Microsoft and SAP are partnering to integrate Teams across SAP’s suite of solutions, with the goal of streamlining customers’ cloud transitions.

Microsoft Teams and Slack are the two dominant corporate messaging platforms on the market. Salesforce recently inked a deal to acquire Slack in a move that was seen largely as a way to fend off threats and remain competitive. It’s not surprising that Saleforce’s rivals would want to offer similar levels of integration. This is especially true for SAP and Microsoft, both among Salesforce’s biggest competitors.

The partnerships builds on a joint commitment by the two companies, and will see Teams integrated with SAP S/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Customer Experience.

“New ways of working, collaborating and interacting completely transform how we operate,” said Christian Klein, CEO of SAP SE and member of the Executive Board. “By integrating Microsoft Teams across our solution portfolio, we will bring collaboration to the next level, jointly determining the future of work and enabling the frictionless enterprise. Our trusted partnership with Microsoft is focused on continuously advancing customer success. That’s why we are also expanding interoperability with Azure.”

“The case for digital transformation has never been more urgent,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “By bringing together the power of Azure and Teams with SAP’s solutions, we will help more organizations harness the power of the cloud so they can more quickly adapt and innovate going forward.”

The new integrations are expected to be available in mid-2021.