Leading technology company Microsoft recently revealed another step in their quest to embrace Teams as their new flagship product. The previous Skype Room Systems, intended to bring full audio and video functionality to meeting rooms, has been rebranded as part of the Microsoft Teams portfolio.
The name update isn’t just a way for Microsoft to continue highlighting Teams as the ultimate communication and collaboration tool for its users. Press releases about the rebrand suggest that Microsoft will also be delivering a range of new capabilities to the new Microsoft Teams Rooms systems, to enhance the experiences that users can achieve.
Upcoming Enhancements for Microsoft Teams Rooms
To start with, Microsoft is making it easier for companies to set up and launch conferences in today’s fast-paced business world, with a “One Touch Join” feature. The idea is that the console device included with Microsoft Teams Rooms will give businesses quick access to the functionality they need, without the support of an IT team.
Another upcoming addition, forming part of the enhancements to the Microsoft Teams client for PCs, will be the availability of a “proximity detection” system, that can determine which conference systems are available for use at any given time. For now, proximity detection will only be available for computers, but Microsoft has said that it is working on a strategy to bring the experience to mobile devices too. For now, mobile users can enjoy the additional option of being able to join meetings in “content-only” mode.
Microsoft Teams will also come with an “Add a Room” feature, that permits companies to add conferencing room facilities to their interconnected network for a faster, more efficient meeting, and support for dual-screen setups is also on the horizon.
New Opportunities with Teams
Along with the new rebrand, Microsoft announced that it’s working alongside six well-known hardware providers in the communication and collaboration space to deliver enhanced Teams Room environments. The latest announcements from Microsoft suggest that 130 million minutes of conferencing have already been supported through Teams.
For those who still need help making the transition for the previous flagship, Microsoft Skype for Business, Microsoft has various tools available. The “FastTrack online guidance” strategy for moving from Skype for Business to Teams has recently been updated online, to give companies even more support with planning their transformation. However, the FastTrack strategy is reserved for Microsoft customers with at least 150 qualified licenses. For other Microsoft customers, there’s still plenty of documentation available on the Microsoft website.
What do you think about the move to Teams? Do you use it already? Let us know in the comments section below.
