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7 Ways to Connect Microsoft Teams and Slack in 2021
This post exists to answer the question: Does Microsoft Teams integrate with Slack?
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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.
Slack To Teams
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.
Slack To Teams Conversion
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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by Eric Karjaluoto and Andrei Soroker
Odds are you’re in love with Slack. This new tool is a fantastic way to keep your team on the same page—and cut back on email. Unfortunately, Slack has a limitation: it doesn’t easily connect disparate (e.g. external and intra-company) teams.
For example, in an agency, your team can use Slack to reduce call volume and expedite communication. But, what if the clients you work with have their own Slack, and don’t want to create new accounts? We’ve talked to a number of folks who find such situations a real bother.
Admittedly, this is a notable shortcoming in an otherwise great platform. There are, however, a handful of ways to solve this problem. Curious? Read on:
Option 1: Create a New Slack Team
The most common way to bridge the gap between two teams is to create a new Slack team. This seems like a low-friction solution, and in some ways it is. But, it also comes with a number of challenges and questions.
First off, this approach results in a brand new private chat history with everyone who is also in your main team. This sucks because it adds clutter—and noise.
Similarly, this approach forces you to determine who owns the associated teams, and who pays for them. Worse yet, when you have concurrent conversations in both teams, you’re going to be switching between teams like crazy!
Option 2: Invite the Other Team to Yours as Guests
A variation on this approach is to simply invite the other team to join your Slack as guests. This seems like a sensible approach, but it too has shortcomings. (BTW: If you aren’t paying for Slack, this approach isn’t an option.)
To make this approach work, you have to invite people one-by-one—by entering their email addresses. This is tedious, and a pain in the ass. It’s even worse if the other team is large, because you probably won’t have enough guest accounts available (Slack limits accounts to 5 guests per paying user) to make it viable.
This approach brings problems for your guests, too: In the event that you sever relations with them, all the exchanged data lives (solely) in your Slack. This is sort of unfair. Besides, even something as old-school as email would allow you to run basic forensics on previous correspondence.
Oops—we almost forgot to mention this: If the other team gets busy, they too will be be switching between teams like crazy!
Option 3: Get Your Team Invited
The third option is essentially the same as Option 2, but reversed. You know where we’re heading with this, don’t you? It puts you at risk of losing data. (i.e. If they decide to boot you out, you’ll lose access to the entire dialogue/history.)
All the same—if you need to connect teams in Slack, this is a viable option. Plus, the other party takes on the costs, so perhaps it’s fair that they also get all the data. Personally, though, we’d never go for an agreement like this.
Option 4: Use Sameroom
Sameroom specifically addresses the need to connect teams via chat. It works for Slack users, and also for teams using different services—like Skype, Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, HipChat, Campfire, Flowdock, IRC, or Gitter.
The service is largely invisible. You either create the connection yourself, or invite via URL, meaning there’s no need to paste emails. There’s no risk of data loss, as both sides retain the full dialogue history. Additionally Sameroom works with paid and free Slack plans—and team sizes don’t matter.
The downside? Sameroom’s a little weird. You fill in a couple of fields, click a few buttons, and you’re done. For some folks, this is a bit of a mind-bender. They expect more. What they don’t realize is that Sameroom is sort of like plumbing. (Even if you can’t see it, it sure is nice to have.)
Full disclosure: we’re some of the people working on Sameroom. We made a couple of demos for you, here and here.
Option 5: Use Skype (or an Alternative)
Some will decide that connecting different Slack teams is just too unwieldy. They’ll find the team size limitations, cost requirements, and potential loss of data overly constraining. Plus, they won’t want to run additional “plumbing,” like Sameroom, to let their teams mingle.
Fair enough. In these situations, a platform change is in order. In such an instance, we’d recommend looking at a technology like Skype. This service is free, everyone has an account, and most find the service familiar. Sure, Skype doesn’t have all the features Slack boasts, but on a lot of levels it works quite nicely.