Workplace Messaging Report 2019
Mio conducted a survey of 200+ IT managers and admins to gain insight into the current and future usage of workplace messaging apps. Here are our findings...
Slack is the most used messaging app in the workplace
65% of respondents said they are using Slack today, with Skype for Business in second place at 61.5%.
74% of companies with over 10,000 employees report they are now using Slack.
49% of companies using Slack are also using Microsoft tools, indicating coexistence of messaging apps.
63% of companies using Microsoft apps are using Slack in parallel.
Slack's success is driven by the fact that even when corporate IT departments offer Microsoft Teams to all employees, they also have to accommodate users who insist on using Slack as well.
91% of businesses use at least 2 messaging apps
3.3 is the average number of workplace chat apps used by each respondent.
66% of companies using Microsoft Teams say they are also Slack customers.
Many organizations continue to have multiple messaging apps. These team apps often get adopted by individual departments in order to solve specific needs, sometimes without IT being involved.
Skype for Business is going away
57% suggest less Skype for Business usage in the next 2 years.
Skype for Business admins indicated their awareness of Skype for Business going end of life, and fully expect to have fewer users on the service in the next 24 months.
Responses also indicate that companies are considering Microsoft Teams with other apps like Webex Teams and Slack in parallel.
Microsoft Teams usage will grow
56% surveyed are planning for more Microsoft Teams usage in their organization over the next 2 years.
41% are planning for more Webex Teams usage over the next 2 years.
38% are planning for more Slack usage over the next 2 years.
Slack is not just knocking on the door, but coexisting with the likes of Microsoft and Cisco.
Employees love using Slack and Webex
31% suggested they prefer the Slack UI.
31% suggested they prefer the Webex Teams UI.
22% suggested they prefer the Microsoft Teams UI.
Despite significant improvements in the Microsoft Teams client over the past 12 months, Slack's user interface continues to get top ratings from its very loyal customer base.
Viral adoption is going well for Slack. They are a tiny way penetrated into the potential market. Slack's mass market appeal is going to be reliant on the champions inside an organization helping to explain how things work, as well as IT integrating into the simple UI.
Slack Free is still the most popular
There is a clear trend in Slack usage. As the pricing scale rises, there are less organizations opting for higher tiered packages.
27% use Slack Free.
21% use Slack Standard.
15% use Slack Plus.
11% use Slack Enterprise Grid.
55% of companies with existing Slack usage say they plan to increase their number of Slack user licences over the next two years.
Cisco remains the superhero of endpoints
65% of organizations use Cisco endpoints.
Of the organizations that indicated they are using Cisco endpoints:
74% use Cisco Webex Teams.
63% use Slack.
62% use Microsoft Teams.
Cisco is clearly dominant here. As Cisco has made Jabber and Webex Teams interoperable, customers might not even know what they are using - which isn't a bad thing.
Everybody uses Office 365, mostly with Slack
89% of respondents provide employees with Microsoft Office 365 licenses.
65% of Office 365 users said they are using Slack.
59% of Office 365 users are using Microsoft Teams.
51% of Office 365 users are using Cisco Webex Teams.
It remains challenging to get users to switch from apps they've already adopted, notably Slack - especially once they become part of the organization's workflow. Rather than disrupt the workflow, most organizations opt to support multiple team apps.
