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Microsoft Adds Teams FreebieMicrosoft Adds Teams Freebie

Targets range from the smallest of the small companies to teams within larger organizations.

Beth Schultz

July 12, 2018

2 Min Read
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When it comes to capturing enterprise attention for its team collaboration app, Teams, Microsoft has used Office 365 license bundling and a free one-year trial offer as carrots. Today it's offering yet another enticement: a free version.

The Teams freebie news comes as part of a handful of announcements Microsoft made today to mark the one-year anniversary of Microsoft 365, its workplace hub (the enterprise version of which integrates Office 365 Enterprise, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Enterprise Mobility + Security). It is available today worldwide, in 40 languages, for use among up to 300 people, wrote Ron Markezich, corporate VP for Microsoft, in an announcement blog.

The free Teams app comes with:

  • Unlimited chat messages and search

  • One-to-one and group audio and video calling

  • 10 GB of file storage per team, plus an additional 2 GB per person

  • Integration with Office Online apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote

  • Unlimited integration with more than 140 third-party business apps, including Adobe, Evernote, and Trello

  • Ability to use Teams for external conversations as well as internal communications, across Microsoft's global infrastructure

Besides broadening the scope of Microsoft 365 and the reach of Teams, undoubtedly another goal of this free version (explicitly stated or otherwise) is to further challenge Slack, which defined the technology category. In the post, Markezich shared the example of Teams customer The Hustle Media Company, a previous Slack user.

In a prepared quote, The Hustle's VP of Media Adam Ryan noted how a quadrupling of company size in the last year made the need for a solution for connecting all of its offices apparent. "As previous Slack users, we found that Microsoft Teams has all the features that other chat-based apps bring, but the teamwork hub allows everything to live in one place," he said.

Microsoft is targeting microbusinesses, small businesses, or teams in larger organizations with its free version of Teams.

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About the Author

Beth Schultz

In her role at Metrigy, Beth Schultz manages research operations, conducts primary research and analysis to provide metrics-based guidance for IT, customer experience, and business decision makers. Additionally, Beth manages the firm’s multimedia thought leadership content.

With more than 30 years in the IT media and events business, Beth is a well-known industry influencer, speaker, and creator of compelling content. She brings to Metrigy a wealth of industry knowledge from her more than three decades of coverage of the rapidly changing areas of digital transformation and the digital workplace.

Most recently, Beth was with Informa Tech, where for seven years she served as program co-chair for Enterprise Connect, the leading independent conference and exhibition for the unified communications and customer experience industries, and editor in chief of the companion No Jitter media site. While with Informa Tech, Beth also oversaw the development and launch of WorkSpace Connect, a multidisciplinary media site providing thought leadership for IT, HR, and facilities/real estate managers responsible for creating collaborative, connected workplaces.

Over the years, Beth has worked at a number of other technology news organizations, including All Analytics, Network World, CommunicationsWeek, and Telephony Magazine. In these positions, she has earned more than a dozen national and regional editorial excellence awards from American Business Media, American Society of Business Press Editors, Folio.net, and others.

Beth has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and lives in Chicago.