Every year, workplace productivity takes a hit when the NCAA tournament tips off. We can’t prevent this kind of downtime, but we can help make your employees more efficient throughout the rest of the year with Microsoft Teams. A collaboration and productivity platform that outpaces popular Slack and is backed with easy integration with Microsoft and non-Microsoft applications, Teams is a powerful tool every office should use.
To learn more about the benefits Teams offers, we spoke with Microsoft Partner Technical Architect Robert Gates (no relation to Bill). Here are some of the highlights from our discussion:
Teams Prioritizes the User
Emphasizing the individual sounds counter intuitive for a platform that gets its name from a group of people working together. However, by giving users instant access to people and information, real-time concerns can be addressed immediately.
This is infinitely more efficient than large email chains, especially when there are multiple people involved. Instead, you can start a channel with all stakeholders. Everyone will receive a notification of new messages and can participate in real time.
Improve All Communications
Teams is much more than a chat app. You can also use it as a phone for landline, mobile or video conference calls, and share documents which you can work on in real time.
Meetings are enhanced by the use of whiteboards, polls and on-the-fly scheduling. Teams is available as a mobile app, so you no longer have to miss meetings. Even if you do, your co-workers can record them for you.
Powerful App Integrations
Beyond communications features, integrations for line-of-business applications significantly expand what is possible in Teams.
For example, Microsoft Planner integrated with Teams creates a powerful project management tool that allows you to create plans, checklists, buckets and assignments within the Teams platform. A calendar view will display your tasks and you can ask co-workers questions about specific items.
Microsoft is Just Getting Started
The same AI and Machine Learning Microsoft developed for Azure is being used with Teams which means it will continue evolving as a platform.
The AI capabilities have dramatically expanded Teams’ translation capabilities, so an increasing volume of languages can be translated in-line, text or spoken. This alone has the potential to create a revolution in global commerce that can be as simple as allowing your team to cohesively work with teams anywhere in the world. You could be on a call with someone speaking Mandarin in China, and Teams will translate what they say into English.
Not a Technology Change
Teams is a change in how people operate and work. But you need a plan before you can start using it. If it is not deployed with a focus on adoption you’ll experience disruptions and downtime. To prepare, find a partner who is engaged and willing to help you through the process. There is no reason not to do this.
Office365 users already have access to Teams so why not leverage it? Contact George Hammerschmidt to learn more.