Microsoft has officially announced that Skype for Business Online will be retired on July 31, 2021. At Apex Digital Solutions, we see this as a good thing. Top-performing organizations around the world see this as an opportunity to move forward with implementing Microsoft Teams. If your team has already begun utilizing Microsoft Teams, then you likely know why it has been named Best in Show for two years in a row at Enterprise Connect. It is undeniably the new hub for teamwork, unifying collaboration and simplifying communication.
It is clear Microsoft has something revolutionary on their hands with Microsoft Teams. They deploy frequent updates to the platform, continuously improving Teams’ integrations with other Office 365 apps and improving functionality for over 13 million active users. We have compiled our list of favorite updates to teams from the last month and examine how organizations can use these updates to boost productivity within their teams.
Create an inclusive meeting space with Microsoft Teams Rooms’ new Content Camera
If you were tuned in to the Microsoft Teams presentation at this year’s Enterprise Connect, then chances are you were blown away by the reveal of the new Teams Meeting Rooms Content Camera with Intelligent Capture. We are excited to confirm that this feature is now available!
The Intelligent Capture detects, crops, and frames the whiteboard in the room and shares the content drawn on the board with remote meeting participants. What makes this feature even cooler is that remote attendees will get a clear view of the whiteboard even when it should be obstructed by a presenter, keeping everyone engaged regardless of if they are in-person or remote.
Remote attendee view of Content Camera Whiteboard via Microsoft.
Improve Microsoft Teams meeting accessibility with Live Captions
If your organization frequently hosts live web events, or are interested in making this an important piece of your business plan in the near future, then it is vital that you consider the different types of people who will be accessing that live content. Make sure it is a part of your plan to improve accessibility for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, people who have different levels of language proficiency, or even for people who are simply attending from a loud location or are unable to utilize their device’s audio functionality.
The new live caption functionality in Microsoft Teams is currently in public preview, for Teams live events. his allows attendees to read speaker captions in real-time, broadening the breadth of people who will be able to participate in your live events and meetings.
Captions has several spoken language options and can translate to over 56 languages (including Klingon!)
Provide necessary context to a Microsoft Teams conversation with SharePoint List Search
The larger an organization and the teams within it get, the more complicated prioritizing tasks and organizing information can be. This is where many teams benefit from SharePoint Lists. This is a highly functional way to share databases and spreadsheets with team members who need quick access to important information related to a project, client, and other business entities. However, one problem that many Microsoft Teams users experienced was that they were not able to easily reference these materials or quickly tag those relevant to the SharePoint Lists.
Fortunately, with the new SharePoint List Search functionality in Microsoft Teams, this is no longer a problem. Now Teams users can search and share the relevant information within the context of the conversation they are having. This is helping organizations move faster and be more productive within Microsoft Teams.
Address critical Microsoft Teams messages with priority notifications
Sometimes the default notification system in Microsoft Teams is not enough when you need an urgent response. A scenario may come up where a document needs to be urgently signed for approval, or in a more serious situation, a patient’s records may be needed immediately. With the new priority notifications function in Microsoft Teams, you can send urgent messages to a contact’s desktop and mobile devices. The recipient will be notified of the message every two minutes for up to 20 minutes. That would be hard to miss!
This functionality will be available with unlimited use to all Microsoft Teams customers until the end of 2019. Starting January 1, 2020, Microsoft will require organizations to purchase an add-on to their
Keep Microsoft Teams channels focused with Channel Moderation
A common frustration Teams users often experience when working within their respective channels is how quickly channel conversations can lose focus and become inundated with divergent topics that might be better suited for direct messages, phone calls, or meetings. With the new channel moderation feature in Microsoft Teams, team owners can give select members the ability to moderate the channel. This grants exclusive rights to create new posts within the channel and control whether team members can reply or not.
The option allows teams to use channels specifically as announcement channels, and enables team owners and moderators to control the flow and focus of the channel conversations.
Empower Firstline Workers with simplified Microsoft Teams Time Clock functionality
Clocking in and out of work shifts and breaks is now easier than ever with the new time clock feature in Teams Shifts. Firstline Workers can now pull the Teams app up on their mobile devices and operate their Time Clock as needed. In the interest of clarity and transparency, managers also have the option to geo-fence a location on the Time Clock to ensure that team members are at their designated worksite when clocking in or out.
Bonus: Simplify your messaging with @-less mentions!
Who has time to tag people the old-fashioned way anymore?! With new @-less mentions in Microsoft Teams, you can now alert team members by simply typing their name out. The contact list will appear as you type and all you do is select the correct person to tag. This will send them directly to the conversation and save you minutes over the course of the year… probably!
Our Ready assessments and Ignite for Teams kickstarter engagement accelerate your organization’s successful adoption of Microsoft Teams. Apex Digital Solutions provides best practice guidance, deployment, training, and adoption services, empowering you to achieve the desired outcomes and experience that you seek.
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