Microsoft reportedly bans employees from using Slack.
It has also banned the use of tools like Grammarly and Kaspersky security software.
The company also discouraged the use of AWS, Google Docs, and the cloud version of GitHub.
Microsoft has reportedly ‘prohibited’ its employees from using Slack, a team collaboration tool that directly competes with the company’s own service, Microsoft Teams. Slack, along with other services, was added to an internal list of ‘prohibited and discouraged’ software, GeekWire reported. As per the report, the maker of the popular Windows OS has cited security reasons for not allowing its workforce to use the service as part of its day-to-day work. The news comes as a surprise because in April this year, Slack unveiled a series of new integrations that brought tools from Office 365 to its ecosystem.
“Slack Free, Slack Standard and Slack Plus versions do not provide required controls to properly protect Microsoft Intellectual Property (IP). Existing users of these solutions should migrate chat history and files related to Microsoft business to Microsoft Teams, which offers the same features and integrated Office 365 apps, calling and meeting functionality. Learn more about the additional features that Teams can provide your workgroup. Slack Enterprise Grid version complies with Microsoft security requirements; however, we encourage use of Microsoft Teams rather than a competitive software,” GeekWire cited the full description from the list as saying.
Along with tools like Grammarly grammar checker and Kaspersky security software, Slack is on the “prohibited” category of the internal Microsoft app list. Further, the services in the “discouraged” category include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Docs, and the cloud version of GitHub. GitHub’s addition to the discouraged list has also raised some eyebrows because Microsoft acquired the popular software development hub and community for $7.5 billion last year.
Both the companies have named each other as one of their competitors. Slack named Microsoft as its primary competitor in a regulatory filing sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission in April. It was at the same time that Microsoft Corp’s market value swept past the $1 trillion mark for the first time in regular session trade. The Satya Nadella-led company pulled ahead of Apple Inc, making it the most valuable US publicly traded company after the quarterly earnings announcements.
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