Microsoft Teams

Main article: Types and capabilities of modern VKS systems

Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based Office 365 teamwork service that includes group chats with access to enterprise documents, audio and video conferencing, and various integration options with other Office 365 services, such as Exchange Online and SharePoint.

A key advantage of Teams, which also helps to counter Slack in the conservative corporate market, is deep integration with the Microsoft 365 office suite (now called Office 365). This allows you to gain almost seamless experience in interacting with different products of companies. In particular, use a single account, work together on documents and discuss them, share your desktop and files during the video call process, and remotely administer the service. It is also easier to monitor access for different types of employees and prevent information leakage due to the integration of the company.

Teams allows you to connect from 10 to 10,000 users, both inside and outside the company, up to 250 can participate in the video call. The advantage of the service is that it is a free part of several Microsoft Office 365 tariff plans, the most affordable will cost $5 per month. But the disadvantage is that the price of the final product depends not only on the capabilities of Teams, but also on other services.

Teams is compatible with desktop and mobile devices, desktop and conference phones, and peripherals such as cameras and headsets.

Calls take place on the basis of the Microsoft telephone system (more about the specifications - here), which expands the possibilities for managing calls.

Maximum number of participants: up to 10,000

Fares: free as part of Microsoft 365 business fares (fares with Teams start at $5 per month)

2021

Four vulnerabilities detected

The German cyber security Positive Security researchers have discovered very dangerous vulnerabilities Microsoft in Teams. The gap threatens the platform to phishing attacks its users or by sending harmful links. This became known on December 24, 2021.

Positive Security notified Microsoft of the problems back in March 2021, but the international vendor fixed only one vulnerability. We are talking about vulnerabilities in the link preview function: when you click on the preview, a link is opened that is different from what the user expects.

This can be used either for phishing attacks or to hide malicious links, according to Positive Security. In addition, the company notes that users Android face vulnerabilities - leak IP addresses.

Microsoft believes that the detected vulnerabilities do not pose an immediate threat, which would require changes to the security system. However, due to improvements, the playback of some vulnerabilities was stopped^[1].

Integration with the Workplace

On November 10, 2021, Microsoft and Meta Platforms  (previously called Facebook) announced the integration of their Teams and Workplace collaboration systems, respectively.

As a result, Teams will have Workplace content available, and Teams can be videoconferenced in the Workplace. By interacting with it, company customers will be able to see data from the Workplace without leaving Teams. Integration will bring other opportunities that can be useful, especially for companies that use both services, the press release said.

It is noted that several companies, including Vodafone, Fight Center Travel Group and Lockton Companies, have already tested the integration of Workplace with Teams. Consulting giant Accenture also requested such a feature.

One thing I learned from the pandemic is that companies do not rely on only one tool in the work, so we, as leaders in this area, have a responsibility to ensure that the tools they use integrate and interact with each other, "says Jeff Teper, vice president of products and development at Microsoft Teams. - We have come to a common vision of choice and flexibility for customers, so it was wise for us to unite to help our common clients to collaborate and eliminate fragmentation within their organizations.

CNBC  notes  that cooperation will be most beneficial for Meta, as Workplace is far behind its competitors in terms of the number of users. In May 2021, Facebook announced  that Workplace  has 7 million subscribers, while Microsoft in June of that year  reported  250 million active users per month. 

For Microsoft and Meta, this is not the first integration of their products. Previously, Workplace has established a connection with Microsoft SharePoint, OneDrive and Office 356. Workplace is also offered as an application in the Microsoft AzureActive Directory.^[2]

Infor Color AI Availability for Microsoft Teams

On November 3, 2021, Infor, a company specializing in industry cloud solutions, announced that Infor Coleman AI Digital Assistant for Microsoft Teams is now available to all users. Teams customers have access to digital assistant skills, chat, and natural language functions. The Infor Coleman digital assistant was previously available through a web browser, the Infor Go mobile application and Amazon Alexa. More details here.

Announcement of Mesh for Teams

In early November 2021, Microsoft introduced software  for collaboration and meetings in mixed reality. It is called Mesh for Teams  and is based on the Microsoft Mesh solution, announced in March 2021. As can be understood from the name Mesh for Teams, the product is integrated with the Microsoft Teams collaboration platform. More details here.

Using smart cameras

On September 14, 2021, Microsoft introduced updated features of Microsoft Teams and Office 365, which take into account the diverse needs of employees and provide convenience regardless of its format.

The company announced innovations for Teams Rooms based on smart cameras. They use active speaker tracking technologies thanks to artificial intelligence, which allows indoor cameras to respond to sound, facial expressions and gestures to identify the speaker and bring him closer on the screen, several video streams, as well as face recognition.

Among the additional advantages of smart cameras:

• The updated companion mode in the mobile version of Teams facilitates quick access to interaction functions such as chat, live reactions and Microsoft Whiteboard, and also allows you to access some control options, such as the ability to join a conference, form a PowerPoint presentation, turn off sound in chat, turn on or off cameras, etc.
• In conjunction with dynamic browsing, as participants join the conference, the program automatically configures a variety of presentation elements so that deleted employees can easily see the workspace and its elements.
• The updated Working hours option allows you to fill in the calendar taking into account the peculiarities of the work schedule.
• RSVP will allow you to indicate your presence in person or online so that organizers can better prepare by booking a room with video communication equipment or taking hands-free equipment.
• The Hot desking feature on Microsoft Teams displays allows users to find and reserve flexible office workstations.

The Speaker coach option for Microsoft Teams based on artificial intelligence gives personal recommendations about the speaker's speech rate. She is also able to notify the speaker if he interrupts someone, and recalls the need to check communication with the audience. Speaker coach for Microsoft Teams will be available in early 2022.

In addition, Microsoft announced a number of other applications and options. Cameo is a PowerPoint application that easily integrates camera tape into the presentation, allows you to customize the user's slide display and provides layout recommendations for optimal viewing. Cameo is expected to be released in early 2022.

Microsoft Viva adds communication, knowledge, ideas and learning elements to the workflow. Thanks to Viva, users will be able to receive information about the company's activities directly from Teams. It will also be possible to find personal ads, interviews with company representatives and sections on daily health checks and expense reports. In the coming weeks, the Viva Connections mobile application will appear in advance access.

With the advent of Apple Car Play at Microsoft Teams this month, users will be able to join conferences and make hands-free calls on the road using Siri.

The use of applications during Teams meetings increases real-time interaction and makes collaboration more engaging and productive. Now users will be able to share and work with content without interrupting conferences, which allows you to quickly take up problem solving and brainstorming, for example, using the Miro, MURAL, Lucidspark and Freehand applications, a number of others will soon become available.

Availability of Fluid components for meetings in Teams, OneNote, Outlook, and Whiteboard

On June 17, 2021, Microsoft introduced updates for Teams, Microsoft Teams Rooms and Viva, focused on a hybrid work environment and productive collaboration.

Recently, Microsoft announced the first Fluid components in live collaboration chats that you can edit and share in Teams and Office applications. According to the company, they will now be available for meetings in Teams, OneNote, Outlook and Whiteboard. Features will also be added to the chats, which will allow users to quickly continue working between calls. The functions to pin the message and reply to the message appear.

Updated Fluid components in Teams meetings will help you create an agenda, take notes and assign tasks as part of your Teams call, and access important content at any time. Agenda, notes, and tasks from meetings will be automatically placed in the Meeting Notes tab/section. OneNote You can also use Fluid components in Outlook in email or calendar, which optimizes the management of agenda, notes, and tasks across applications.

Front row - the Microsoft Teams Rooms meeting scheme in the form of an immersive room layout - makes interaction more natural and gives participants in the room a sense of communication with people who connect remotely. The virtual meeting is now surrounded by useful information about the meeting, such as agenda, tasks and notes, and chat will be clearly visible to all participants. The video gallery is located at the bottom of the screen.

In Microsoft Teams Rooms, the screen area will be increased using video display layouts that distribute the video gallery across multiple displays when the screen is not displayed. Increasing space means that remotely connected members will appear larger and more realistic. Also, features such as "live reactions," "spotlight," the ability to pin several video streams and a chat window when using the classic video grid layout will soon be added.

Updated experience with Whiteboard. Thanks to the features that will be available in the summer of 2021, participants will be able to add content to the board for joint editing, and ready-made templates will help the group start creating ideas faster, improve interaction, etc.

You can now activate automatic slide translation on PowerPoint Live. Users will be able to draw on slides during the presentation to create notes and use a laser pointer.

Enhanced features for the Teams mobile application. Mobile app users can now access PowerPoint Live and Dynamic view on their devices. Also, a user background is now available on IOS, this feature will soon appear on Android.

Quiet Time allows you to disable mobile notifications from Outlook and Teams after hours. The "quiet time" settings will include elements for managing the IT administrator in Microsoft Endpoint Manager to support enterprise policies to disable notifications during off-hours.

According to the latest Work Trend Index study, the number of messages sent in chats increased by 45% per week for each user compared to 2020. Since the beginning of the pandemic, users have begun to spend twice as much time at meetings. Calls pass one by one. To cope with the strain of work, Microsoft Teams will introduce opportunities for relaxation and relaxation.

A set of meditations and mindfulness exercises from Headspace will be available in the Viva Insights app in Teams. This will help you relax before an important presentation or switch after work.

In the Viva Insights application, special music from Headspace will be heard for focusing, and timers will help set up time to perform various tasks over a certain period of time and distribute breaks.

Integration with AI platform CraftTalk

On February 18, 2021, CraftTalk, a Russian developer developing an AI platform for providing contact center services, announced the full integration of the intelligent chat bot platform with the Microsoft Teams service. More details here.

2020

Integration with myQuiz

On December 22, 2020, the company WaveAccess announced that myQuiz integrated Microsoft Teams. More. here

Microsoft Teams updates: holiday backgrounds and discussion rooms

On December 10, 2020, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Teams will have the opportunity to hold meetings in the "virtual office" to make them brighter on the eve of the New Year holidays. On the platform, holiday scenes for "Together" mode and customizable backgrounds will become available. In addition, Microsoft Teams has added the function of meeting rooms.

Among the opportunities that have emerged:

• Holiday scenes for "Together" mode. Scenes in the "Together" mode in the New Year theme are suitable for a virtual holiday party with colleagues. In addition to festive backgrounds, the set of scenes for the "Together" mode includes a cafe and a conference room, a class, etc. Halo fans can gather for an important meeting at the United Nations Space Command.
• Custom backgrounds. Also in Microsoft Teams added a collection of customizable holiday backgrounds for standard meetings and video calls. To add a new personal background, just download your favorite one.
• Meeting rooms. Discussion rooms allow you to easily divide meeting participants into subgroups, so that users can more easily conduct small discussions, brainstorming, training sessions, etc. Organizers can independently switch between meetings, send ads to all rooms at once, and return everyone to the main meeting at any time. Discussion rooms can be created both in Microsoft Teams channels and in meetings.

Add features for personal communication

On November 23, 2020 the Microsoft Rus company reported that in Microsoft application of Teams functions which will allow to stay in touch with relatives became available to computers and in the web application for preliminary testing and also will simplify planning of personal time. Users can now add or call their personal account to communicate with friends and family.

Features that are now available in the pre-release:

• The ability to start a personal chat or create a group chat for up to 250 people.
• Synchronize existing chats between your phone and your computer and continue talking on any device.
• Free communication with friends and family via video or audio calls.
• You can see up to 49 users in a single frame in Gallery mode or Together mode.
• Download and share photos and videos from your computer in any personal or group chat.

Also in the pre-release version, location functions are added that will make it easier to receive updates about the user's physical location. You can now allow loved ones to receive automatic notifications when you leave or arrive at a specified location.

In addition, users will also be able to use the following mobile features:

• Add group events from chats to the device calendar.
• Gets updates to tasks and locations in the Activity Ribbon.
• Add a photo to your personal safe.

The pre-release deployment has already begun and will be fully completed in the coming weeks.

Access to 20 Solutions in the Teams App Store

On November 18, 2020, Microsoft announced the integration of applications into Microsoft Teams that will make everyday work more convenient. The platform will provide access to 20 solutions within the Teams app store, such as Asana, HireVue, Monday.com, Slido and Teamflect, as well as already familiar applications from Microsoft, such as Forms. In addition, Microsoft Teams has tools for low-code application development and chat bots.

Microsoft Teams users will be able to add Asana to Teams meeting invitations, which makes it easy to create new tasks during appointments. After the meeting, each participant will see them in the joint project plan and will be able to begin work on them. With Slido integration, users will be able to schedule and conduct surveys, quizzes and question-and-answer sessions in real time at Teams meetings without having to switch between the application and the meeting.

Microsoft Teams is an extensible platform with a wide range of capabilities that allows you to create your own applications according to the needs of your organization. To do this, partners and developers can use tools such as Microsoft Teams Toolkit for Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code, which provide IT professionals with everything they need to develop Teams applications. In addition, the platform has the ability to create applications using SharePoint Framework (SPFx), so IT professionals can save on infrastructure deployment and simplify the deployment and operation process.

Microsoft Teams also has tools to develop low-code applications, optimize workflows, and create chat bots:

• Power Apps for Teams allows users to create and manage low-code applications directly in Teams. With an accessible user interface, everyone can now create applications that simplify their work.
• Microsoft Dataverse for Teams is a low-code data platform that also allows you to create and deploy applications and chat bots in Teams. Dataverse helps improve application lifecycle management and allows you to better control the data that is used to create applications bots in Teams.
• Power Virtual Agents for Teams simplifies the creation and deployment of chat bots for a range of scenarios, such as IT support, FAQs, and HR assistance.
• Power Automate for Teams provides a simplified designer and a range of templates to help automate routine tasks.

Message Reminder Release for Reminders

i-Sys Labs announced on August 4, 2020 the release of an application for the Teams corporate platform Microsoft. Message Reminder will promptly remind you to respond to the message, complete the task set in Teams, prepare or edit the document. It is enough to put a reminder on the message, and the notification will come to Teams at the scheduled date and time.

Message Reminder Features:

• Set a reminder on any message in a team or private chat with the date and time of the reminder.
• Get a reminder in Teams on your computer or mobile phone with a link to the original message.
• View all installed reminders in one window.

Benefits of Message Reminder:

• Set the reminder to two clicks.
• No additional systems are required. All reminders in the same interface.
• Manage the generated dunning notices in a separate window (change, delete).
• Switch to the original message from the dunning notice to the control form.

As of August 2020, two versions of the application are available:

• Free - Limited version. No more than 3 simultaneous notifications.
• Paid - No limit on the number of notifications with an annual rate per user.

The application is already available in Microsoft AppSource.

Slack filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft

Slack Technologies, the developer of the corporate messenger of the same name, filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, accusing Microsoft of non-competitive behavior. Slack believes that Microsoft uses its dominant position to distribute the competitive corporate platform Microsoft Teams, along with the widely used office suite of applications Microsoft Office^[3].

It is noted that Slack accuses Microsoft of illegally combining Teams applications with Microsoft Office 365 tools. Slack claims that Microsoft forces Office users to install the Teams software, blocks its removal, and makes certain types of interaction with competitors impossible.

WSJ Notes that Slack Technologies manages a popular enterprise employee instant messaging application. The American Microsoft was founded in 1975 Bill Gates and. Paul Allen Headquartered in,. Redmond Washington The company specializes in development, in software particular, Microsoft is a developer. operating system Windows

Remote and Learning Features Presentation

On July 9, 2020, it became known that Microsoft introduced updated features of the Microsoft Teams collaboration platform, which will be launched by the end of the year. The functions offer improvements in three areas: more comfortable team interaction and reduced meeting fatigue, increased participation of participants. Tools for optimizing work and saving time have also been announced.

Among the functions for teamwork:

• Together mode. AI-based segmentation technology for digital placement of participants on a common background creates a feeling as if you are sitting in the same room. The regime is suitable for meetings spoken by several people, for example, for brainstorming or a round table, since it allows you to focus on the faces and language of other people's bodies, thereby facilitating the understanding of non-verbal signals. The Audience feature is starting deployment now and will be available to all users of the platform in August. Later, you will see other options for meeting backgrounds in this mode.

• Dynamic view. The technology provides more ability to display collaboration content and the type of meeting itself. Controls allow you to personalize the view according to your preferences, for example, the ability to show both work materials and the meeting participants themselves on the same screen. The dynamic view will allow you to display up to 49 people at a time on one video generation screen (the Large gallery view option will begin deployment in August). In addition, you can now create virtual rooms that allow organizers to split meeting participants in Teams for simultaneous discussions into several small groups.

• Filters for video. Now filters for video will be available in Microsoft Teams. Before joining the meeting, you can use filters to adjust the light level and soften the focus of the camera for better display.

• Surveys to assess mood in the team. The Reflect expansion gives the chance to managers, heads and teachers to check how their team or student's collective - in general or on a specific question feels. IT administrators will be able to install the Reflect extension from the GitHub and then make it available to their organization's employees in the message extension menu.

• Live reaction. The function allows you to leave reactions during the meeting using emoticons that will appear in all participants. This function is similar with the "live" presentations of PowerPoint (Live Presentations) allowing the audience to provide instantly feedback from the leader.

• Convenient chat. In the near future, chat messages sent during the meeting in Microsoft Teams will appear on the screens of all participants in the meeting without having to manually open the chat panel.

• Define speaker and translate subtitles. Microsoft Teams already provides the ability to create subtitles in real time. A function will soon be added that will show who is speaking, as well as a subtitle translation function. Direct transcripts that will appear later this year will also allow fixing what was said at the meeting. After the appointment, the transcript file is automatically saved in the chat tab for that appointment.

• Interactive meetings for more than 1,000 participants. To increase the interactivity of large group meetings, such as streaming university classes that allow participants to chat and include real-time collaboration videos, the number of participants in such meetings in Microsoft Teams will be expanded to 1000 people.

If you need to gather more people to watch a presentation or discussion, Microsoft Teams will support this type of meeting for up to 20,000 participants.

• Features of Microsoft Whiteboard. Visual collaboration tools can make meetings and training sessions more effective and inclusive. The whiteboard in Microsoft Teams will soon be updated with features including notes, text, and drag-and-drop capabilities.

• All tasks are in the same list. The Tasks application in Microsoft Teams, which will be launched this month, will accumulate tasks from Microsoft To Do, Planner, and Outlook.

• Response templates. The function allows you to respond to messages with one touch. The proposed responses in the Teams chat use AI technologies to create short responses based on the context of the previous message. The function will be launched in July.

• Contactless appointments. As some people begin to return to their jobs, contactless meetings in office spaces become more relevant than ever. Teams allows people to join meetings and share content with devices in a conference room using their mobile device or PC. The "remote room" feature in the Teams mobile application provides additional meeting controls, such as the ability to leave the meeting, turn off and turn off the sound in the room, adjust the volume of sound, and turn on and off cameras. From the end of 2020, voice commands will be available for Microsoft Teams Room devices that allow participants in the room to join or leave the meeting, as well as add a participant or phone number to it. We also provide wireless connectivity to any Microsoft Teams Room device or dashboard, allowing people in a shared space to interact effectively with each other in real time.

Access a pre-release version of personal communication features

On June 22, 2020 Microsoft Rus reported that the platform of collaboration Microsoft Teams which became a basis of digital transformation of many companies expands the opportunities. The deployment of additional features of Microsoft Teams begins, allowing you to use the application for personal communication. The updated tools are designed to use the same application for both working interaction and communication with friends and friends.

In addition to the June 2020 features of work use cases, additional features of Microsoft Teams allow you to stay in touch with friends and family using messages and video calls, chat, and create groups for comfortable interaction. The application also integrates the ability to share GIF files, photos, videos, documents and locations.

Microsoft Teams is not just a chat and call app. In the group toolbar, users can interact with friends and family members by sharing notes, documents, and calendars, such as sharing shopping lists and assigning home tasks. In the application, you can return to the history and see chats, tasks, photos, videos and calendars shared by members of the group.

Microsoft Teams integrates with other Microsoft 365 applications so you can share Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly from the Teams application. Documents are stored on the OneDrive so that users can access these documents from various devices, and not only from a mobile phone.

Microsoft Teams also provides a safe to securely store and share important information. Users can exchange information directly from the Teams application, for example, with a password to a home Wi-Fi password or to streaming services. Data security is provided by two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption.

Location information can now also be shared as part of personal functions. Users will be able to tell their loved ones that they are late, or it is easy to find friends in the park or at a concert.

You can learn about Microsoft Teams personal features in two ways:

• If you are using the Microsoft Teams mobile application for business purposes, you can log in to your settings and select Add Account. You can then log in with your personal Microsoft account or create a new one with a personal phone number. Through settings, you can switch between personal and work accounts.
• If you do not use Microsoft Teams, you must use the app store on iOS or Android to download the mobile application and register your personal Microsoft account, or create a new one using your phone number.

Poly Room Solutions для Microsoft Teams Rooms

On June 1, 2020, Plantronics (Poly) introduced the Poly Room Solutions line for Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) - Poly G10-T, G40-T and G80-T. Solutions include audio and video tools. The Poly Room Solution for Microsoft Teams Rooms offers customizable negotiation tools that allow seamless virtual interaction with minimal management. More details here.

As part of the Udalenka package from Tinkoff Mobile

On April 7, 2020, Tinkoff Mobile launched the "Udalenka" package offer with unlimited traffic for remote work applications - online services for working communication Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Skype, as well as Trello project management services. More details here.

Announcing Microsoft Teams Privacy Features

On March 30, 2019, Microsoft announced that from April 21, Office 365 home subscriptions will be called Microsoft 365, as well as include updated features and services. So that users have a single application for interaction in work and life, and to strengthen ties with loved ones, Microsoft introduced Microsoft Teams features for privacy. Teams will allow you to stay in touch, create groups to plan trips with friends, organize a meeting of neighbors or schedule book club events. More details here.

Daily generation of more than 900 million minutes for communication during the week

Microsoft reported an increase in use cloud services Azure of 775% in regions where coronavirus social distancing was introduced due to the pandemic of infection or self-isolation was recommended. As of March 2020, Azure services have more than 44 million users per day. These users daily generated more than 900 million minutes for communication on the platform Microsoft Teams during the week. This became known on March 29, 2020. More. here

Extraneous Noise Suppression and Offline Capability

On March 19, 2020, Microsoft introduced updated Teams capabilities that will allow you to adapt to distance learning and work faster, while maintaining productivity.

According to the company, as of March 11, 2020, the number of daily Teams users amounted to 32 million, which mainly corresponded to the growth trajectory and forecasts. As of March 18, 2020, this number has grown to 44 million daily users around the world. In addition, the number of customers with more than 100 thousand users per week increased from 14 to 20. These are EY, SAP, Continental AG, as well as Accenture, whose 440,000 employees are active users of Teams. Among the Teams customers are 93 Fortune 100 companies.

Among the updated functions in Teams are technical solutions for specialists who traditionally use little technology - first-line employees and medical workers.

Real-time noise cancellation minimizes distracting extraneous noises, allowing all participants in the conversation to hear what their colleagues say. The hand-raising function allows any participant in an online meeting, even if dozens of employees are present at it, to send a visual signal informing them of their desire to speak. Announced earlier in March 2020, the Bookings application in Teams facilitates scheduling, organizing and conducting virtual meetings that may be needed to conduct medical consultations, communicate with customers or interview candidates for work.

According to company representatives, Teams will soon have the opportunity to open chats in a pop-up window so that employees can optimize work processes and easily switch between current conversations.

Support at low Internet speed and offline will allow you to read messages in chat and write answers even in the absence of an Internet connection so that you can solve work questions from anywhere in the world.

Microsoft is also expanding the Teams device ecosystem, complemented by the Yealink VC210, a video conferencing system certified for Teams. It consists of speakers, a microphone, a camera and a Teams application and allows you to create a full-fledged meeting room in a small room, easy to install and manage. In addition, in the spring of 2020, the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 UC headset will be on sale.

In the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations transferred work to remote mode, in particular, a professor at the University of Bologna in Italy told on Twitter how the university moved 90% of courses online to Teams in just four days - this is the first such experience in the more than 900-year history of the institution. Doctors at St. Luke's University Medical Network in Pennsylvania will use Teams for videoconferencing with patients, especially those most vulnerable to coronavirus - this will protect both patients and healthcare professionals. And the Osaka municipality in Japan in April 2020 plans to use Teams to conduct orientation programs and training for hundreds of employees. Updated platform capabilities will help all users continue to work efficiently by going to remote mode.

Appearance of free video link due to coronavirus

In early March 2020, corporate video communications in Google G Suite and Microsoft Teams became free. Thus, IT corporations decided to support business and government agencies, which are forced to transfer employees to remote work due to the spread of coronavirus around the world.

As part of this support, users of the Hangouts Meet video conferencing service can organize video calls for free in groups of 250 participants, as well as conduct live broadcasts with an audience of up to 100 thousand viewers and record calls and save them to Google Drive.

In the case of Microsoft Teams, a free video communication function has appeared and the limit on the number of users who can participate in a video conference has been removed. You can use this action from March 10, 2020.

The offer from Google will be valid until July 1, 2020, and from Microsoft - for six months after the activation of the trial period. Initially, the tariff from Microsoft was available only for companies, medical and educational institutions in China. Users from other countries also got the opportunity to apply for free use of the premium version of Microsoft Teams, but only the Microsoft sales manager can configure it.

Microsoft claims that in February 2020, the transition of users to Teams doubled compared to January due to an outbreak of coronavirus.

Not only Microsoft and Google help companies and government agencies work remotely in the face of an outbreak of coronavirus. Earlier 2020 year, the Zoom video conferencing service lifted the limit of 40 minutes for calls with more than two participants in a free version for users. True, this restriction was removed only for Chinese users.^[4]

Walkie Talkie walkie function

On January 9, 2020, Microsoft announced the introduction of the Walkie Talkie feature in Teams, which allows company employees to communicate directly with each other using the corporate messenger.

The radio function will work in mobile devices through cellular networks or Wi-Fi. The technology is primarily intended for cashiers, sellers and other employees working with customers.

Walkie Talkie in Teams provides clear, instant, and secure voice over the cloud, turning smartphones and tablets owned by employees or businesses into walkies. Unlike analog devices with unsafe networks, customers no longer need to worry about crosstalk or eavesdropping from the outside, Microsoft said.

The feature will be available in Microsoft Teams in the first half of 2020. At the same time, a number of other innovations in the service are expected. Among them are SMS authorization and the updated Tasks function, which allows managers to set a chain of tasks for employees.

With the tasks in Teams, corporate and regional management can send task lists focused on appropriate locations, such as specific retail stores, and track their success with real-time automated reports.

Finally, Teams will have the function of using multiple accounts on the same device, which is used by several workers at once. Under this option, you can configure management so that, for example, a person outside of working hours cannot log on.

By the beginning of 2020, the service has more than 20 million users, which runs Teams at least once a day. In July 2019, such an audience for the product was measured by 13 million people.^[5]

2019

Linux Release

December 10, 2019 released the version of Microsoft Teams for Linux. Thus, we are talking about the first Linux application from the Microsoft package.

Microsoft released a preliminary public preview of Microsoft Teams for Linux, but it is available to everyone. Users are provided with deb and rpm packages to choose from.

The Linux version of the enterprise messenger retained all the basic functionality of the service for Windows, including chats, video conferencing, calls and the ability to collaborate on Office 365 documents and business processes. The same applies to the interface.

In the pre-release version, some functions may not appear, which in the future will appear in the final version of the program. Also, a number of functions may not work correctly. Microsoft urges the Linux community to download and install Microsoft Teams into their Linux distributions and leave feedback to finalize the product.

Microsoft has long been developing software open source and Linux products, in particular. By December 10, 2019, it does not say whether full-fledged versions will be released, and Word Excel on the PowerPoint Linux platform. No matter how it is, launching Teams for Linux can be a kind of bridge to the emergence of advanced web versions of Office in the form of Progressive Web App (PWA), the publication notes. ZDNet Microsoft hinted that the service may Data Storage OneDrive appear on Linux.

Most of our customers have devices running on various platforms, such as Windows 10, Linux, etc., "writes Marissa Salazar, Microsoft Product Marketing Manager, on the blog. - We are committed to supporting mixed environments in our cloud and office products.

The main competitor of Microsoft Teams in the employee collaboration services market - Slack - has long been working in the Linux environment.^[6]

Prioritize urgent messages and manage communications within teams

On July 14, 2019, Microsoft introduced four additional features that simplify the use of Microsoft Teams for communication and collaboration.

Prioritize urgent messages. According to the developer, two Teams components will help track important messages:

• Priority notifications alert the recipients of urgent messages, sending them requests to their mobile phone and computer every two minutes until a response is received.
• Read receipts displays an icon in the chat that indicates whether the recipient has read the message.

The deployment of these two components will begin in July 2019.

Easily manage communications within and between teams.

• Announcements allow team members to pay attention to important news on the channel and offer a good way to start a new project, greet a new colleague or share the results of a recent marketing campaign.

• Channel cross posting allows you to publish a single message on multiple channels at once.
• Channel modulation allows the moderator to control the current posts on the channel, and to indicate whether responses to a message are allowed.

According to July 2019, the deployment of the "Ads" function is already underway. Channel Moderation and Channel Cross Send will appear soon.

Simplified schedule management and updates for line workers.

• The time clock in the Teams Shifts module allows workers to register their work shifts and breaks directly from the Teams mobile application. Managers are able to set geolocation boundaries to ensure that team members are at a given workplace when registering the start and end of a shift or break.

• Targeted communication allows team owners to simultaneously send messages to anyone in a particular position by @ mentioning that position in the message. For example, you can send a message to all store cashiers or all hospital nurses.

According to July 2019, the deployment of the Clock function is already underway. The deployment of the Target Communication feature will begin in August 2019.

ITto administrators- simple deployment of the Teams client and policy management for all employees of the organization.

• The Teams client for July 2019 is available for installed versions of Office 365 ProPlus through the Monthly Channel.
• The Teams Central Administration policy packages allow IT administrators to apply a predefined set of policies to all Teams functions, such as messaging and meeting, depending on the needs of their positions.

According to the developer, the "Policy Packages in Teams Administrative Center" function will appear soon.

Microsoft noted that the participation of partners is very important to help customers optimize business processes using Teams and presented the following initiatives for company partners:

• Solutions for. contact centers In many companies, contact centers play an important role in customer service. Microsoft works with Five9,, and Genesys NICE inContact other contact center solution providers to provide them integration with Teams.
• Record calls for compliance. Because many industries have regulations that require calls and meetings to be recorded, Microsoft is working with companies that develop call-recording tools to meet legal requirements, including ASC, NICE, and Verint, to enable Teams to do so.
• Manpower management. Microsoft has teamed up with IT solutions provider REPL to ensure integration between Teams and the JDA HR solution. This integration allows you to view shift schedule information in the Teams Shifts module in almost real time. This enables line workers to access and request changes to an existing shift schedule through the Teams application.
• Trials of Teams for Partners. To support partners in their quest to help customers unlock the potential of Teams, Microsoft launched the Teams partner trial program. Microsoft 365 partners can offer a full six-month trial of Teams for free to customers who use Exchange Online Only or have not yet migrated to the cloud. Trial versions will be available to eligible customers through Microsoft Cloud Service Provider partners from August 1, 2019.

Integration with Poly CCX 500 and CCX 700 business phones

On April 22, 2019, the global communications company Plantronics (Poly) announced the release of a series of desktop phones for business - Poly CCX Series. They are designed specifically for modern offices and integrate with the Microsoft Teams corporate platform to ensure high-quality conference calls. More details here.

Data Loss Protection, Customizable Background, Digital Canvas, Live Subtitles

On March 20, 2019, Microsoft introduced a number of updates that will make working meetings more productive and convenient for everyone, as well as bring security to a higher level. Microsoft also announced the completion of an internal migration of 180 thousand employees and suppliers from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams. The company uses Teams to solve any problems that involve communication and collaboration.

According to Microsoft as of March 2019, more than 500 thousand organizations from 180 countries around the world use Teams. The platform is available in 44 languages, includes all functionality necessary for teams (chats, meetings and calls) with seamless integration with prilozheniyamimicrosoft Office 365. Users can configure the service for their own tasks and connect third-party applications or devices.

Microsoft Teams Announceable Updates:

• Customizable backgrounds - Smart background blur technology makes video sessions more convenient and minimizes distractions, increasing the efficiency of remote appointments. Users can select any background that will be displayed behind the employee during the meeting or video call.

• Additional cameras and Intelligent Capture technology - Microsoft Teams Rooms will have support for an additional camera to capture content. When connecting any USB camera, Intelligent Capture technology will allow you to focus on the image, changing the scale and quality of the picture so that participants in the remote meeting can clearly see the information on the board in real time, even if someone closes the review, noted in Microsoft.
• Microsoft Whiteboard is a digital canvas with which participants in Teams meetings can work. It will allow you to discuss ideas, interact with each other all participants in the meeting, regardless of whether they are present at the meeting personally or remotely. Also, users will be able to simply add content from a physical marker board to Whiteboard, and not recreate it again.

• Live subtitles - appear in real time and make meetings convenient for everyone, including employees who speak different languages ​ ​ or are in a noisy place, as well as for hearing impaired people.
• Private and secure chat channels - allow employees to choose which team members can read discussions and see files in the chat. If necessary, the user can limit the number of participants in the chat channel.
• Limited Data Sharing - Allows administrators to choose which users can communicate with each other in Microsoft Teams. This will limit data disclosure by controlling communication between persons with information and their colleagues with other business tasks, which is especially important for companies with a strict privacy policy, Microsoft believes.
• data loss data leaks prevention in DLP chats and conversations - Enables you to detect, automatically protect, and monitor sensitive information in chats and conversations. By creating special rules for, data protection conversation administrators can protect important information from accidental disclosure or leakage both within and outside the organization.

• Live Events - This feature, available in Microsoft 365, allows anyone to create events in real time. For such events, video broadcasts and interactive discussion are used in Teams, Stream, or Yammer applications. Up to 10 thousand people from anywhere in the world and from any device can take part in the events. Thanks to artificial intelligence technologies, automatic speech decryption is available to users, which allows participants to share information from events.

Audio, Location, Smart Camera

In January 2019, the Microsoft Teams employee collaboration service received several new functions. Among them are a smart camera, transmitting user location information to team members and voice messages.

Microsoft notes that the innovations are designed for employees of the "first line," who, according to the terminology of the software giant, directly participate in the creation of products, represent the brand of the company and see products and services in action. According to Microsoft estimates, by the beginning of 2019, there are more than 2 billion people in the world who fulfill service or task-oriented roles that meet this definition.

In January 2019, Microsoft Teams users were able to share their location with their team. The Smart Camera feature allows you to photograph objects using your mobile phone, such as shelves in stores, and store them in Teams.

The service supports the ability to record and exchange audio messages - they are very useful when you are uncomfortable or do not want to print text. In addition, IT administrators can now give Microsoft Teams users access to specific tools that are relevant to their work.

In the first quarter of 2019, Microsoft Teams also plans to expand the functionality associated with managing employees in teams. So, the Graph API will appear for the Shifts task plan management tool, which will allow integration between Shifts and enterprise task planners - this will allow managers and ordinary employees to access personnel management systems directly through Microsoft Teams.

Also in the first quarter of 2019, the service will receive the Praise tool, through which employees will be able to evaluate the work of colleagues. The scores will be visible to other team members.^[7]

2018

Release of free version

On July 12, 2018, Microsoft announced a free version of the Teams corporate messenger, which reflects the company's desire to compete even more actively with Slack. The latter offers free access from the very beginning.

In the free version of Teams, there are no restrictions on the amount of data stored. At the same time, in Slack, users can send only 10 thousand messages - if this limit is exceeded, earlier messages disappear.

Without a subscription to Office 365, which was previously required to access Teams, users can create commands of up to 300 people. They are available cloud versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, which are built into Teams, but the Outlook mail service remained paid.

Compared to Slack, the free version of Teams supports more languages, as well as offers message search and advanced features in terms of integration with third-party software (Teams has no restrictions, and Slack provides a maximum of 10 integrations with applications). In Teams, group voice and video calls are available, while users of free Slack can only call each other.

In addition, Teams offers 10 GB of free disk space for teamwork and 2 GB per user. Slack has a total limit of 5 GB. On the other hand, Slack has no restrictions on the number of users to be merged into one group.

Microsoft also reported that during 2018, the corporate messenger will have automatic translation of messages into several languages ​ ​ and the function of blurring the background during video calls. The latter is useful when the user enters video communication in public places or where it is better to hide the background.^[8]

Launch of cloud PBX functionality

In May 2018, Microsoft announced the launch of cloud PBX functionality in Teams with the ability to connect its own phone numbers. Customers can now connect their phone numbers to the Microsoft cloud and use Teams as a corporate telephone exchange. To do this, just purchase a certified SBC Gateway (Session Border Controller), connect SIP phone numbers to it and set up a connection with Office 365.

End support for Windows 10 Mobile

On April 24, 2018, it became known about the winding up of Microsoft corporate instant messengers for Windows 10 Mobile. The company recommends that users of these services, including Microsoft Teams, switch to competing mobile platforms. More details here.

200 thousand companies use Teams

In March 2018, it became known about the increase in the audience of the Microsoft Teams messenger by 75 thousand customers in six months.

If in September 2017 year the service was used by 125 thousand organizations (enterprises, educational institutions, etc.), then in March 2018 this number increased to 200 thousand. Among the largest customers at Microsoft are General Motors, Nascar and Technicolor.

Office 365 has 120 million business users, so Teams has great potential to build up the subscriber base, notes VentureBeat.

According to Microsoft statistics, in the year since the launch of Teams (in March 2017), the messenger has become available in 181 markets and has been translated into 39 languages. Customers created about 3 million "teams" using the service.

It is also reported that 70% of corporate Skype for Business users are connected to Teams. Most (60%) of the audience lives and works outside the United States.

Competitors infrequently disclose the size of user bases. In October 2017, 30 thousand companies were announced that use the Facebook Workplace service. In September of the same year, Slack reported on 6 million people who use the service every day, and 2 million of them are those who work with paid functions. Google spoke about 3 million organizations that pay for access to the G Suite.

In honor of the celebration of the first year since the commercial launch of Teams, Microsoft announced several new features for its product. The most notable innovations were integration with Cortana voice assistant, blurring the background in video conferences, the built-in message translator and the ability to search for the nearest Skype Room System. In addition, Microsoft added a cloud recording of meetings with automatic transcription and time codes to the messenger.^[9]

2017

125 thousand companies use Teams

On September 11, 2017, Microsoft announced the number of users of the Teams corporate messenger, and also announced new features of the service.

According to a message published on the official Microsoft Office blog (Teams is part of the Office 365 corporate subscription), in September 2017, 125 thousand organizations (companies, government agencies, institutes, etc.) use the service, while in March, when Teams earned worldwide, this number was measured at 50 thousand.

By September 2017, Microsoft Teams is available in 181 markets and has been translated into 25 languages, including Russian. Office 365 million active users exceed 100 million.

During the public testing period from November 2016 to March 2017, Microsoft Teams received more than 100 new features.

In September, a guest mode was introduced that allows companies to safely open access to corporate communications to third parties. For example, during the execution of projects or certain tasks, freelancers or consultants can be involved who will help the main team without interfering in matters that are not related to outside specialists.

Guest mode allows IT administrators to easily control and control the access of such users. Thus, you can limit the ability to download documents, open correspondence, etc.

Guest access can be granted to anyone with an account in Azure Active Directory. In the future, any user with a Microsoft account can become a guest.

Among other innovations in Teams, it is worth noting the support of a set of tools for creating Botkit chat bots. Now it will be easier for developers to write additional programs for the messenger.^[10]

Integration with Adobe products

Microsoft and Adobe on September 11, 2017 announced the expansion of strategic partnership and integration of their products. Microsoft Teams, a chat space for Office 365, has become the preferred service for Adobe Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Experience Cloud. More details here.

Global Launch

On March 15, 2017, Microsoft announced the availability of Microsoft Teams. The collaboration tool has become available to Office 365 business users in 19 languages ​ ​ in 181 countries, including Russia.

In a world where information is becoming more and less time to process it, we are trying to provide each user and each organization with technologies that will help achieve more. Office 365 is the broadest set of tools and platform for creativity, communication and collaboration. Today, office applications are expanding with Microsoft Teams. Satya Nadella, Head of Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft has added more than 100 features to Teams:

• possibilities for scheduling meetings and audio conferences (including video call capabilities on Android mobile devices, systems running iOS and WindowsPhone will be added later),
• integration with message flow from mail client,
• A number of security features.

The application management functions have been upgraded:

• additional screen readers are available to users
• control by means of hot keys
• and others.

Based on Microsoft Teams:

• Chat to work on projects. The product provides for the organization of chat on conversations. Group correspondence is visible to everyone by default, but there is an option to send personal messages. Included is a library of emojis, GIF files, custom labels, and memes.
• Hub for teamwork. In Teams, familiar and specialized Office 365 applications are available. Employees can call and hold videoconferences, work with documents in Teams. Microsoft Graph analyzes the information, provides the necessary activity data within the group and allows them to be shared. Based on the Microsoft Teams Office 365 Groups service, it helps commands switch between tasks, avoid falling out of context, and share information.
• Set up for each command. Teams offers the ability to customize features that meet your specific needs and requirements. Team members can create separate topics to organize communication. Each theme can be customized using Tabs. Tabs can be created for Office 365 services such as Planner and Visual Studio team services, or third-party solutions.
• Security. The product is part of Office 365 and offers security and compliance with Microsoft Cloud-based policies. Teams supports the SO1, SO2, EU Model Clouses, ISO27001 and HIPAA standards.

2016: Announcement

On November 2, 2016, Microsoft announced the Teams corporate messenger. Its feature compared to competing services, such as Slack and HipChat, was close integration with other company products, including Office 365 and Skype.

Microsoft Teams is designed to work together with employees of companies and is positioned as a working tool for corporate interaction. Microsoft Teams users can merge into "commands," within which you can create open channels for groups or communicate in personal correspondence. Nested conversations will help not get lost in the stream of messages from colleagues when the discussion of questions continues in the form of comments on a specific message.

In addition, there is a single search among chats, user files and data, as well as chat bots for performing tasks. At the Teams presentation, the work of T-Bot electronic assistants (tells the user about the functions of the messenger) and WhoBot (helps to find an employee who understands the issues of interest) was shown.

The creators of Microsoft Teams paid special attention to security: all messages are encrypted, and two-factor authorization or authentication using the Active Directory directory service is used to sign in to the service.

The messenger is available to users of the Office 365 suite of office applications, which includes Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. The latter are built into Microsoft Teams. In addition, the new service is integrated with Skype for voice and video conferencing.

Microsoft Teams is a cross-platform application available for Android, Apple iOS, Mac and Windows, as well as through an Internet browser. A preliminary version of the service, translated into 18 languages, including Russian, was released on the day the product was announced. The full-scale launch of Microsoft Teams is scheduled for the first quarter of 2017.^[11]

Notes