Slack’s letter to Microsoft & Retrospect

Microsoft launched its new chat-based Teams app yesterday. The product will officially be called Microsoft Teams, it will be a part of Office 365. No more interesting is that Slack made Microsoft’s Teams announcement much more exciting with ad in the New York Times. I really loved some phrases:

Communication is hard, yet it is the most fundamental thing we do as human beings.

We are where work happens for millions of people around the world.

The last — is one of the best positionings I had ever seen. But in general, this letter is mostly taunting in relation to Microsoft.

So, as you set out to build “something just like it,” we want to give you some friendly advice.

You’re not going to create something people really love by making a big list of Slack’s features and simply checking those boxes.

The full text you can read on official Slack’s blog here.

Something reminds?

Apple releases full page welcome to IBM 35 Years Ago. In 1981 it was an iconic moment in passive-aggressive advertising. But as result two years after Apple’s letter, IBM had overtaken it in PC sales. Another case: Rdio, an internet radio startup, drafted a similar open letter to Apple upon the release of Apple Music. Rdio shut down a few months later.

Conclusion

There is no it. I don’t estimate or predict anything, it’s a big deals. These cases are just interesting for me and I hope for you too. Competition is always good not only for customers but for companies too. Thanks for attention.