Microsoft Ignite – an annual event that brings groundbreaking updates and announcements from the Microsoft community – was last held in October. In light of all the holiday festivities, you may have missed out on some key highlights…fear not! We’ve got them for you right here.
Microsoft Teams understandably had everyone’s attention at the event! Microsoft now dubs this virtual workspace “the app in the centre of Microsoft 365,” and it is effortless to see why they keep enhancing it. Currently, over 280 million users of Teams have grown exponentially due to their introduction of more than 450 new features within just one year. Clearly, Microsoft understands its customers’ needs and knows how to deliver on them!
Below, we will explore some innovative Teams features and other Microsoft App announcements from Ignite. These could be the perfect inspirations for you to enhance your digital workflow in a major way!
Teams Premium
Microsoft’s new Teams Premium service has revolutionised the platform by introducing various AI-powered features. All you need is this package, and it’ll be like having your assistant at every meeting! It takes the hassle out of collaboration, making day-to-day team tasks as straightforward and productive as possible. A few of the announced features of Teams include auto-generated chapters from a meeting and personalised highlights to save you time. If your team is scattered around the world, enjoy real-time translations for captions! To ensure each meeting runs smoothly, utilise Meeting Guides to customise all options according to your needs.
360-Degree Intelligent Camera for Teams Meetings
It is introducing SmartVision 60: the groundbreaking 360-degree, centre-of-room intelligent camera that can track the speaker’s movement and recognise people! This revolutionary technology allows virtual meetings to feel like real ones, capturing an entire team at once instead of a small video feed for one person.
Microsoft Places
Microsoft Places, one of the virtual workspace applications that supports this new hybrid movement, is a team management tool that integrates with Microsoft 365. The traditional office environment might still exist, but how much longer? Thanks to the pandemic, significant portions of our world have had to shift into digital operations – and many businesses and their employees ended up liking it better. In fact, according to current data from US studies, seventy-four per cent of companies are intent on implementing permanent hybrid work models in their organisations.
Microsoft Places is taking the lead in revolutionising hybrid offices. Some of its unique features include:
- Track and monitor employee whereabouts, whether they’re based in the office or working remotely.
- Stay informed of your coworkers’ availability.
- Leverage physical room usage data to make informed decisions.
Outlook & Teams – Hours & Location Feature
To make planning in-person meetings more straightforward during this period of hybrid working, the new hours and location feature has been added to Teams and Outlook. Without considering everybody’s individual preferences, it can be complicated to organise such events without causing an issue for somebody or potentially excluding someone who was expecting to stay home on that particular day.
With the new hours and location feature, people can easily modify their availability hourly. This eliminates the guesswork so that scheduling has never been simpler!
Microsoft Loop App enters Private Preview.
Microsoft recently revealed its new Loop app, now open to select organisations in private preview. With this exciting announcement comes the potential for teams to collaborate effectively within an innovative virtual space. The app promises up-to-date data synchronisation from Microsoft 365 apps and more – perfect for ideating and staying connected!
Cisco is Now a Certified Devices Partner for Teams Rooms
Fans of Cisco meeting products, rejoice! Microsoft has just announced that Cisco is now a Teams Room Certified Devices partner. With this certification, you can host Teams meetings with any certified Cisco meeting device – making your collaboration more accessible than ever before.
Microsoft Clipchamp Video Editor
Have you seen that mysterious new app sprouting up on Windows lately? It’s called Microsoft Clipchamp, and it was launched only recently at the Ignite event. This video editor for PCs is an easy way to enhance your videos without wasting time! If you have ever been frustrated attempting to correct a video yet don’t have the perfect tool, then take a closer look at what Clipchamp has in store; its learning curve appears quite straightforward.
Master the Microsoft 365 Universe with Expert Guidance.
Microsoft 365 has evolved incredibly fast and includes numerous app integrations to optimise your professional workflow. However, setting up the technology can be complex without assistance from an expert. Let us help you today by scheduling a consultation! Contact our team for more information about Microsoft solutions.
