Introduction
Many companies across the globe are now reassessing how they work remotely. Ensuring that their teams stay connected and collaborate effectively, regardless of their location, has become a top priority. With collaborative technologies and video conferencing on the rise, companies like Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Skype for Business have been enhancing their offerings to respond to market demands.
The latest in new enhancements from Microsoft Teams is Microsoft Teams Advanced Communications. Microsoft’s new Advanced Communications plan is available as a 60-day free trial via Teams Admin Centre now, or via Microsoft Teams website in mid-August. It can also be added to your Microsoft 365 or Office 365 paid subscription.
What’s New in Teams Advanced Communication?
Hold a Teams Meeting with up to 20,000 Participants
This feature now provides the opportunity to hold large presentations and live events on a ‘view only’ mode with to up to 20,000 participants, enabling live communications to be delivered to a mass audience and large scale. The new feature limits the size of interactive meetings to 1,000 participants, with a seamless shift to a ‘view only’ mode after the limit is met.
Custom-branded meeting lobby controls
Begin your meetings with branded content. Create a branded meeting lobby with Microsoft Teams to add a professional look and feel, particularly when hosting external meetings. This new feature will launch in the coming months, and the additional ability to extend your branding to the core meeting experience will be coming later. As well as this, connect with business applications to manage at scale and automate workflows.
Give employees 1:1 connection with Teams Calling
Microsoft has also announced Teams Calling, a cloud-based phone system. The idea of this is to make it easy to connect: take your Teams contacts with you when you are working from home—or shifting to part-home, part-office hybrid working.
As communication methods are being reassessed, so are the tools that we use to communicate. Instead of a desk phone and other peripherals, Microsoft Teams are taking a fresh perspective on what a phone could be with their latest device, Microsoft Teams displays. This is a dedicated Teams device featuring an ambient touch screen, high-quality calling and video, and a hands-free experience powered by Cortana.
Microsoft Teams have also announced:
- Extended support for Skype for Business phones beyond 2023.
- Support for core calling features on SIP phones from Cisco, Yealink, Polycom, and others with Teams. Support for SIP phones will be available in the first half of 2021.
- New Teams phones from AudioCodes, Poly, Yealink starting early 2021.
- New USB peripherals that have dial pads and a modern Teams user interface for heavy call user later this year.
What’s Next?
If you’re interested in any of the latest enhancements from Microsoft Teams, you can arrange a demonstration with us at our Remark HQ in Peterborough or get in touch with one of our experts today to discuss your needs further.
