Microsoft Ignite 2020 has just finished and there are some fantastic features coming soon in Microsoft Teams that highlight the deep integration of this communication platform with other Microsoft tools and services. The pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated Teams worldwide adoption, and it is now the platform chosen by a wide number of companies, universities, and schools.
Employee’s well-being at work
After Covid-19, the work-life balance has changed and people now have more virtual meetings during the day. This can be a remarkable source of stress that we need to be aware of, and that we should keep control of because taking care of the people first means taking care of the business accordingly. At Ignite Microsoft announced new well-being and productivity insights powered by MyAnalytics and Workplace Analytics that will be integrated with Microsoft Teams.
“When you focus on wellbeing and bringing in mindfulness at all levels, it can change the whole business. It can change business outcomes and how every employee feels” says Janardhan, general manager of MyAnalytics and Workplace Analytics.
These improvements will help people create boundaries between the different parts of the day, especially as smart working dissolved the ones we were used to having between work and home. The virtual commute experience in Teams will help people be more productive during working hours and to be mindful and disconnected in the evening. Microsoft also announced the partnership with Headspace, which will be the official mindfulness and meditation program for Microsoft employees, reducing employee’s stress by 32%.
New features for Teams Meetings
Microsoft announced some smart tools that can help people make work a more pleasant experience.
Together mode is the main news in Teams meetings: it creates an immersive meeting experience, putting all participants on the screen, with a customized background (e.g. a coffee shop or an auditorium) that help them feel closer.
Custom layouts help presenters to customize their meeting and define how contents appear on the screen. This includes, for example, making PowerPoint slides available as background, while the presenter will speak in the foreground!
Thanks to Webinar registration and reporting organizers will also have the possibility to organize an event, like a webinar or a meeting, using registration with automated emails. After the meeting, they will have access to a reporting dashboard to analyze engagement data.
Breakout Rooms will have a massive impact on conferences with a high number of participants, as organizers will be able to divide people into smaller groups, for private discussions or brainstorming sessions. The organizers have full control of all breakout rooms and can decide whether to make public announcements (public in all rooms) or private communications. This will be available in October.
A meeting recap will be available soon in Outlook calendar events, it will include shared files, meeting recording, and real-time transcript. This option will be essential for people that couldn’t attend the meeting and still want to stay updated.
Collaborative calling will help Teams’ users to connect a queue to a Teams channel. Thanks to this feature operators will have the possibility to share information and files in the channel while serving the calls in the queue. This tool is designed to help desks and hotlines.
CPaaS: Microsoft launches Azure Communication Services
Another interesting announcement during Microsoft Ignite 2020 was Azure Communication Services, a fully managed cloud communications platform that makes it easier for enterprises to create their own customized communications channel with the customers. This service is very similar to others (like Twilio, Telnyx) but – as it leverages on the complete integration with the other Microsoft 365 products and tools- it has got both the cover and the chops to become a leading CPaaS solution. Only time will tell!
“Azure Communication Services makes it easy to add voice and video calling, chat, and SMS text message capabilities to mobile apps, desktop applications, and websites with just a few lines of code” says Scott Van Vliet, Corporate Vice President, Intelligent Communications at Microsoft. Reference on Microsoft Azure website for the whole interview.
To find out more about all the announcements made at Microsoft Ignite 2020 read this article on Microsoft’s blog.