Sprint 2 :: Communication tools for Product Management
Slack vs Discord vs Microsoft Teams
Over the last years we have been using different communication tools - either in companies or in personal projects - depending on the company, the size of the team and the way everything is structured.
As with everything, we always have our personal preferences, although all the ones we've used have pros and cons.
We are not sponsored by any of these tools, don't expect us to tell you which one we prefer! 😅
We’ll do a review focused on 3 tools (that we already used): Slack, Discord and Microsoft Teams.
Slack
General info:
Company: Slack Technologies
Launch date: 2013 🚀
Country: Canada 🇨🇦
Pros: 🟢
Simple for new users
Channels: can be public, private, shared
Real-time easy collaboration with anyone
Suitable for sharing funny and non-work related things
Great security
Same UX whether on desktop or mobile
Threads within the same conversation to keep everything organized
A lot of Integrations (Figma, Jira, GitHub + a lot more)
Cons: 🔴
Constant notifications from all channels where you are present can be highly distracting and you are indirectly involved in something you have nothing to do with
The mobile version is so accessible and easy to use that we advise you to turn off notifications outside of working hours, as it can feel more like a social chat than actually “work”
If you're not organized you can find yourself in tremendous disorganization
Discord
General info:
Company: Discord Inc
Launch date: 2015 🚀
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Pros: 🟢
Speed and ease with which you can enter and exit calls
Alternative design with customization possibilities
Available in 30 languages
Same functionality on all types of devices
Presentations in HD via streaming (paid subscription)
HD streaming for apps/games/screens…
Video-call dedicated channels with support for multiple persons and multiple presentations at the same time
Creation of servers with sub-channels
Community of devs most of the times is used to using discord
Multiple threads can be created within one channel
Cons: 🔴
Complex platform for new users
Standard security
It's not as easy to share files as on other platforms
Paid subscription for a lot of improvements
Not all file types are allowed for sharing
Limit of 10 persons for Personal Channel creation
Microsoft Teams
General info:
Company: Microsoft
Launch date: 2016 🚀
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Pros:🟢
Free for Microsoft 365 users
Integration with cloud storage platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox
Helpful bots for everyday and boring tasks
Suitable for any industry: product management, design, marketing, project management, engineering, sales, customer service and a lot more
API’s, Frameworks and 3rd party services (Twitter as an example)
Cons: 🔴
Teams doesn't let people outside the organization join teams and app channels
Microsoft dependency
Huge storage consumption
Lack of notifications: you can create a channel with the same name as other channel and you’ll not know it
And you? Which platform do you like the most and why? 🤓
The Product Land. ⛰️
Wanna know more? Stay tuned and subscribe for the next sprints! ☟
And also.. get in touch with us if you want to! 🌐