Microsoft Teams is a tool within the Microsoft 365 family that enables you to chat, call, and host online meetings for collaboration, all in one place - no matter where you are in the world. As long as you have a Wi-Fi connection, you can be chilling on a sunny beach in Barbados (one can dream) connecting with someone in a jazzy cat café in London – yes, they do exist!
The great thing about Microsoft Teams for businesses is that it is incredibly simple to use, and whilst teams are working remotely it allows them to operate in exactly the same way (perhaps even better) than if they were in the office.
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Microsoft Teams saw a huge increase in users when the dreaded pandemic hit the UK in 2020 - can you believe it’s been 3 years already?! According to Business of Apps the number of users rose from 20 million in November in 2019 to:
- 44 million users in March 2020
- 270 million users by January 2022
In January 2022, Microsoft officials stated that Teams had surpassed 270 million monthly active users - up from 250 million active users in July 2021, making it the most popular business communication platform for online meetings.
With so many users, it must be a beneficial tool, right? Correct. Teams has transformed the way that many of us work, so we’ve outlined 5 ways Microsoft Teams makes your online meetings better:
1. Whenever, Wherever
While the term ‘hybrid working’ is becoming obsolete, flexible working is very much here to stay. Many UK organisations are now adopting a flexible working model to allow their teams to alternate between working remotely and from the office – and this is where Microsoft Teams comes in. Teams provides your people with the tools to get together easily via online meetings, even if half of the team are working elsewhere. You can start a call/video call with your team in a matter of seconds, it’s that easy.
2. Connecting is a breeze
Teams is a god send! Whether you need to make a call to your manager, video call a client across the pond (even if they don’t have Microsoft Teams they can join as a guest) or you need to share your screen with your team to collaborate on a project you’re working on, you can increase productivity, discuss details, and share ideas. It’s as simple as setting up a meeting within Outlook and sending a calendar invite to attendees, or you can set up a Teams meeting directly through the application.
3. Work Together, Chat Together
Microsoft Teams allows both you and your team to work on the same document simultaneously - version control people! This is hugely beneficial during online meetings as it eliminates the need for a separate conversation to outline changes, or for someone to send the document back and forth with new edits, saving it as a new version each time. You can talk with each other using the chat function whilst doing this, and even send gifs to one another. Who doesn’t love a gif?
4. Meeting prep has never been so easy
Preparing for meetings can be a challenge, let alone online meetings. The agenda is in one email, agreed actions in another. And wasn’t there something you was supposed to review prior to the call?
Teams makes the whole process seamless. As soon as you set up the meeting, you can start chatting with invitees about the agenda, share the files that you need them to look at, and keep track of the meeting notes and follow up actions.
5. Boost Productivity with Breakout Rooms
Breakout rooms on Teams allows the organiser to separate the meeting into sub-groups where they can each have further discussions, brainstorm, and share ideas. With a smaller group in place, some of the quieter team members may feel that they can become more vocal, without getting drowned out by all of the noise. Each topic can be given more attention and things that may have been overlooked in the bigger meeting can be picked up and addressed.
A great thing about Microsoft Teams - and Microsoft in general - is the fact that their features never become stagnant, they are constantly reviewed and updated to make our working lives easier and our online meetings just that bit better. From automated transcripts to live streaming of meetings and webinars, the possibilities on Microsoft Teams are endless.
Microsoft publish a monthly blog ‘What’s New in Microsoft Teams’ on their website each month, so you’ll never miss the latest updates and improvements.
Get in touch to find out how Sharp can support you with Audio Visual equipment and Microsoft Teams.
