7 Ways to Connect Microsoft Teams and Slack in 2021
This post exists to answer the question: Does Microsoft Teams integrate with Slack?
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011. Microsoft publishes a Slack connector in its connector inventory that enables some Slack and Microsoft Teams crossover. You will benefit from functionality like joining a Slack channel and can even set triggers for certain events. However, limited functionality stops experiments pretty quickly. If you do not already have it, you can get the app for multiple desktop and mobile platforms at 2 Sign in to your account. Slack is a virtual messaging platform that was specifically designed with business and team usage in mind. It helps you virtually communicate with your on-site and remote team members – no matter where they are. But instant messaging isn’t the only thing you can do with a Slack account. It also lets you. Elm Enter your email below to join Elm on Slack! Elm Enter your email below to join Elm on Slack!
We know chat must be native, seamless, and simple to administer. But with both Microsoft Teams and Slack dominating the team collaboration market, enterprises using both apps need to connect Slack and Microsoft Teams.
Most notably, we hear from customers that were thinking about moving from Slack to Microsoft Teams or blocking Slack in favor of Microsoft Teams, and vice versa.
Does Microsoft teams integrate with Slack?
Rather than continue working in silos, we’ve highlighted 7 ways to connect Slack and Microsoft Teams then gone out and found a better one for internal use and a better one for external use.
1 – Connect Slack and Microsoft Teams without introducing a new chat client
Native federation
Pros:
There are services in the marketplace that allow you to federate with other enterprises via their own chat client, but this doesn’t resolve the issue of multiple chat platforms in a single organization.
It does, however, bring them together in a slightly improved chat client.
Natively, apps like Skype for Business also provide this functionality. Skype for Business users just
Cons:
Some UC providers have started to introduce cross-platform messaging into their collaboration offerings.
Whilst this does remedy the issue of switching between multiple apps, the solution here is to totally replace the solution you are already invested in.
You can message any number of other businesses using most chat apps. But, this comes with the disadvantage of giving up the native app that everybody uses.
Guest access
Pros:
Take the typical example where your engineering team loves Slack and your IT and Sales teams prefer Teams.
Guest access on both platforms allows external parties to join in the conversation, but access is limited.
Cons:
Removing either (or both) of Slack and Microsoft Teams, in favor of a catch-all UC solution, almost always results in using Slack and Teams for some services.
Obviously, this is the ideal scenario for the UC provider. However, they may not always be the best fit for the business.
Moving your messaging stack to a new product could still leave you heavily invested in Microsoft Office 365 – a waste of a powerful app already paid for in your Office 365 strategy.
2 – Configure webhooks for Slack & Microsoft Teams
Pros:
By using webhooks, you have a low-cost solution to a complex enterprise issue.
Webhooks also take little time to configure per scenario. If the issue exists in a single channel, webhooks are a good solution to a large scale problem.
Cons:
The downside to using webhooks revolves around the amount of manual configuration required.
When you are dealing with multiple channels in an enterprise scenario, webhooks are simply not scalable.
They also don’t tend to display in a native way, and instead, from a bot.
End users have to re-train behavior in order to message cross-platform, and who has time for that? You? Didn’t think so.
In an organization of a few hundred or more, remembering who uses what platform becomes impossible to mentally track.
News also broke in April 2020 when it was discovered some Slack webhooks has been exposed as potential phishing hooks.
Researchers said there are nearly 131,000 Slack webhook URLs available on the Internet.
3 – Use APIs & bots to connect Slack & Microsoft Teams
Pros:
Bots for Slack and Microsoft Teams are on the rise. Bots can be leveraged to create a more native experience.
Microsoft publishes a Slack connector in its connector inventory that enables some Slack and Microsoft Teams crossover.
You will benefit from functionality like joining a Slack channel and can even set triggers for certain events.
However, limited functionality stops experiments pretty quickly. For example, direct messaging goes totally unmentioned.
Cons:
Most users, especially in the enterprise space, are still in the experimental phase in terms of users being comfortable using them.
One Github community working on a tool to connect Slack and Microsoft Teams expressed concerns that various API and migration tools are limited to basic functionality.
Most of these solutions are still configuration based.
This means you will spend incredible time and resource making each channel work for you – and maintain this configuration as you add and modify channels.
4 – Create your own app using an app builder
Pros:
Generally, app builders are simple to use.
With a no-code approach, you don’t need to hire a specialist engineer to connect Slack and Microsoft Teams
You can get a free trial to play around with your requirements.
Most app builders support a wide range of apps to integrate like Slack, Google Sheets, and Trello.
Cons:
Functionality is limited by the supported features available on a particular app builder.
One user got in touch with Mio for a replacement solution to using an app builder stating:
“I tried an app builder but it was too limited. Threads didn’t work, and users name matching was absent. “
The functionality will also be limited by your own building skills and requirements gathering.
While support is available with most app builders, it is considered a DIY approach to connecting Slack and Microsoft Teams.
5 – Slack and Microsoft Teams calling integration
The integration between Slack and Microsoft Teams VoIP functionality arrived as part of a comprehensive update at Enterprise Connect, April 2020.
Pros:
The update allows for Microsoft Teams calls to start through Slack. You can access the integration through the shortcuts button on Slack. This lightning-bolt shaped icon near your message input field allows you to start a Teams call instantly.
If you prefer the Slash command option on Slack, then you can opt for the /Teams-Calls to launch your Teams call from Slack instead.
Cons:
Unfortunately, the Slack and Teams calling integration is limited. It only connects one aspect of Slack and Microsoft Teams.
You can start a call through Microsoft Teams in Slack this way, but you can’t send instant messages or send files from someone on Slack to someone on Teams.
Tom Arbuthnot, Principal Solutions Architect at Modality Systems and Microsoft MVP, agrees the Slack and Teams calling integration is not a complete solution for connecting Slack and Microsoft Teams.
“The Slack “integration” to Microsoft Teams, while clever, is really just Microsoft Teams meeting join link in Slack that fires up Microsoft Teams to join the Teams meeting.”
Users often ask for further integration like being able to directly call or chat from one platform to another.
Team collaboration tools should allow access to a wide range of communication options. That makes the latest integration restrictive. After all, there’s a lot more to Slack and Microsoft Teams than just calling.
In an interview for UC Today, our CEO Tom Hadfield commented on news of the integration:
“The future of intercompany collaboration relies on full interoperability between Slack and Microsoft Teams. Cross-platform calling is a good start, but our customers tell us what they really need is cross-platform shared channels and direct messaging.”
6 – Use the Microsoft Graph API to migrate Slack to Teams
Microsoft is working on a migration API to help IT managers and Microsoft admins migrate chats from Slack to Teams.
As of September 2020, Microsoft has made documentation available and certain tenants can sign up to the beta program.
In theory, Microsoft wants to allow Slack messages to be migrated over to Teams without a delay or break in service and/or conversation.
The in-scope and out-of-scope items are included below:
Pros:
Previous attempts to migrate Slack to Teams have resulted in a loss of historical data and messages. The new migration API changes that.
As Tom Morgan, Product Innovation Architect at Modality Systems, pointed out his blog, an organization might be moving from Slack to Teams but have 5+ years worth of message history in Slack.
Previously, in this scenario, there have been workarounds that result in a disjointed and almost unworkable experience. With the migration API, theoretically, all messages and message information should be transferred over.
For businesses who decide they must migrate from Slack to Teams, instead of choosing interoperability between the two apps, this is the most likely option of keeping your Slack users happy.
Cons:
A game changer for most businesses is that messages can only be imported into public channels. If you plan to use private channels, Microsoft doesn’t offer support for this.
One further restriction is the lack of support for backups.
As documented by Tony Redmond, Principal at Redmond & Associates and Author of the Office 365 for IT Pros Book, this process doesn’t include a backup.
“The lack of a backup and restore API for Teams that covers team structure and content is regrettable. Because Teams is interconnected with the rest of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, it is a difficult application to backup. But that’s no reason for Microsoft to ignore the need.”
Tom Morgan also pointed out that the whole process made his head hurt.
“It’s a ‘behind the curtain’ operation that changes how I think about Teams messages. These aren’t operations for the every day, but if you need to migrate over messages from third-party systems into Microsoft Teams, these API calls will give you the power you need to achieve it. Just, make sure you don’t break any other parts of the delicate balance of time and space whilst you’re at it.”
7 – Federation to connect to external guests across Slack and Teams
Do you communicate with people outside your organization as well?
According to research, they’ll likely be using Slack or Microsoft Teams, but not necessarily the same as you.
It’s hard to chat with freelancers, contractors, and suppliers when you’re not on the same platform.
When this is the case, it becomes extremely unproductive moving out of your app to accommodate your guest.
Or even worse, end up resorting to email like it’s the 90s. (Okay, email has a purpose but you get the point).
That’s why Mio has created universal channels for Microsoft Teams with Slack.
You can stay in Teams and send messages to your contractors, suppliers, or clients that use Slack.
They stay in their platform too and Mio translates the messages across platform.
And it’s not just messages that are supported! GIFs, emojis, channels, DMs, and message edits/deletes are all supported.
If this sounds like something you need, try your first universal channel for free here. Your first three are completely free.
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Managing Multiple Slack Guest Accounts and Workspaces in 2021
On a scale of 1-10, how hard is it to handle multiple Slack guest accounts and workspaces at once? If you said more than 1, this article should help.
Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco Webex Teams have changed the way professionals operate.
Instead of clunky emails, we can connect with people in real-time through direct messages. Instead of calling people and hoping that they pick up, we can check a coworker’s presence and set up a video call.
However, there are still a few issues that workplaces need to overcome with their collaboration apps.
Can you still have a simple, single-pane-of-glass Slack experience?
Signing into multiple Slack workspaces
The good news?
Signing into multiple Slack workspaces is easy.
If you’re a freelancer, a contractor, or you just have more than one group to manage, you shouldn’t have a problem. Here’s what you need to do:
- Log into the Slack web portal, or sign in with your desktop app
- Click on the tab named “Your Workspaces”
- Select “Create Workspace”
- Enter the URL of the team you want to join
- Enter your email and password
Eventually, you’ll end up with a list of workspaces you can use to connect with other coworkers and clients. Unfortunately, each of those workspaces remains separate from the others. That means that you’ll need multiple tabs open to speak to everyone at once if you use a browser.
TIP If you are using the Slack desktop app, you can use the CTRL + 2 shortcut for Windows and cmd + 2 for Mac to flick tab between multiple Slack workspaces.
TIP So you don’t have to remember the index of the workspace, you can navigate back and forth using [CMD | ⊞CTRL] + [:arrow_up:SHIFT] + [ | ]
Check the left-hand pane where your workspaces are displayed to see which number each Slack workspace assigned. The more workspaces, the more shortcuts will be displayed.
Handling your teams
Let’s say you’re invited to join a Slack team as a single channel guest.
Guests in Slack can either be multi-channel or single-channel guests. To join a team as a guest, you’ll need to accept the email invitation you’re given, then create separate Slack guest accounts.
Your Slack guest account can share the same profile elements as your original Slack account, and link to the same email. However, for each account, you’ll have a limited group of people that you can message and connect with.
On the one hand, having separate slack guest accounts for each team or channel you use is handy. It means you can adjust your preferences and notifications for every group.
For instance, if you were a freelancer that worked specific hours with one business, and different hours with another, you can turn off your notifications outside of those hours.
On the other hand, you’re going to need to switch back and forwards between channels regularly to make sure that you’re up-to-date with the latest information.
It’s that or turn email notifications on and hope for the best.
Since the whole point of an app like Slack is to eliminate your reliance on email, you might be reluctant to turn back to your inbox for help.
What about Slack Shared Channels?
You’re not the only person who’s ever worried about handling multiple workspaces on Slack.
As more companies continue to collaborate with external, as well as internal people, Slack has begun working on new solutions.
For instance, the Shared Channels feature on Slack makes it possible to share specific channels in your workspace with another company’s slack account.
Imagine you had decided to work on your marketing campaign with the help of a marketing agency.
You could link your marketing team’s Slack channel to the other company to allow for easier collaboration.
The result is that company Slack users can talk to multiple teams on their app, without having to switch to a new account or add guest profiles.
As your marketing project progresses, the agency could add new people to the shared Slack channel to help you, like video or audio specialists.
The only problem? If you’re working with multiple companies, not all of them will be happy to invest in a paid Slack service so that they can interact with you.
Shared Channels is a premium feature. But is now packaged as Slack Connect. In Slack Connect you get access to 20 different organizations within a shared channels.
However, if you don’t want all external contacts talking in one channel, you still have to add people as a single channel guest to your team or join their team as a single channel guest, giving you multiple accounts to manage.
Options for switching between multiple Slack Workspaces
Currently, if you want to switch between multiple Slack workspaces, you’ll need to:
- Create Slack accounts with the same email address for every business you want to collaborate with
- Click on the top left-hand side of your Slack application where you see your profile preferences
- Click on “Switch to…” then the name of the workspace you want to visit (or use the shortcut CTRL+ 2 or cmd +2)
When you’re in a Slack workspace, you will now receive notifications from other Slack workspaces – but you’ll have to switch back to check them.
Ideally, you’d be able to manage all of the channels within the same window, simply clicking between the people you want to communicate with, regardless of which company they’re affiliated with.
You could set this up by creating a universal channel. Sign into the Slack workspace you use the most and create a universal channel to share with external Slack users.
This way you can stay in your desired workspace and message your external contacts without switching between workspaces.
Mio designed universal channels to ensure the future of intercompany collaboration was a connected one. While the primary use case for a universal channel is enabling Slack to Microsoft Teams cross-platform messaging, we have customers using universal channels to manage multiple Slack workspaces better.
What happens when you need to message people outside of Slack?
Just because you use Slack all day every day doesn’t mean other organizations and individuals don’t prefer Microsoft Teams or Webex Teams.
This is usually the scenario where you have to resort to email or arranging a call to chat with external guests.
The last thing you need when you’re trying to streamline your workflow is the headache of switching between channels, multiple Slack workspaces, and then other apps like Microsoft Teams or Cisco Webex Teams come and mess up your flow.
We hear you.
Mio makes handling multiple Slack workspaces as easy as possible and allows users that prefer Microsoft Teams or Cisco Webex Teams to join in the conversation with ease.
Instead of switching between apps, using email, or waiting for a time for everyone to become available for a meeting, Mio lets you message users on other platforms directly from your Slack workspace.
If you’d like access to our tool, install it directly to your Slack workspace here.
Creating a cohesive internal Slack experience with Mio for enterprises
When your colleagues use Microsoft Teams or Cisco Webex Teams, Mio ensures that you don’t have to switch apps to interact either.
Rather than adding yet another app to your toolkit, Mio lets you unlock true messaging interoperability instead.
All you need to do is sign up, sync all the chat apps that your team uses in your personal Mio hub, and start messaging across platform.
This way, you can communicate easily with people on Microsoft Teams and Webex Teams without having to leave Slack.
At the same time, your coworkers, clients, and contractors can continue to use the tools that they prefer.
What sounds incredibly difficult to achieve becomes simple with Mio.
Want to find out how Mio can improve your ability to handle multiple Slack workspaces?
Check out this video of how Mio works or request a demo.
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