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Tag: Teams

  • Microsoft Services Recovering From An Hours-Long Outage

    Microsoft Services Recovering From An Hours-Long Outage

    Microsoft services appear to be working after an hours-long outage that impacted Microsoft 365, Outlook, and Teams.

    According to Downdetector.com, users started experiencing problems in the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 25. The issue appeared to impact a broad range of Microsoft services and lasted for several hours.

    The company acknowledged the issue on Twitter, saying it appeared to be a networking issue.

    The company’s status page says services have been restored, as does their Twitter account.

  • Adobe/Microsoft Collaboration Brings Full PDF Support to Teams

    Adobe/Microsoft Collaboration Brings Full PDF Support to Teams

    Adobe and Microsoft are collaborating to bring full PDF viewing and editing support to Microsoft Teams.

    Microsoft Teams is the leading corporate messaging platform. Until now, working with PDFs was a weak point, one that has been solved by close collaboration between Microsoft and Adobe. Collaboration between the two companies allows Adobe Acrobat to be the default PDF handler for Team, providing full viewing and editing support.

    “The Acrobat app in Teams allows for viewing, editing, exporting, organizing, combining, converting, compressing, protecting, accessing PDFs from Teams chats, channels, OneDrive or SharePoint,” writes Tulika Gupta, Adobe Senior Product Marketing Manager, Strategic Partnerships & Integrations. “You can use Acrobat for Microsoft Teams as a Personal Tab, Bot, Tab, Message Action, or Message Extension. We had also added Single Sign-On (SSO) and introduced the personal tab — a home page for curating all your recent documents, tools, and collaboration into one view.”

    The improved integration should go a long way toward streamlining workflows.

    “Given Teams is where you’re already having the conversation with your colleagues, there is no longer the additional burden of providing context (say goodbye to those emails),” Gupta adds. “You can also get notified when comments are added to PDFs directly in Teams. All comments get recorded on a single version of the PDF stored in SharePoint or OneDrive (by default) as the ‘single source of the truth.’”

    The integration of Acrobat and Teams demonstrates what is possible when companies work together to make their products and services interoperable.

  • Microsoft Trying to Head Off Slack’s EU Complaint Over Teams

    Microsoft Trying to Head Off Slack’s EU Complaint Over Teams

    Microsoft is working to preemptively address an EU antitrust complaint by Slack regarding its Microsoft Teams dominance.

    Slack first filed an antitrust complaint with the EU in mid-2020, alleging that Teams’ rise to dominance in the industry is the result of Microsoft unfairly bundling it with Office, and using the popular productivity suite to boost Teams.

    “We’re confident that we win on the merits of our product, but we can’t ignore illegal behavior that deprives customers of access to the tools and solutions they want,” Jonathan Prince, Vice President of Communications and Policy at Slack, said at the time. “Slack threatens Microsoft’s hold on business email, the cornerstone of Office, which means Slack threatens Microsoft’s lock on enterprise software.”

    According to Reuters, Microsoft is looking to settle the complaint with the EU in an effort to prevent a full-blown antitrust investigation. It’s unclear if the move will be successful, but Microsoft is clearly continuing efforts to position itself as the more agreeable Big Tech company, willing to work with regulators rather than fight them.

  • Cisco and Microsoft Partner to Bring Teams to Cisco Hardware

    Cisco and Microsoft Partner to Bring Teams to Cisco Hardware

    Cisco and Microsoft have entered an unlikely partnership, paving the way for Microsoft Teams to run as the default on Cisco hardware.

    Cisco and Microsoft both make video conferencing software, WebEx and Teams respectively. Given the two companies compete in the same space, a partnership is somewhat surprising, although it’s likely more an acknowledgment of Teams’ dominant position in the market.

    The partnership will see Microsoft Teams run natively on select Certified for Microsoft Teams devices in the Cisco Room and Desk lineup and can even be set as the default option.

    “Interoperability has always been at the forefront of our hybrid work strategy, understanding that customers want collaboration to happen on their terms — regardless of device or meeting platform,” said Jeetu Patel, EVP and GM, Security & Collaboration, Cisco. “Our partnership with Microsoft brings together two collaboration leaders to completely reimagine the hybrid work experience.”

    “Our vision to make Teams the best collaboration experience for physical spaces is brought to life by our incredible ecosystem of hardware partners,” said Jeff Teper, president, collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft. “By welcoming Cisco as our newest partner building devices Certified for Microsoft Teams, we are excited to bring leading collaboration hardware and software to market together for our joint customers.”

    Few programs or platforms have seen such a meteoric rise as Teams. Prior to the pandemic, Slack, Zoom, and WebEx were major contenders in the corporate messaging and videoconferencing markets. Thanks in no small part to its being bundled as part of Microsoft 365, Teams quickly surpassed Slack and has carved out a major presence in the video conferencing market.

    The deal with Cisco is sure to help further Microsoft’s reach even more.

  • Microsoft Takes Aim at Salesforce With Viva Sales

    Microsoft Takes Aim at Salesforce With Viva Sales

    Microsoft has unveiled its latest attempt to take on Salesforce, launching Viva Sales, “a new seller experience application.”

    Microsoft has been working on challenging Salesforce’s dominance in the CRM market for years. The company’s latest effort is the Viva Sales tool, designed to with with any CRM and integrate its data with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365.

    “The future of selling isn’t a new system. It’s bringing the information sellers need at the right time, the right context, into the tools they know, so their work experience can be streamlined,” said Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Microsoft. “Empowering sellers to spend more time with their customers has been our goal — and we’ve done that by reimagining the selling experience with Viva Sales.”

    Viva Sales allows sales reps to tag customers in Outlook, Teams, or Office apps, automatically capturing the data as a customer record. The software then uses AI to help move a customer through the sales process, prioritizing the next steps and providing valuable insights. The AI also helps sellers with recommendations to improve customer engagement and follow-through.

    “Sellers rely on digital collaboration and productivity tools to connect with customers and close deals, but a lot of the insights they uncover with these tools don’t make it into the CRM,” said Paul Greenberg, founder and managing principal, The 56 Group. “Microsoft is taking on this challenge by offering a solution that complements the CRM. Viva Sales automates the busy work, captures critical information about the customer and helps sellers get the job done.”

    Salesforce clearly sees Microsoft as a significant threat to its business, with many believing its acquisition of Slack was a way for the company to better fend off the Redmond giant.

    While Viva Sales works with any CRM, the app could represent a significant foothold effort. If companies find that Viva Sales lives up to expectations, it’s one more piece of Microsoft software integrated into their workflows. Eventually, they may find a full switch to the company’s CRM is the next logical choice.

  • Microsoft Teams Finally Gains Native Apple Silicon Support

    Microsoft Teams Finally Gains Native Apple Silicon Support

    Squarely in the ‘better late than never’ camp, Microsoft is finally bringing native Apple Silicon support to Teams.

    Teams is a core part of Microsoft 365 and competes with Slack in the corporate messaging space. Despite its popularity, passing 270 million users in January 2022, the app has not had native Apple Silicon support. Instead, for the past two years, Mac users have had to rely on Apple’s Rosetta 2 translation layer to run the app. While Rosetta 2 is an amazingly competent piece of software, a native version often offers better performance and efficiency.

    Microsoft has finally started rolling out native support for Apple’s chips, as announced in a company blog post:

    We are rolling out a production grade universal binary version of Teams, which means it will run natively on the entire Mac lineup, including those with Apple silicon. For Mac users, this means a significant boost in performance, ensuring efficient use of device resources and an optimized Teams experience even when using multiple high-resolution monitors during calls or meetings.

    The company reaffirmed its commitment to the Mac platform — a source of near-constant worry and speculation among Mac users — and said the update will roll out incrementally in the coming weeks:

    Microsoft is committed to innovation and committed to the Mac, so we’re excited to bring this to our Mac users. The generally available (GA) version of the native Teams app on Mac with Apple silicon is being rolled out to customers in increments over the coming weeks. As soon as the rollout is finished, everyone will be automatically upgraded with their most recent update to Teams, so there isn’t a need to search for download links and manually install Teams. If you wish to speed this up, you can opt-in for Microsoft Teams Preview Program, which will give you faster updates and early access to new features, including Apple M1, where it’s guaranteed for everyone already.

  • How To Improve Cross Functional Team Collaboration

    How To Improve Cross Functional Team Collaboration

    In today’s world, teamwork is a necessity. You will have to interact with other people. Be it as an entrepreneur or as a worker to complete your tasks.

    However, many people struggle with how to improve cross functional team communication and collaboration.

    This article will help you understand how you can improve cross functional team collaboration and communication.

    With these guidelines, your company can work more efficiently and effectively.

    Strategic organizational communication is key to any successful team. But it can be challenging when members work remotely or are not in the same office.

    Poor communication can break down and lead to misunderstandings, which can cause issues for the entire team.

    There are many ways you can improve cross-functional team collaboration.

    One of the most important things is making sure that everyone feels heard and valued in the conversation.

    By valued, we mean:

    ●  Supportive when someone has an idea

    ●  Asking questions if someone doesn’t understand something

    ●  Keeping an open mind about what teams want for the future

    Team collaboration is essential for any organization to achieve its goals.

    A team is the best way to accomplish a task.

    When a team works well together, several positive things can come out. Such as:

    ●  Team members can adopt new ideas

    ●  Innovate

    ●  Make better decisions

    In this post, we will look at how you can improve cross functional team collaboration.

    You will also learn:

    ●  The benefits of cross functional team collaboration

    ●  The features of a good collaboration

    ●  How to ensure your company uses the right tools for its needs

    What Is a Cross Functional Team?

    Cross functional teams are widely used in many industries because they reduce organizational complexity.

    These teams help members with higher productivity rates in several very noticeable ways.

    These productive ways include:

    ●  Improvement in communication skills

    ●  Better knowledge sharing

    ●  Reduction of wastefulness

    ●  Increased mutual understanding

    Teams can have problems in communicating due to the following reasons:

    ●  The lack of open-mindedness

    ●  Willingness for intercultural dialogue

    This hurdle points asks teams to establish dialogue across cross functional teams.

    Also, it urges teams to be in constant contact with other cultures.

    Multi-disciplinary or cross functional teams can often work more successfully. They do this by highlighting different skill sets and combining them to produce desired outcomes.

    A cross functional team can be a perfect way for large groups of people to collaborate. This collaboration will work towards solving multimillion-dollar problems within a company or organization.

    For example, it could be the accounting department that focuses on finance. Or the HR department, which focuses on those who spend their hours entering data.

    In all scenarios, there are opportunities for all types of professionals to come together and help ensure success.

    Importance of Improving Cross Functional Communication

    Communication is a non-negotiable part of any company. And it helps us get to know each other and make better decisions together.

    When we say communication, we don’t just mean talking.

    It also includes nonverbal cues such as:

    ●  The body language

    ●  The facial expressions

    ●  The tone of voice

    There are many ways to improve how you communicate with your team members.

    You can avoid using jargon or acronyms when communicating with your team members.

    Using less terminology will help team members who may not be familiar with them understand what you are trying to say.

    Emphasize the importance of communication skills in the workplace. One of the most critical aspects of this skill is cross functional communication.

    This article will also give you tips on improving cross-functional team collaboration and how to get your team members to communicate better with one another.

    What Are Some of the Benefits of Cross Functional Team Collaboration?

    Cross functional collaboration allows employees to work with different teams, such as:

    ●  Product design

    ●  IT

    ●  Marketing

    Working with various teams will help to ensure that their work is coming together in one cohesive package.

    By working closely with these other groups and sharing information effectively, a company will see a higher quality product.

    The benefits of cross functional team communication include:

    ●  Increased productivity

    ●  Improved customer service

    ●  Better decision-making

    A good collaboration platform includes:

    ●  Automated notifications

    ●  Instant messaging

    ●  File sharing

    ●  Others

    It is essential to speak with your employees about what they are looking for in a new platform. Talking openly with teams ensures your company uses the right tools for their needs.

    Four Ways To Improve Cross Functional Communication

    There are four ways to improve cross functional communication.

    In this article, we will be looking at how to improve cross-functional team communication.

    We will first look at the benefits of good communication and then go through some tips on how to improve it.

    The first thing is to set up a meeting with your team members to discuss past mistakes. Discussions will help you identify what needs to change so that everyone can communicate more effectively with each other.

    You should also make sure that everyone knows their role on the team and understands their job.

    These are the critical four tips:

    ●  Involve all team members in the process

    ●  Prepare a communication plan before the meeting

    ●  Keep the meeting short and to-the-point

    ●  Create a follow-up plan after the meeting

    The future of work will be cross functional teams because they help move work forward in a better and more efficient way.

    Ensure That Your Team Is on the Same Page

    Identify Issues

    The first step to improving cross functional team collaboration is to identify the problems slowing down your team’s progress.

    Brainstorm

    Once you identify the problems, it is time to start brainstorming solutions.

    Use Technology

    The best way to improve cross functional communication is by using technology to facilitate better communication between team members.

    Create Space

    First, it’s essential to create a space where people can share their thoughts and feelings. Safe spaces will help them feel more comfortable with one another.

    Open Door Policy

    Next, it’s crucial to establish an open-door policy. This policy will encourage people to share their ideas and opinions more often.

    Set Clear Goals

    Finally, make sure that you have a clear goal for the team at hand.

    Having goals set will help the teams know what they should be working on to reach this goal.

    Tips for Better Communication Among Cross Functional Teams

    Have Transparent Communication

    The first tip is to have open and transparent communication.

    Employees should be aware of what is happening in the company and what their colleagues are doing.

    Better communication will help them understand how their work fits the bigger picture.

    Open conversations will allow them to feel more engaged in the process.

    Share Ideas and Feedback

    The second tip is that employees should share their ideas and feedback promptly.

    With ideas flowing freely, teams can identify any potential problems before they arise.

    Communication of Managers

    The third tip is that good communication comes from the top. Communication and business efficiency go hand in hand and both work best when there’s a strategy in place for organizational communication. Consider bringing on an internal communications manager to develop and implement strategic messaging and communication throughout your organization. Choose communication managers with a wealth of experience and a masters in strategic organizational communication or a similar educational background. Communication managers will encourage and foster all team members to work together on common goals, instead of separately.

    Challenges of Improving Cross Functional Communication

    It is vital to have a clear understanding of the challenges faced by organizations today.

    Organizations are faced with a myriad of challenges today.

    The most recognized challenge is to have a clear understanding of their customers.

    You can do this through research and data analysis. Other challenges may include:

    ●  Having an ethical brand

    ●  Creating work that stands out

    ●  The ability to find talent

    To improve the challenges, you can do the following:

    ●  Have better cross functional team communication

    ●  Ensure that all employees are on the same page about goals and objectives

    Communication is an essential aspect of any business, and teams that communicate well are typically more productive.

    By using CRM, you can ensure that all employees are on the same page concerning goals and objectives.

    The CRM will help facilitate communication between all team members. It will also provide a place to record all relevant information related to customer interactions.

    Conclusion

    Technological improvements have made it easier for teams to work together. But it has also created new challenges.

    For example, most people have difficulty knowing what is going on in other teams. This poor knowledge can lead to poor interdepartmental communication.

    To help overcome these challenges, we need to make sure that all team members know what each member is doing. And that they are communicating with one another.

    In conclusion, better team communication is crucial because cross functional team collaboration is essential for organizational success.

    But, it is not easy to achieve this goal.

    Many factors can cause the breakdown of teamwork, such as:

    ●  Lack of communication

    ●  Unclear expectations

    ●  Unmet deadlines

    To solve these problems, we need to work on improving cross functional communication by following these tips:

    ●  Make sure everyone understands the goals

    ●  Create a culture of open dialogue

    ●  Work on trust and respect

  • End-to-End Encryption Comes to Microsoft Teams One-to-One Calls

    End-to-End Encryption Comes to Microsoft Teams One-to-One Calls

    Microsoft has rolled out end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to one-to-one calls in Microsoft Teams.

    E2EE is considered the gold standard for messaging and communication, as it encrypts the messages so that only the sender and recipient can view them. Not even the service provider can access the information.

    Microsoft announced the rollout in a blog post, significantly improving the privacy and security of one-on-calls.

    In October, we announced the public preview of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) support for Microsoft Teams calls. Today, we are happy to announce that E2EE for Teams calls is now generally available. IT admins will have the option to enable and control the feature for their organization once the update has been received.

  • PSA: Update Microsoft Teams on Android Now

    PSA: Update Microsoft Teams on Android Now

    If you’re running Microsoft Teams on Android, you should update immediately to avoid a bug that crippled 911 calling.

    News broke Thursday that a bug in Microsoft Teams on Android could prevent users from calling 911. The issue occurred when Teams was installed, but the user was not logged in to the service..

    Microsoft has released an update to Teams that fixes the issues. All users should update immediately to avoid any issues.

  • Microsoft Teams and Android 10 or Later Preventing 911 Calls

    Microsoft Teams and Android 10 or Later Preventing 911 Calls

    Google is warning that having Microsoft Teams installed, but not logged in on Android 10 or later can prevent 911 calls.

    A user on Reddit with a Pixel 3, running Android 11, reported being unable to successfully call 911 when their grandmother appeared to be having a stroke.

    My phone got stuck immediately after one ring and I was unable to do anything other than click through apps with an emergency phone call running in the background. This is all while the phone informed me that it had sent my location to emergency services. Sadly I couldn’t tell the person on the other end what apartment I was in, or what the actual emergency was as I was unable to speak to a human.

    Google investigated the incident and discovered an unexpected interaction between Android and Microsoft Teams. The issue only occurs on Android 10 or later, when Teams is installed but the user is not logged in to their Teams account.

    We determined that the issue was being caused by unintended interaction between the Microsoft Teams app and the underlying Android operating system. Because this issue impacts emergency calling, both Google and Microsoft are heavily prioritizing the issue, and we expect a Microsoft Teams app update to be rolled out soon – as always we suggest users keep an eye out for app updates to ensure they are running the latest version. We will also be providing an Android platform update to the Android ecosystem on January 4.

    In the meantime, Google recommends a couple of mitigation steps. If an individual needs Microsoft Teams, they should make sure they are signed in and stay signed in until the fix is released. On the other hand, if an individual has Teams but is not signed in, they are better off uninstalling the app and reinstalling it. Google says this will fix the issue temporarily, but an update from Microsoft will be required to permanently fix it.

  • Disney and Facebook Execs Raise Funding for Live Video Startup 100ms

    Disney and Facebook Execs Raise Funding for Live Video Startup 100ms

    Execs from Disney and Facebook have raised $4.5 million for their live video infrastructure startup, 100ms.

    The global pandemic has brought videoconferencing front and center, as remote and hybrid work have transformed the workplace. For many companies, that has involved relying on Zoom, Teams, Slack or another platform.

    100ms is working to make it easy for a company to add live video to their own apps in a matter of hours, providing the infrastructure necessary.

    “Being a video engineer all my life, I understand the complexity of adding live video at scale. For a long time, this infrastructure has only been available to very few developers. We started 100ms to build live video infrastructure for the world. Our SDKs are supported on all platforms including ios/android/web and are equipped to build high quality video along with all the edge cases in just a few lines of code. Our infrastructure is designed to handle the scale and offers super low latency across the world,” commented Kshitij Gupta, co- founder and CEO, 100ms.

    Aniket Behera, co-founder and COO added: “Zoom is getting unbundled. Huge markets are being unlocked which are now leveraging white labelled video/audio – edtech, telehealth, gaming retail, fitness, audio rooms among others. 100ms aims to be the infrastructure layer for all these industries.”

  • Microsoft: ‘The Digital Employee Experience IS The Employee Experience’

    Microsoft: ‘The Digital Employee Experience IS The Employee Experience’

    Microsoft has shared a number of insights about how remote work has become the “new normal,” and updated several apps to reflect that.

    Like many companies, Microsoft was working to bring employees back into the office starting in October. With the surge in Delta cases, however, the company is not only pushing back its return to the office date, but is no longer projecting a new target. Instead, according to Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Modern Work, the company recognizes “our ability to come together will ebb and flow,” and will simply base its decisions on public health guidance moving forward.

    The company also reveals that, while its research shows that most employees crave in-person time at work, many still want to maintain the flexibility of remote work. There are also disparities between the amount of time managers and employees want to be in the office. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella refers to these complexities as the Hybrid Work Paradox.

    Despite any challenges, however, Spataro says “going forward, the digital employee experience is the employee experience.” The company is rolling out updates to multiples apps and services to better reflect that reality.

    Microsoft Teams will receive AI-enabled cameras, active speaker tracking and people recognition. Outlook will gain a new Outlook RSVP feature so individuals can specific whether they will attend in-person or digitally, as well as redesigned Working hours to better accommodate and notify others of flexible work schedules. The company will also make the Microsoft Viva Connections mobile app available as a public preview later this month.

    It’s clear Microsoft is all-in on hybrid remote, accepting it as the new reality and determined “to take a learn-it-all approach, and lead with data rather than dogma.”

  • Microsoft Teams Bringing Breakout Room and Search Improvements

    Microsoft Teams Bringing Breakout Room and Search Improvements

    Microsoft Teams is set for some major updates to its Breakout Room and search features.

    Microsoft Teams is one of the leading corporate messaging platforms, and has long-since surpassed Slack as the market leader. The company has been adding major new features and improving existing ones in an effort to continue its dominance, as well as keep any rivals at bay.

    According to entries in the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, some of those improvements are aimed at the application’s search features.

    A new search experience in Teams will make finding messages, people, answers, and files faster and more intuitive. A redesigned search results page provides better context and faster results, with AI-powered relevance based on the people and content you engage with most in Teams and other Microsoft 365 services.

    Search autosuggest will also see some improvements.

    Top hits is a new section at the top of the autosuggest results in search where users will see the most relevant results across people, chats, files and more. This feature will improve discovery and reduce search times.

    The company is also looking to improve Breakout Rooms by making it possible to assign presenters to manage them.

    Extend the management of Breakout Rooms to specific presenters.

  • Microsoft Doubling Down on ‘Consumer Experience’ With Uber Exec Hire

    Microsoft Doubling Down on ‘Consumer Experience’ With Uber Exec Hire

    Microsoft has hired former Uber exec Manik Gupta to help it build “world-class consumer experiences across all of Microsoft.”

    Gupta was head of product at Uber, and spent a number of years before that overseeing Google Maps. Microsoft has been working to expand the consumer aspect of its business, and Gupta will help oversee those endeavors, specifically Microsoft Teams consumer, GroupMe and Skype.

    “Manik’s experience… will be invaluable to us building world-class consumer experiences across all of Microsoft,” says Jeff Teper, Corporate Vice President in charge of Microsoft 365 Collaboration, whom Gupta will report to. The internal memo was seen by The Verge.

    Gupta’s hire is good news for Microsoft’s customers and should be a boon to the company’s efforts.

  • Avaya and Microsoft Partner to Bring OneCloud CPaaS to Microsoft Azure

    Avaya and Microsoft Partner to Bring OneCloud CPaaS to Microsoft Azure

    Avaya and Microsoft announced a strategic partnership to bring Avaya’s Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) to Azure.

    Avaya has built its business around cloud-based communications, making it a natural fit to extend those abilities in Azure, one of the leading cloud computing platforms. The company’s OneCloud CPaaS will be integrated with Microsoft Azure Communication Services, including voice, video chat and SMS. Microsoft Teams and Dynamics 365 will also benefit, with OneCloud CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) integrated into both services.

    “Avaya and Microsoft are responding to our customers who have asked us to deliver more integrated experiences for Avaya OneCloud Contact Center running in Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. Together we are providing true integration, spanning not just the contact center application itself but also the underlying communication platforms. Additionally we will be implementing Microsoft’s powerful AI capabilities via Azure Cognitive Services,” said Anthony Bartolo, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Avaya. “Avaya’s market-leading solutions in Cloud Contact Center combined with Microsoft’s presence in cloud collaboration is compelling for existing and new customers alike.”

    “The global collaboration with Avaya is an example of how Microsoft, collaborating with other industry leaders, is meeting businesses’ requirements for integrated communications solutions that transform customer and employee experience,” said Scott Van Vliet, Corporate Vice President, Intelligent Conversation and Communications Cloud, Microsoft. “This relationship benefits from the combined strengths of the two companies to connect businesses to their customers via powerful communication experiences across platforms – all with the resiliency, enterprise-grade security and cloud scale of Microsoft Azure.”

  • Microsoft Launches Teams for Friends and Family

    Microsoft Launches Teams for Friends and Family

    Microsoft is making its personal feature in Teams available to the public in a bid to grow the platform beyond corporate use.

    Microsoft Teams has emerged as one of the premier methods of corporate communication, its popularity boosted significantly by the pandemic and remote work. The company wants to build on that and boost Teams’ popularity among individual users, much like Zoom and Skype.

    The company began rolling out personal features last year, and has been testing the features ever since. Today, the personal features are now officially part of Teams, and will make it easy for users to communicate and share content, such as photos, files, calendars, tasks and web links.

    Teams will allow one-to-one calls for up to 24 hours free, as well as free 60 minute calls for up to 100 participants. During the pandemic, however, Microsoft waiving that limitation and allowing up to 300 participants to speak for free for up to 24 hours.

    Liat Ben-Zur, Corporate Vice President, Modern Life, Search, and Devices, made the announcement in a blog post.

    Personal features in Teams are available today, for free, and for people around the world. If you’re using Teams for work, just click on your profile to add a personal account. If you’re new to Teams, you can download the iOS, Android, or desktop app to get started today. You can also use Teams on any web browser, including my personal favorite, Microsoft Edge. Learn more about personal features in Teams.

    We’re so excited that Microsoft Teams, which so many of us have come to rely on at work, can now help people connect and get things done with their family and friends. We can’t wait to hear your feedback and look forward to delivering more features over time.

  • Zoom Unveils Immersive View

    Zoom Unveils Immersive View

    Zoom has unveiled Immersive View, a way to bring together virtual participants into a single, cohesive view.

    Apps such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Skype and others have been instrumental to helping companies and individuals stay productive during the pandemic. In spite of their benefit, however, constantly being in virtual meetings has taken a toll on many employees, leading to what’s popularly called “Zoom fatigue.”

    Zoom is working to address that with its new Immersive View, designed to bring everyone together virtually in a way that feels more familiar and (hopefully) less taxing.

    Immersive View allows hosts to arrange video participants and webinar panelists into a single virtual background, bringing people together into one scene to connect and collaborate in a cohesive virtual meeting space.

    Whether you want to create the feeling of being in a classroom, a boardroom, a conference auditorium, or your favorite place to catch up with friends, Zoom’s Immersive View assembles up to 25 participants in one fun, consistent meeting environment.

    The new feature is similar to Microsoft Teams’ Together Mode, which the Redmond giant rolled out in July of last year. While Zoom may be nearly a year late to the party, at least it arrived with a catchier name.

  • iPad Pro’s Center Stage Will Work With Third-Party Video Apps

    iPad Pro’s Center Stage Will Work With Third-Party Video Apps

    Apple has answered a big question about the upcoming Center Stage iPad Pro feature, stating it will work with third-party video apps.

    One of the most frustrating things about videoconferencing on an iPad is the placement of the camera. Because the camera is placed at the top of the screen when held in portrait mode, it is off to the side when in landscape mode, such as when it’s in a keyboard case. As a result, looking at the screen during a video conference makes it appear as if the person is looking off to the side — because they are, in relation to the camera.

    When Apple unveiled the new iPad Pro at its Spring Loaded event, one of the most promising features was one called Center Stage. Using the iPad’s Ultra Wide camera, in combination with machine learning, Center Stage keeps the user centered in the screen, appearing to look directly at the camera.

    One of the biggest questions was whether the new feature would only work with FaceTime, or if it would support third-party apps, such as Zoom, Skype or Teams. Apple has clarified on its iPad Pro page that the feature will work with third-party apps.

    The all‑new Center Stage uses the Ultra Wide camera and machine learning to change the way you participate in video calls. As you move around, it automatically pans to keep you centered in the frame. When others join in or leave the call, the view expands or zooms in. Center Stage works with FaceTime and other video conferencing apps for an even more engaging experience

    The news will remove a significant irritation for anyone primarily using an iPad Pro for their work and virtual meetings.

  • Slack Tweaks Connect DM to Prevent Harassment

    Slack Tweaks Connect DM to Prevent Harassment

    Just hours after rolling out its new Connect DM feature, Slack has made a significant change to it in order to prevent harassment.

    Connect DM is a new feature that allows Slack users to direct message any other user, regardless of what company or channel they belong to. The feature helps Slack better compete with Microsoft Teams, as well as other messaging services, such as WhatsApp, iMessage and regular text messages.

    Unfortunately, the way Slack rolled the feature out made it possible for users to abuse it, thanks to the ability to customize the invitation message sent as part of a DM invite. Since the message could be customized, a malicious individual could write anything they wanted, using it as a form of harassment. To make matters worse, unlike traditional email, there was no way to opt-out, block or filter the messages since they came from an official Slack address.

    Slack has now removed the ability to customize the messages, and acknowledged its misstep with the rollout.

    “After rolling out Slack Connect DMs this morning, we received valuable feedback from our users about how email invitations to use the feature could potentially be used to send abusive or harassing messages. We are taking immediate steps to prevent this kind of abuse, beginning today with the removal of the ability to customize a message when a user invites someone to Slack Connect DMs,” Jonathan Prince, the company’s vice president of communications and policy, told The Verge.

    “Slack Connect’s security features and robust administrative controls are a core part of its value both for individual users and their organizations. We made a mistake in this initial roll-out that is inconsistent with our goals for the product and the typical experience of Slack Connect usage. As always, we are grateful to everyone who spoke up, and we are committed to fixing this issue.”

  • Slack Rolls Out Direct Messages to Anyone

    Slack Rolls Out Direct Messages to Anyone

    Starting today, Slack is enabling Connect DM, allowing users to send direct messages to anyone, not just those in their channels.

    Connect DMs are an evolution of Connect, Slack’s feature to allow companies to set up cross-organization channels. Connect allows employees from different companies to easily communicate with one another. Connect DM builds on that feature by allowing Slack users to communicate with any other Slack users.

    In many ways, the feature is designed to help Slack better compete with Microsoft Teams. Despite being an early leader and pioneer in the field, Slack has been eclipsed by Teams, especially during the pandemic. Late last year, Salesforce announced it was acquiring Slack, in a move widely seen as helping the two companies better compete with Microsoft.

    In addition to better competing with Teams, Slack’s Connect DM helps make the service more integral to a company’s communication. Rather than relying on outside services, such as text, iMessage, WhatsApp or others, Connect DM allows users to communicate easily, while still maintaining a record of the communication.

    “You could put a link on your Twitter profile or a QR code on your business card that people could use to connect with you,” Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield told The Verge in an interview last October when the feature was first announced.

    “It works essentially like BlackBerry messaging, so that link is the equivalent of me giving you my BlackBerry PIN but when you message me I still have to approve you,” says Butterfield.

    The new feature should help Slack in its rivalry with Teams, and eliminate a major pain point for its users.

  • Microsoft 365 Down, Microsoft Working On Fix

    Microsoft 365 Down, Microsoft Working On Fix

    Microsoft 365 has been down for many users throughout Monday, with the company working on mitigation efforts.

    Shortly after 3:00, users started reporting issues with Microsoft 365, according to DownDetector. Users reported issues with virtually every aspect of Microsoft 365. The company confirmedthe issue, and how widespread it is.

    Any service that leverages Azure Active Directory (AAD) may be affected. This includes but is not limited to Microsoft Teams, Forms, Exchange Online, Intune and Yammer. Admins may also be unable to access the Service Health Dashboard.

    Microsoft has rolled out mitigation efforts, although some users continue to be impacted.

    Microsoft has yet to explain exactly what caused the issue, although it says it has identified it.