If you’re running Slack and managing a remote team, new instant voice calling service Beam might be music to your ears.

Beam me up Scotty

Beam is built to work with Slack on Macs. Once downloaded it lives in the Mac menu bar, where a list of your colleagues’ names appear.

Clicking on a name establishes and instant connection, so you can start chatting to your heart’s delight. You’re also able to share screenshots.

Another bonus: Beam's free. For now at least.

Virtual chat room

Beam requires users to be linked via a Slack team. The service can also be muted if you’re busy and don’t want to be disturbed.

While it’s not reinventing the wheel, Beam’s a nifty way for remote teams to stay in touch more seamlessly, and cost-effectively. No word yet on a PC version.

Beam is now in limited preview release. To sign up visit beam.ai.