slack better than ClickUp, because I would spend 30-60 minutes a day updating my ClickUp tasks. The way ClickUp was used was very micromanaging. I billed by the hour, so I was willing to put in the time to alert the boss what tasks I was working on.

One of my jobs used Hive - I mostly just ran it in the background in case anyone messaged me. I did not use it often.

Incentivized

• In the move to WFH for the over 90000 employees of the firm in 13 different timezones, Skype for [Business], as the primary communication tool has been the most critical factor in ensuring there's not a communication breakdown.
• An average of 7 calls a day and around 50-60 text messages are sent via Skype for [Business]. These communications are critical for [the] continued delivery of our services.
• Video/voice calling and screen sharing features of Skype have played a great role in simulating a shared workspace scenario in the virtual mode as best as possible.

• Slack has been incredibly helpful in connecting various tech apps and ecosystems, creating a more streamlined and responsive process.
• Slack has made it significantly easier to communicate with our team members across multiple time zones, creating a more engaging environment for our all-remote team.

Incentivized