This month Microsoft Teams are launching some extended features ranging from the long awaited to out of the blue announcements! This is a quick run through of our top 5 most anticipated updates…
I think something that we have all been waiting for from Teams is the ability to see video tiles of up to 49 people simultaneously, something Cisco and zoom have been leading the way with up until now. To partner this, you can now also create virtual breakout rooms, which allows meeting organisers the ability to split meeting participants into smaller groups for things such as workgroup discussions. This is a feature heavily used on Zoom within training sessions or within education.
Teams have expanded its features to include more interactive aspects to video conferencing by using live reactions and chat bubbles. When presenting, so many visual, audio and body language cues can be missed, especially if there are a lot of participants with no camera and/or muted. Teams is to introduce live emoji reactions which allows participants to show appreciation, engagement and live feedback for the presenter. In addition, chat bubbles are going to be a central part of the conversation by popping up visibly for all participants. This should encourage more questions and interactions on larger calls among participants and with the meeting host!
Microsoft has always worked to integrate all Microsoft 365 features, from whiteboarding, spelling and reading assist and captions. Teams has now expanded to include speaker attribution for live captions and transcripts. This ensures nothing is missed in meetings, notes can be reviewed, and you can be sure that this is associated to the correct speaker.
Something I can see myself using to keep organised day to day is the Tasks App. This app provides a new unified view of tasks from across Microsoft To Do, Planner and Outlook. This feature is available across desktop, web and mobile. Add Tasks as a tab in a channel and get your familiar Planner experience with a new list view!
Although the Lenovo ThinkSmart View tab was launched in February, I think we will really see the demand for these types of devices pick up in light of the recent situation, with more people creating smart office spaces in all corners of their homes and businesses. Single user spaces can really benefit as they can have their Teams meetings and participants on the ThinkSmart View whilst being able to share content on their laptop, this means you retain that ‘in-person’ feeling whilst professionally sharing.
So what you are and your business most excited about? And what do you feel Teams is still missing that you would like to see?
To explore these features further, please get in touch to arrange a demo.
