By the end of 2021, Microsoft Teams was boasting 145 million active users each day.

In the last couple of years, the use of team communication apps has skyrocketed, and the features and functionality of these apps have grown in kind. There are many options available, so how do you know which platform is best for you?

For a rundown of 5 of the best team communication apps, keep reading.

WAVE PTX

Motorola has developed this Push-to-Talk communication solution to meet the needs of highly mobile and labor-intensive businesses. It uses broadband PTT devices to keep everyone connected at all times.

Some major advantages of WAVE PTX are:

• Instant, reliable communication
• Private and group calls
• Location reporting
• Video streaming
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• National LTE coverage
• More

Push to talk radio technology has been used for years in a range of industries as it brings many advantages. Being able to do this over LTE or Wi-Fi can be incredibly beneficial for your business.

Slack

Slack is a great option to maintain communication between a remote workforce. It doesn’t have as many features as some other apps but is solely dedicated to team communication, in which it excels.

It’s available on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and web browsers, so essentially any device can use it. Chat functionality is effortless with the use of channels, text-based messaging, voice & video calls, and more.

You can even integrate it with other software such as Zendesk, Google Drive, and Salesforce.

Microsoft Teams

One of Microsoft’s most modern communication methods, this is a part of the Office 365 suite and integrates with the other Office programs to utilize all of its features. This gives it a slightly different focus than some other options and it’s geared towards things such as:

• Team chat through channels
• Teams (groups)
• File sharing
• Calendar
• Voice and video calls

It has a free option so you can test it out before going for the full package.

Google Hangouts

Hangouts is an older app that Google is now splitting into two: Google Chat and Google Meet.

Meet is geared towards video communications, and Chat is more for team chat rooms and direct messaging. Hangouts is developing in more ways than one, as it is also moving from its original position as part of Google Workspace, and is instead being rolled out for Gmail accounts.

Of the two platforms, Google Chat is the most similar to ones like Slack and Teams. Google has also decided to make it free for Gmail users as an “early access” service.

Mattermost

Mattermost is different from the other options here as it is the only one that businesses can install on their own servers. This is ideal if you want to keep communications off of third-party servers.

It uses channels like other similar platforms and the general look and design are similar to Slack. Video and voice chat options are available, but these are handled by third-party services. Some of these can be installed on a company’s own servers, but some can’t so this is worth remembering.

The Best Team Communication Apps

All of the platforms here are useful, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. To figure out what is best for you you’ll need to compare the different team communication apps available and weigh them up against your needs as a business.

If you’re interested in more tech articles check out some of our other blog posts.