According to the latest developer preview for Microsoft Teams, the technology giant will eventually be offering a free version of Teams for customers who don’t have their own Office 365 subscription. The chances are that this free offering will be a lot like the consumer version of Skype, which is designed to give clients access to the VoIP calling strategies they crave, without the extra business support.
Although there haven’t been any official announcements surrounding the free version of Microsoft Teams at this point, there’s a great deal of speculation in the community over what it might include. After all, Microsoft will need to place some limits on its free offering to make sure that it’s still pushing users towards the premium Teams experience. Yet, a reduced version of Teams could still be enough for smaller companies with fewer UC needs.
Why Offer a Free Version of Teams?
If you’re wondering why Microsoft would offer a free version of Teams at this time when UC competition is so fierce, the answer is obvious. Microsoft wants to make sure that they’re pulling as many people away from competitive services like Slack as possible. Usually, when a company offers a free version of their software to consumers, the aim is to hook people with a taste of the product, then gradually convince them to unlock the full potential of the platform.
Slack has their own approach to this free-to-premium upgrade, but the difference is that with Microsoft, users can enjoy a full range of unique office applications. Instead, the free version of Slack comes with a capacity on how much data can be shared by team members. With the premium version, customers can simply tap into a larger amount of space for each team member.
What Will the Free Version of Teams Include?
It’s difficult to know for sure what the free version of Teams might include at this point. Microsoft may choose to take a similar route to Slack and restrict the file sizes that can be shared in the free tier. This would mean that customers would have to upgrade to Office 365 if they want to share more complex content. On the other hand, Microsoft may choose to limit team sizes or the number of Teams they choose to support. Connects to third-party services and AI solutions like bots might be disabled too.
Some reports suggest that the latest developer preview contains lines of code that might indicate a storage limitation in the free tier version. This would mean that, like with Slack, once your number of saved files exceeds, or hits a certain storage limit, the Microsoft Teams client will inform you that you’ll need to upgrade if you want to continue enjoying the features currently available.
The Future of Microsoft Teams
While Microsoft Teams might be a more buzzworthy topic this year, the idea that started it appeared for the first time in 2007. By 2015, Microsoft decided to connect their Skype and Lync products to deliver Skype for Business, and soon, Microsoft Teams will become the ultimate replacement for that highly popular collaboration client.
The basic features offered by Microsoft Teams range all the way from VoIP calling and instant messaging, to team support, video conferencing, and integration with other Microsoft software. We can only wait to discover how many of those features will be included with the free version.
