Microsoft Teams has grown from 13 million active users to 20 million from July 2019 to November 2019! According to Tech Crunch, Teams is Microsoft’s fastest growing product to date. 20 million is a lot, but it is also only ten percent of more than 200 million Office 365 commercial users, meaning the growth rate is only getting started and more users will be added soon, making Microsoft Teams the go-to tool for unified comms within your organisation.

What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration hub for shared files and calendars, collaborative editing, and easy switching between voice, video and text chat – a combination that gives everyone one place to get more done at maximum efficiency.

At its foundation, Teams can be summed up into four main components:

  1. Allows users to make voice calls via desktop, mobile or tablet within the Teams environment
  2. Allows for video conferencing of up to 250 people internally on Teams and externally by inviting external parties to a meeting as a guest.
  3. Allows you to Instant message anyone on your Microsoft Teams environment
  4. Allows users to share documents in one environment, which allows for team editing and contribution.

With the right hardware provider and service provider, like Vox, Teams functionality can expand its capability to do the following:

  1. Breakout to external parties like Cloud PBX and extend call coverage
  2. Enable several thousand people to join a single meeting by allowing video conferencing of up to 250 audio visual meeting rooms through room system integration.

Why Teams? Is Skype for Business not the same thing?

While there are similarities between Teams and Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams expands on the capabilities of Skype for Business. One of the most notable differences is that Teams can transcribe the meetings and translate it into multiple languages. Unlike Skype for Business, Teams also has additional security added to its offer. In fact, Teams is indirectly replacing Skype for Business. Microsoft have already confirmed that Skype for Business online will retire on 31 July 2021.

As a Cloud Unified Communications Platform, Teams will reduce the need for company travel and enhance communication within any organisation no matter the size.

Teams is available on both the Business Essentials and Business Premium License. Enhancements to the product like adding Cloud PBX and video conferencing to rooms is available through Vox. Contact  Gareth or Doug from Vox on  Gareth.Edwards@voxtelecom.co.za or dougm@braintree.co.za to find out more.