What’s New in Microsoft Teams: 6 Highlights From Ignite 2020

Microsoft has been quite vocal about evolving productivity tools to improve end-user productivity and wellbeing. At Ignite 2020, the tech giant highlighted how Teams is much more than an enterprise collaboration platform with a host of enhancements, including Together Mode and Virtual Commute that helps users manage stress and uplevel WFH experience.   

Microsoft kicked off its annual developer conference yesterday as a free virtual event. The Redmond giant, that  resolutely handled the relentless demand for video conferencing and collaboration since the start of the pandemic, notched up record wins this year, hitting 75 million Opens a new window daily active users in April.   

At the virtual Ignite 2020 conference, Microsoft, that has significantly beefed up Teams with a slew of stellar features, set out the vision for the future.  

The software and cloud computing behemoth highlighted a host of updates in Teams, such as Breakout Rooms and Together Mode, that drive user engagement and set it apart from the competition (primarily Zoom). Without a doubt, meetings is the standout feature in Teams and a key component for powering its fast-growing user base. From Team Templates to Custom Meeting layouts, and Workplace Analytics, the list of announcements show how Microsoft is committed to delivering an optimal end-user experience.  

Here are six key highlights for Microsoft Teams:  

1. Video Meetings & Voice Calling 

Microsoft announced Together Mode in July, based on AI segmentation technology to unite meeting participants in a single virtual space. At Ignite 2020, Microsoft debuted new scenes and backgrounds like an auditorium and conference rooms for users. Teams users can also customize how content shows up on the screen during a video conference with Custom Layouts.  And its most-requested feature Breakout Rooms is slated to release next month. 

Meanwhile, the long overdue Meeting Recap feature allows users to access recording, transcripts, chats and shared files of the meeting, directly within the meeting Chat tab, which is also viewable in the Details tab. It can also be accessed through the Outlook calendar.

Coming to #MicrosoftOpens a new window Teams later this year –

Meeting recap – a recap with the meeting recording, transcript, chat, shared files and more will be automatically shared in the meeting Chat tab and viewable in the Details tab for each meeting

Announced at #MSIgniteOpens a new window pic.twitter.com/JgVGQbyOvwOpens a new window

— Anne Michels (@Anne_Michels) September 22, 2020Opens a new window

The calling functions are slated to become fairly straightforward with a simplified view that shows contacts, voicemail and calling history all at once. 

The new Collaborative Calling is designed to connect call queues to any channel in Teams. Users can answer queued calls and at the same time collaborate in channels. Routed calls in the call queue can also be connected to any channel.

Besides the above, Microsoft is also adding new hardware support for Teams. This includes collaboration barsOpens a new window for Teams Rooms and Microsoft Teams Panels.

See Also: Microsoft Teams Turns Focus to Engagement, Virtual Avatars & More With New Updates

2. Integrations With Microsoft 365

Based on MyAnalytics and Workplace Analytics, end-users, managers, and business leaders can get their hands on wellbeing updates and personalized insights which can help boost productivity. 

SharePoint Home site will be available directly within Teams, opening up any organization’s intranet to Teams users. This will facilitate the accessibility of shared content and solutions to all users. 

Jeff TeperOpens a new window , Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365 demos Teams SharePoint administrator functions:

I demo latest #MicrosoftTeamsOpens a new window #SharePointOpens a new window admin capabilities at #MSIgniteOpens a new window

— Jeff Teper (@jeffteper) September 23, 2020Opens a new window

3. Security and Compliance

For those looking for an extra layer of encryption around their data, Teams debuted Customer Keys which is slated for a public preview before the end of 2020.

The enterprise collaboration major rolled out archiving support through the Microsoft Graph API for Teams Export. Organizations can now retain, index, eDiscover, classify, and regulate Teams messages (one on one as well as group chats), attachments, emojis, GIFs and user @Mentions for enterprise information archiving.

Microsoft Graph API and Microsoft Graph Change Notification API are now generally available for Teams Data Loss Prevention.

See Also: Microsoft Serves Up Open Source Fuzzing Tool for Developers

4. Management

Teams also boasts of a refurbished Teams Admin Center for device, application, and policy management. The functionality of Teams Admin Center extends to Teams Rooms devices, displays and more. The policy management in Teams now extends to batches of up to 50,000 users.

Microsoft made several upgrades to Call Quality Dashboard that enable admins to access real-time data for live events troubleshooting and remediation.

Administrators can delegate admin tasks to manage Teams by granting different levels of access to different users.

Further, Microsoft added the following:

• Application Management
  • Custom app submission API
  • Share Apps from the Power platform
  • Purchase licenses
  • App Configuration
  • Add or install an app to a team from Teams Admin Center
  • App permissions, grant consent
  • Custom app store branding
• Calling/Voice Management
• Device Management
  • Display devices new category to be managed in Teams Admin Center
  • Device management automatic alerting

5. Firstline Workers

The Walkie Talkie feature in Teams enables instant cloud-based communication between users on their Android devices. It borrows the mobility of smartphones, the functionality of Teams and converts them into push-to-talk walkie talkies. The feature will be available in September.

Microsoft Teams will be integrated with RealWear‘s head-mounted devices for easy, hands-free on-field collaboration between users. 

Teams can now be connected to the Shifts app in Power Automate for:

• Shift Scheduling and Schedule Management
• Process Automation
• Calendar Integration for Viewing
• Automated Alerts

6. Virtual Commute and Well-Being Features

For those who find it hard to separate between work and life, Microsoft has rolled out Virtual Commute within Teams that allows users to ‘add structure to the remote work day.’ According to Microsoft, Virtual Commute allows users to create mental bookends for remote workday. The wellbeing feature helps prevent burnout by reminding users to take scheduled breaks. 

Microsoft has also partnered with Headspace that brings ‘science-backed meditations’ into the flow of work.

According to a Microsoft studyOpens a new window , more than 30% of firstline and information workers said the pandemic has increased burnout at work. Shamsi Iqbal, principal researcher at Microsoft Research says, “Commutes provide blocks of uninterrupted time for mentally transitioning to and from work, an important aspect of wellbeing and productivity. People will say, ‘I’m happy I don’t have to commute anymore. I’m saving time.’ But without a routine for ramping up for work and then winding down, we’re emotionally exhausted at the end of the day.”

Closing Thoughts

In a pre-recorded speech at Ignite 2020, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, said, “The stakes could not be higher. Tech intensity will determine not only what organizations can weather the current crisis, but also determine that they are prepared to navigate future tail events.”

Bottom line —  organizations need to rethink technology stacks when engaging with customers in a hybrid, if not fully remote work environments.  

Microsoft is determined to make Teams the de-facto tool for workplace collaboration. Nadella adds, “With Teams, we are focused on the entire workflow around the meeting — before, during, and after. It’s the only solution with meetings, calls, chat, content collaboration with Office and business process workflows. And Teams doesn’t just connect people inside the organization. It also seamlessly connects you to customers through video meetings, webinars, remote selling, supply chain, and other scenarios.”

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