Today, we are thrilled to take a deep dive into the most significant updates and latest features that Microsoft Teams has to offer. From enhanced collaboration capabilities to seamless integration with other Microsoft applications, we will explore how Teams continues to revolutionise the way we communicate and work together. Join us on this exciting journey as we uncover the endless possibilities that Teams brings to the table as we look at the October/November updates..
Meetings
Introducing the Meet app in Microsoft Teams – your go-to app for streamlined meeting preparation and catch-up. Designed to boost meeting efficiency, it simplifies pre-meeting tasks and minimises time spent revisiting past meetings. With the Meet app, you can effortlessly stay on top of upcoming and recent meetings, and quickly access meeting content such as chats, files, agendas, and shared documents. Experience seamless collaboration like never before!
Live Translated Transcripts
Now you can effortlessly view live meeting transcripts in your preferred language and have the option to display the translated transcript alongside the original one for easy reference. With a selection of over 30 languages, the transcript appears on the side panel of the meeting, enhancing productivity and inclusivity. This feature is available in Teams Premium.
Collaborative Notes in Teams Mobile
Collaborative notes empower meeting attendees to co-create and collaborate on meeting agendas, notes, and action items. As a Loop component, collaborative notes remain synchronised across multiple platforms. Assigned tasks in collaborative notes seamlessly sync with Microsoft To Do and Planner.
Portrait Blur
Enhancing your meeting experience, you now have two background blur options. In addition to the existing Standard Blur, you can opt for Portrait Blur. This feature creates a depth-of-field effect, bringing sharper focus to the subject while gently blurring the background with finesse. This helps to minimise distractions and keep the focus on the speaker.
Live Reactions
Engagement in meetings has never been easier with live reactions. Now, participants can express themselves non-verbally by selecting emojis that best represent their thoughts and feelings. This feature promotes a more interactive and inclusive meeting environment, making everyone feel heard and valued.
Custom Backgrounds
Bring some personality to your meetings with custom backgrounds. Choose from a selection of pre-loaded images or upload your own image as the background for your video feed. This feature allows you to personalize your meeting space and make it more visually appealing.
Webinars and Town Halls
Organisers have the ability to set up and host large-scale events throughout an organisation, all within the familiar Teams experience that you already use for meetings and webinars. The town hall capabilities are extensive, including features such as a new template, the ability to accommodate up to 10,000 attendees, the option for 15 concurrent events across a tenant, support for third-party eCDN, a green room, the ability to manage what attendees see, moderated Q&A, RTMP-in, live translated captions, and much more.
With advanced functionality in the town hall, you can take it to the next level. This includes scaling up to 20,000 attendees with Q&A support, allowing up to 50 concurrent events across a tenant, providing real-time insights, customisable email templates, Microsoft eCDN support, and additional language support for live translated captions, along with other features. Please note that advanced features require a Teams Premium license.
A particularly noteworthy feature is the addition of real-time captions. For individuals who are hard of hearing or prefer to read along during meetings, Teams now offers the convenience of real-time captions.
Chat and Collaboration
The revamped channels experience simplifies the process of concentrating on important topics, collaborating with relevant stakeholders, and locating specific information. This empowers your team to achieve greater collective success. The enhanced features include a fresh conversation view within channels, an upgraded compose box, a streamlined information pane, an improved in-channel search experience, and much more.
People app in Teams
Efficiently locating the right person to contact is vital for maintaining productivity. The new People app in Teams seamlessly synchronises your Outlook contacts across all your Microsoft 365 applications and devices. With just a few simple clicks, you can effortlessly create, view, and modify contacts. Additionally, you have the ability to conveniently sort and filter them, facilitating quick access to the individuals you require, precisely when you need them.
IT Administration and Security
The Controlled-Content Meeting Template
Expanding on our existing meeting templates, we are thrilled to announce the launch of a ready-to-use template specifically designed for meetings involving external participants. The controlled-content meeting template comes with pre-set defaults for meeting options, offering enhanced controls over lobby bypass, presenter permissions, chat functionality in the lobby and during the meeting, as well as recording permissions. This feature is available to meeting organizers with a Teams Premium license. Additionally, IT admins have the flexibility to either utilize this out-of-the-box template or create their own custom meeting templates.
Extended Real-Time Telemetry Retention
To further support admins in troubleshooting meeting quality issues within the Teams admin center, we have extended the retention period for real-time telemetry data. Now, real-time telemetry data captured during a meeting will be preserved for up to 7 days after the meeting concludes, provided that you have a Teams Premium license. This extended retention period empowers admins to identify and resolve quality issues even after the meeting has ended, leveraging granular telemetry data.
New experience for mobile
Simplifying joining a meeting on mobile
Microsoft is enhancing the mobile meeting experience by streamlining the joining process, particularly for meetings outside of your organisation. Now, when you join a meeting without signing in, you can conveniently configure and preview your video and audio settings before entering. This is especially beneficial for those managing multiple accounts and needing to switch between them for various meetings.
Get Started with the New Microsoft Teams App
For a wealth of guides and resources to help you maximise Microsoft Teams, check out our comprehensive Microsoft Teams documentation hub. Need assistance? Connect with us through our support email or give us a call at 01925 818448 to address any questions you may have.
We believe that organisations of all sizes can benefit from the innovative features offered by the new Microsoft Teams app. So, dive in and elevate your productivity.
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