Jan/Feb 19 - ChannelVision Magazine

Hangouts, Slack and then Microsoft Teams, which was new to the mar- ket at the time. By the end of 2018, Skype for Business remains in the number one spot, with 44 percent of businesses currently using it, up from 36 percent in 2016. However, within two years after it launched, Microsoft Teams secured the num- ber two spot. In 2016, 20 percent of organizations expected to use Microsoft Teams by 2018, and those adoption expectations held true. Today, 21 percent of businesses are using Microsoft Teams, up from 3 percent in 2016. The rise is likely due to Microsoft Team being offered at no additional cost to Office 365 users, especially considering that more than half of businesses use Office 365. Slack, for its part, now holds the number three spot with 15 percent of businesses using it, up from 13 per- cent in 2016. Not all chat apps are experiencing growth. Google Hangouts adoption has dropped since 2016, with only 11 percent of businesses currently using it compared to 16 percent in 2017, show Spiceworks figures, although the app has increased in popularity among large businesses as the plat- form adds more enterprise-level func- tionality. And despite having billions of users on their consumer-facing social media platform, Workplace by Face- book continues to struggle to get off the ground within businesses. Only 1 percent of organizations currently use this office collaboration platform. Moving forward, Microsoft Teams is expected to enjoy the most growth during the next two years, as 41 per- cent of organizations expect to use Microsoft Teams by the end of 2020 (up from 21 percent in 2016). As Spiceworks researchers note, Micro- soft said last October that Microsoft Teams would be the primary client for meetings and calling in Office 365 over Skype for Businesses, so eventually any new Office 365 customers with fewer than 500 seats will automatically get Microsoft Teams instead of Skype for Business. As with most things, the most popular in terms of usage does not always correlate with highest per- ceived quality. When Spiceworks asked IT professionals to rank the chat apps across different attributes, Slack was named the leader when it came to innovation. Microsoft Teams is the perceived leader for security, manageability and cost-effective- ness, while Skype for Business is the perceived leader for reliability, compatibility and user-friendliness. In fact, twice as many IT profession- als believe Skype for Business is user-friendly compared to Microsoft Teams, showed Spiceworks figures. Behind Skype for Business, Slack ranked second as the most user- friendly chat app, followed by Google Hangouts and then Microsoft Teams. And while it might seem counterin- tuitive, now that more companies have hands-on experience with collaborative chat apps, IT pros are less likely to be- lieve chat apps will eventually replace email. Only 16 percent of IT profession- als believe chat apps will replace email within three to five years, compared to 25 percent who said this in 2016. IT professionals likewise might have a better understanding of the true cost of maintaining real-time chat apps. Whereas 39 percent said collaborative chat apps are less expen- sive than email in 2016, this figure fell to 30 percent in 2018. o Core Communications Perceived Collaborative Chat App Leaders Across Various Attributes Source: Spiceworks Source: Spiceworks Business Adoption Plans for Collaborative Chat Apps Source: Spiceworks Skype for Business Microsoft Teams Slack Google Hangouts Workplace by Facebook 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Already use Plan to use within the next 12 months Plan to use in 1-2 years No plans to deploy 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Secure Reliable Innovative Cost Effective User Friendly Manageable Compatible Slack Microsoft Teams Skype for Business Google Hangouts Workplace by Facebook Source: McKiney & Co Factors Leading t Source: CompTIA Cloud computing is op new opp Cloud computing is op new opp Emerging technol broadening opp Complexity of t solutions and Customer demand for consulting Customers still want Customers want intern w rking on strategic Demand for vertical Vendor direct sales in to meet What’s Needed to A Source: CompTIA Availability of skilled IT Training (IT and business Younger generation embracing the channel as a prof Rethinking of the channel value proposition and w Partnering with complementary channel pr Support from industry trade associations/business Vendors truly committed to partnerships/decrease in cha More widely available and valued certifications and cred 41% 4% 5% 44% 21% 15% 2%1% 74% 11% 1% 91% 1% 81% 12% 8% 51% Perceived Collaborative Chat App Leaders Across Various Attributes Source: Spiceworks Source: Spiceworks Skype for Business Microsoft Teams Slack Google Hangouts Workplace by Facebook 10% 0% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 36% 46% 54% 17% 22% 25% 17% 14% 13% 8% 11% 18% 2% 1% 2% Small Businesses Mid-size businesses Large businesses Business Adoption Plans for Collaborative Chat Apps Source: Spiceworks Skype for Business Microsoft Teams Slack Google Hangouts Workplace by Facebook 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Already use Plan to use within the next 12 months Plan to use in 1-2 years No plans to deploy 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Secure Reliable Innovative Cost Effective User Friendly Manageable Compatible Slack Microsoft Teams Skype for Business Google Hangouts Workplace by Facebook S Younger generation embr Rethinking of the chan Partnering with Support from industry tr Vendors truly committed to p More widely available and va 41% 4% 5% 44% 21% 15% 2%1% 74% 11% 1% 91% 1% 81% 12% 8% 51% 18 Channel Vision | January - February, 2019