No matter which industry you’re in or what type of project you’re working on, the ability to connect and collaborate with your colleagues is essential if you want to get anything done. However, the modern workplace can present some obstacles to meeting with coworkers, since smartphones and other new technologies have resulted in more people working from home or other places aside from their desks in the office.
Microsoft Teams is one solution to the dilemma of bringing a distributed workforce together. In this first entry of our Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) Spotlight series (in which we’ll highlight the business benefits of specific Microsoft 365 applications and features), we’ll explore how Teams can bring your staff members together and help them get their work done more efficiently than ever before.
Teams Overview: Advanced Unified Communications (UC) Capabilities for Your Company
In September 2017, Microsoft announced its plans to replace Skype for Business with Teams as part of “a new vision for intelligent communications.” The application serves as a central location for teamwork and offers advanced UC capabilities for businesses looking to boost productivity.
This app allows end users to touch base with colleagues in various ways, including the following:
- Individual and group chats.
- Meetings (audio, video and/or web conferences) with up to thousands of participants, with the ability to turn a group chat into a meeting.
- Calls, with the option to call into Teams meetings via phone or using the app.
- Access to files – including Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint files – with the ability to share and edit them. Teams integrates with the rest of the Microsoft 365 suite.
5 Notable Teams Features You Should Know About
In addition to the previously mentioned communication and collaboration abilities, Teams provides your business with various other advanced features for the sake of efficiency and convenience. Here are just a few aspects of the app worth noting:
1. You can install it on mobile devices, so team members can stay in touch and even share their screens via smartphones or tablets.
2. The app allows you to record meetings, including audio, video and/or screen sharing. It also automatically transcribes meetings, so you can go back and search later for key points. Additionally, you can upload the recording along with notes into the meeting thread so everyone has access.
3. People outside your organization who don’t have Teams can still join meetings via a web browser, without having to install the app, as long as they have a legitimate consumer or business email address.
4. Users can search chat logs if they need to find information that they discussed with colleagues in the past.
5. Teams has built-in advanced security controls (e.g., information barriers, data loss prevention, and retention policies, among others) as well as compliance capabilities pertaining to more than 42 regional, national and industry-specific statutes. This is crucial at a time when IT security is a top concern for all business leaders.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for a way to encourage effective teamwork in the digital era, this is a great application that can cover a wide range of communication and collaboration needs.
If you’re interested in learning more about Teams and/or about the Microsoft 365 suite in general, our technology advisors have plenty of experience working with these solutions and can provide you with all the information you need to decide if they’re right for your business. Feel free to contact us by calling 877-599-3999 or emailing sales@stratospherenetworks.com.
