Yeah, if I were setting up messaging at a company, having witnessed the true total cost of these single-source solutions, I would set up IRC and/or XMPP. For so

Yeah, if I were setting up messaging at a company, having witnessed the true total cost of these single-source solutions, I would set up IRC and/or XMPP. For some companies, the costs are lower with Slack, and I think that's where it shines; but I am fed up with it. That said, the author of this article is actually just trying to promote his startup. I think that's fair enough, but I think he should disclose that more prominently than just having it in his byline.