When Microsoft Teams was launched and added to the Office 365 suite, many of our clients were surprised. Most were wondering why their businesses need another chat tool when they already have Skype and Yammer.
These tools above are great and they definitely have their place and uses in day to day running of a business.
But there is something definitely different about Microsoft Teams and we have found this out by using it daily ourselves here at Greendata. We liken it to a squirt of glue that interconnects all the best parts of the Office 365 suite together in one place letting you easily communicate, manage and update anyone in your team, anytime through your day.
So we can honestly say your business definitely needs Microsoft Teams after using it for a long time. Let us explain why and how you can make the most out of this great business tool too!
What is Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams went live as part of Office 365 suite as one of the latest new additions to the already featured packed Office 365 suite.
So currently Teams is available for these Office 365 Plans below:
- Office 365 Business Premium Plans
- Business Essential Plans
- Office 365 Enterprise Plans including E1, E3, E5, and F1
- Also available to E4 customers who purchased before E4’s retirement
- Office 365 Education
- Office 365 Education Plus
- Office 365 Education E5
This above may change over the years and we will do our best to keep it updated for you. Now onto how Microsoft Teams came to be and what it does.
In last few years, chat apps and platforms like Slack have become more popular among office workers and businesses than personal chat users.
This is why Yahoo Messenger was replaced by tools like Slack and HipChat. Microsoft, then anticipating the growing popularity of business chat services and chat platforms, came up with its own rival to Slack and HipChat. And so, Microsoft Teams was created.
The aim of Microsoft Teams is to help businesses and their teams communicate and collaborate with ease.
It’s a tool designed to counter team issues like hold-ups, delays, and also miscommunication. With information, conversations, tools, and all related documents accessible within the Microsoft Teams platform, people can now work with more efficiency and speed all in one area.
In simple words, Microsoft Teams is a simple instance messaging service within Office 365 that allows you to integrate and use most of the other Office 365 features as well, at the same time either on desktop or on your mobile device.
And these are just some of the reasons why Microsoft Teams messaging and collaboration tool is one of the most underrated feature among Office 365 tools.
Why Microsoft Teams When We Already Have Skype?
Many of our clients have asked us the same question. Why use Microsoft Teams when we have Skype?
Well, there are many significant differences between both.
Microsoft Teams is designed specifically to cater to the needs of teams working in a company, while Skype is a multi-purpose chat tool. It also provides a more customised set of collaboration tools and features for people working together compared to Skype.
Teams can integrate with over 150 third-party services along with Office 365’s own features and tools, this will make your communication and collaboration become simpler and more effective.
But here is the catch.
It does not mean that you have to add everything into the Microsoft Teams interface, it will only make things more complex for you. To make the most of Teams, you have to make sure you are using the right tools, only the tools that matter and can improve your daily communication and processes.
Why Work with Microsoft Teams?
Do you have teams working within your business that are assigned different tasks?
If you answer yes, there is your first reason.
It’s a business tool that can speed up team work, and help them to meet deadlines faster than expected by working smarter and communicating effectively. All you need is to integrate it with other tools your team is using and then customise its features according to your business and teams needs and also your/their work style.
This is where Greendata comes in.
We can customise Microsoft Teams according to the specific and unique needs of your team and business. And if you need a hand through any of the process, you can always count on our Office 365 experts here at Greendata.
Working with Microsoft Teams
Moving on, what it can do for your business and team?
- To start with, your team can have an easy to access web based chat app. It can be used from a browser or Teams apps for Windows, iOS, or Android, making it easily accessible from any platform and device
- Secondly, it allows team members to communicate through text messages, voice calls, and video calls. This makes it easier for teams with remote members to connect and work together
- The platform also allows team members to share, access, and store documents
- Microsoft Teams can have up to 999 people under one team. You can create multiple teams and assign different people to different teams. This makes it easier for managers to segregate different groups of people who are working on different projects
As soon as a team is created, the tool automatically creates a SharePoint team site, a calendar, and a OneNote notebook accessible to all team members. By embedding OneNote to the Teams, team members can have access to shared notes within the same tool without switching to OneNote.
You can also create more channels within a team to open multiple communication channels, private or public, between team members.
Easy huh, once you start using it, like us, you will wonder what you ever did without it!
Why is Microsoft Teams Better than other Similar Tools?
It is more advanced and modern in outlook and features than its main rival, Slack. One of the key differences is custom tabs in Microsoft Teams. This allows users to create their own custom tabs to access documents, SharePoint libraries, OneNote and other Office 365 features within the chat interface.
This way teams work and collaborate using only one tool, without any need to switch between multiple windows. This saves your team time.
What could you do with all that extra time?
Other than text messages, audio, and video calls, it also allows users to share their screen with another user. Another feature that is not available in Slack and HipChat.
On top of this, Microsoft Teams allows users to select different themes for the interface, edit and create their own personalized stickers, and copy and move files within the chat window interface.
All of these features are not available with Slack.
It also integrates with MS Planner for the project and task management and allows cross platform accessibility and is also available in 18 different languages.
Here is the quick check list How Microsoft Teams can be effective for your business:
- Offers Simple Chat Interface
- Acts as a Hub for Teamwork
- Integrate easily with other Office 365 tools and over 150 third-party apps
- Easy to customize features for each team
- Strong security features
Simply put, combine the above and Microsoft Teams is another must have tool for business users and their teams.
Like what you have learnt about Microsoft Teams?
If you have read through the above and Microsoft Teams looks like it would be definitely something that would help your business to increase its productivity and communication, give us a call.
Our team at Green Data can help you with Microsoft Teams integration and also with other tools according to the specific needs of your business.
We understand Office 365 like no other, let us make sure your business is making the most out of the Office 365 suite and its awesome tools like Microsoft Teams.
You can give us a call on 07 5526 0278 or send us a message on our “Let’s Connect” page, we are more than happy to talk to you about your needs and answer your questions.
