Microsoft Loop, an alternative to Microsoft Notion, is now available

Microsoft has been working on collaboration tools for Office for a long time, and now it's taking it one step further with the introduction of Loop. This is a new application that aims to enhance collaboration, especially in a hybrid work environment; that is, part of the team works in-person, while the rest work remotely.

Microsoft Loop builds in part on the work we've already seen with Fluid Office and Fluid Components, hand in hand with the Fluid Framework. The company defines its new tool as an app that combines "a powerful and flexible canvas with portable components that move freely and sync across apps." And if the first impression it gives you is that it looks absurdly similar to Notion, you're not alone; "inspiration" is there.

The program is divided into three important parts

One of them is Loop Workspaces, which, as the name suggests, is a workspace where team members can share their ideas and achievements, as well as respond to each other's tasks and keep track of what each member is doing. We can say that this is the center in which all parts of the project being developed are combined.

Another part of Microsoft Loop is Loop Components. As with the aforementioned Fluid Components, these are blocks of content that are co-edited and automatically synced. So, for example, you can create tables that are subsequently inserted into a Word document and Outlook e-mail; and which are instantly updated whenever data is added or removed. This ensures that commands always work with the latest available information.

Finally, Loop Pages. In this case, it's a new document type that allows you to share loop components and add annotations, links, and files. It looks like a fortified version of Google Docs, but according to Microsoft, it's optimized for "collaboration and completion."

Will have to wait to see Microsoft Loop in action

While Microsoft Loop seems like a promising tool, the app is not yet available to everyone. The corporation promises to provide more details on when it will be available "in the coming months."

Microsoft promises that Loop components will be available in Microsoft 365 apps (Outlook, OneNote, Teams, etc.) during November of this year.