IBM chooses another Microsoft competitor for its employees; Slack instead of Teams

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Published onFebruary 10, 2020

published onFebruary 10, 2020

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Microsoft and Slack have been locked inside a metaphorical cage match over thefuture supremacy of productivity communicationsand today, IBM placed a large bet on Slack.

According toa Busines Insider report, IBM is going all-in with Slack to help support communications of its 350,000 employees in the near future.

IBM choosing a Microsoft competitor, while a tantalizing headline grabber, isn’t a new event. A few years ago, IBM and Apple made headlines as the former opted to shift 25% of its 537,000 active laptops from PCs to Macs.

On the face of it, the IBM contract is a huge get for Slack, especially as the company scales to continue competing with the likes of Microsoft Teams, but some of the details of the agreement have arguably subdued the news.

Powering modern communications one of the largest businesses worldwide is not only a validation of Slack’s ability to support and scale its solution but should be a relatively lucrative revenue stream that can counter Microsoft’s recent surge in the sector.

However, the reality is that Slack had already been supporting IBM employees as early as 2014 and hasscaled to support 165,000 as 2019.

Furthermore, the company has yet to clarify which portion of the current 165,000 or future total 350,000 employees will be using a free or paid tier of the service.

While understandably proud of the full commitment from IBM Slack alsoseemingly attempted to underplay the newsby not updating its fourth-quarter forecast to reflect its new agreement, a move that saw its shares soar 15% but ultimately fall 6% in after-hours trading.

Kareem Anderson

Networking & Security Specialist

Kareem is a journalist from the bay area, now living in Florida. His passion for technology and content creation drives are unmatched, driving him to create well-researched articles and incredible YouTube videos.

He is always on the lookout for everything new about Microsoft, focusing on making easy-to-understand content and breaking down complex topics related to networking, Azure, cloud computing, and security.

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Kareem Anderson

Networking & Security Specialist

He is a journalist from the bay area, now living in Florida. He breaks down complex topics related to networking, Azure, cloud computing, and security

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IBM chooses another Microsoft competitor for its employees; Slack instead of Teams