Less than a week after Microsoft Corp. announced a free version of its Teams service, Slack Technologies Inc. today said it has acquired an app that allows its users to build tools to automate simple routines without code.

The move is an effort by the team software communications startup to keep ahead of its most serious challenger. The app, called Missions, was purchased outright from parent company Robots & Pencils Inc. for an undisclosed price.

The deal sees the small Missions team, described as fewer than 10 people, join Slack, but the deal was strictly a technology buy and not an “acquihire,” according to Slack Vice President and General Manager Brian Elliott.

Missions allows users, particularly those who aren’t information technology department staff such as marketers, sales operations folks and business analysts, to automate routine work without needing to use code.

The customization delivered by Missions has a wide range of potential uses. For example, Slack said it can facilitate hiring processes. “Streamline the process of onboarding a new employee to the company, guiding them through tax documents to sign, guides to read and people to meet,” Slack wrote.

Other examples include building a simple internal ticketing flow to triage incoming employee requests and managing candidate approvals and rejections between recruiting and the relevant hiring managers.

The app is claimed to already be used by large and small companies across a wide range of industries.

Current users of Missions have been guaranteed access to the app at least for six months while it is being integrated into Slack, and paying users get the service free starting today.

“Together, we’ll be able to unlock the power of the platform for a whole new set of Slack users, and ultimately help teams get work done more quickly,” Elliott added.

Image: Slack