It was way back in April 2019 when Microsoft said it would be integrating some of its Kaizala Pro features into Microsoft Teams. However, the company confirmed it would be a slow process taking over a year.
Specifically, Microsoft said it would entirely replace Kaizala with Microsoft Teams by the end of 2020.
“Based on this vision, and on feedback from customers, we will be bringing Kaizala capabilities into Microsoft Teams as an integrated offering. We expect the integration to happen in phases over the next 12-18 months. We will provide more details about the Kaizala and Teams integration roadmap later this quarter.”
However, the company says the transition is now on hold because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Microsoft was planning to add Kaizala Actions into Microsoft Teams as an integrated application.
It seems Teams users will have to wait for those tools. Microsoft says the current reliance on remote work means it will continue to keep Kaizala as a separate tool:
“In light of this year‘s sudden shift to remote work, we pivoted resources to respond to the exponential increase in Microsoft Teams usage, and supporting customers in maintaining continuity during this unprecedented and challenging time. As a result, our efforts to bring Kaizala features to Teams have been delayed.”
Ongoing Support
While Kaizala Pro will live on, it won't be available as a standalone service. It will now be limited to Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Support for the app will continue until the integration with Teams finally goes ahead.
Kaizala is a Microsoft Garage project that was launched in 2017. enterprise focused solution and provides a secure platform for business chat. Kaizala provides a platform for organizations to set up large group communication and task management. Collaboration, communication, and organizing can all be done through a mobile, without a need for a desktop hub.