Microsoft Teams Update: They Just Made It Even Better

Are you already experiencing the time-saving collaboration tools and productivity tools in Microsoft Teams? Wait until you see the 2019 Microsoft Teams Update.

It’s no secret to you that no one is an island when it comes to getting complex jobs done within an organization. But coordinating team efforts, keeping everyone on the same page and working efficiently is always challenging. On top of that, mobile devices have freed us from the confines of our office spaces, allowing people to work from anywhere. But this often means that team members may not be in the same room, same building or even on the same continent.

Microsoft Teams, which was released in 2017, was built with the modern mobile, collaborative office in mind. It sought to rein in all of that chaos with intuitive team collaboration tools that bring people together. It facilitates the ability of teams to effectively accomplish tasks and meet deadlines. Now, they’ve done it again with their 2019 release of new team features for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. Let’s looks at some of these exciting, collaboration and productivity tools.

MyAnalytics “Focus Time”

They’ve added a new feature to the already helpful MyAnalyics portion the Microsoft Teams. In case you’re not familiar, MyAnalytics helps your team members stay focused, work smarter and accomplish their goal more efficiently by keeping them moving in the right direction.

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”
Zig Ziglar

MyAnalytics delivers AI-powered productivity suggestions based upon the individual’s work patterns. This tool isn’t about getting people to work harder and never take a break. On the contrary, it helps them learn their patterns and discover where time gets wasted so that they can make the best use of work time and have more time for play (off the clock of course).

Using machine learning this tool now suggests the best times for a person to focus uninterrupted, automatically changes their status to “focus” and turns off all notifications during that time.

This tool helps individuals who may feel overwhelmed reclaim their days with less stress and higher productivity.

MyAnalytics is not a management tool. You won’t be able to see the data of employees. But the motivated employee will use it to maximize performance.

Microsoft Teams Rooms “Content Cameras and Intelligent Capture”

No more squinting to see the whiteboard or slides in traditional video conferencing. This improved whiteboarding feature makes it easier for people in multiple locations to view whiteboard information clearly and simultaneously during meetings. This advanced technology requires minimal setup and works automatically. When launched, the tool detects a whiteboard in the frame, crops it and superimposes it over the video.

Meetings First for Skype for Business Server Customers

The new Meetings First feature makes it easy for you to continue a meeting on the Skype for Business Server while moving the workload for the meeting to the Cloud. That means no interruptions or lost productivity. Continue with your chat while viewing information.

Share Audio

Adding videos and audio to Powerpoints has historically been problematic for team members in remote locations. They end up hearing grainy, echoing second-hand audio as speakers pass sound to a microphone then back to their speakers.

A new Microsoft Team Update changes that. Team members will now hear the audio directly through their speakers. So add videos, sound effects, music and more to your PowerPoint without hesitation.

Branded App Development (Developer View)

Businesses thrive when they have tools that they can customize to meet their unique business needs. Microsoft Teams allows you to fully integrate third-party apps into the software and/or develop your own apps to further customize your Microsoft Teams experience. In early 2019 Microsoft released developer preview mode that allows a developer to view the app experience in real-time and are further rolling out the third-party app experience in late 2019.

Explore the Many Productivity Features that Microsoft Teams Has to Offer

We’ve only discussed some of the latest productivity tools added to Teams in the 2019 Microsoft Teams Update as well as a few of the existing feature you may not yet have explored.

If you’re already using Microsoft Teams, these new features will further enhance your team experience. If you aren’t currently using Microsoft Teams, know that we’ve just scratched the service on this innovative, intuitive and practical set of tools. Isn’t it time that your team had the tools it needs to work smarter? It’s time to get Teams or explore the latest that Microsoft Teams Update has to offer.