Microsoft Teams Review: Full UCaaS

Your guide to Microsoft's flagship collaboration product

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Microsoft Teams Review- Office 365 Collaboration
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Published: December 14, 2022

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

Microsoft Teams has emerged as a leader in the UCaaS Magic Quadrant for four consecutive years as of 2022, as perhaps the most popular collaboration and communication tool. The flagship hub for teamwork and productivity has evolved from a simple solution for keeping staff connected into an all-in-one environment for traditional, hybrid, and remote work.

Today, Microsoft Teams has more than 270 million monthly active users worldwide and an ever-growing collection of amazing features designed to empower and optimize teams.

Companies can use Teams for video and audio conferencing, chat, and file sharing. They can also connect their collaboration app to their business phone system, host webinars and events through Teams, and even explore the metaverse.

Microsoft Teams Review: Microsoft Teams Features

Essentially, Microsoft Teams is an all-in-one digital work hub featuring all of the functionality companies might need to engage and synchronize employees wherever they are.

Since its introduction in 2016, Microsoft has unveiled countless new features for Teams, ranging from virtual backgrounds and “Together mode” for hybrid meetings to webinar hosting, open API integrations, and even automation via Power Platform.

Every month, Teams introduces new features, updates, and enhancements, inspired not just by the changing communication and collaboration market but also by Microsoft’s community of partners and customers. At the time of writing, the core features of Teams break down into a few key areas:

Microsoft Teams Review: Meetings and Webinars

Microsoft Teams offers everything businesses need to facilitate meetings between internal employees, external contacts, customers, and stakeholders. Users can create online calling and video meetings with up to 300 participants, lasting up to 30 hours.

Each meeting can also be enhanced by screen sharing, customized backgrounds, together mode for virtual meetings, and live captions in over 30 different languages. Meetings also include:

  • Scheduling with Outlook and calendar integrations
  • Recordings and automated transcripts
  • Breakout rooms
  • Digital whiteboarding functionality
  • Noise suppression
  • Collaborative annotations

Users can join meetings without an account when necessary, and companies can host entire Teams webinars, including attendee registration pages, reporting, and email confirmations.

Microsoft Teams Review: Calling Functionality

To thrive as a fully-functional UCaaS solution, Microsoft has delivered a variety of “Microsoft Teams Phone” features and solutions. The phone service allows companies to add business-quality calling capabilities to their Teams instance, with access to valuable features like call recording, routing, and an easy-to-use mobile experience.

Companies have access to calling plans available directly from Microsoft for their Business phone needs, and they can also choose from a range of ways to add their own existing phone providers to their instance. For instance, direct routing allows companies to conveniently connect communication provider services to their Teams environment using PowerShell commands.

Alternatively, for companies who want more straightforward access to third-party communication providers, Microsoft offers “Operator Connect.” With Operator Connect, companies can choose from a range of approved communication providers to work with from within the Teams admin environment. With Operator Connect, there’s no need for business leaders to deal with complex PowerShell code, and all PSTN and SBC calling services are handled entirely by operators.

Microsoft Teams also introduced a new way for companies to integrate mobile calling plans into their communication environment via “Operator Connect Mobile” in recent years.

Microsoft Teams Chat, Collaboration, and Productivity

The chat and collaboration features of Microsoft Teams empower up to 300 users on any “Teams” environment to connect seamlessly through unlimited chat messages sent via channels or direct 1-on-1 conversations. There’s an intuitive search function for finding crucial information.

Plus, Microsoft Teams also collaborates in real-time with all of the Office 365 apps so that team members can work on documents in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint at the same time. The chat and collaboration tools in Teams support file attachments of up to 1TB per user and file storage of up to 1TB per user. Users can even set up multiple professional and personal accounts.

To enhance the functionality of Teams even further, Microsoft also offers:

  • Access to over 250 integrated apps and services
  • Support for all the web versions of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
  • Custom email hosting and domain addresses
  • Personal file storage and sharing via OneDrive
  • Microsoft Bookings for scheduling appointments
  • Polling and real-time employee insights

Microsoft Teams Security, Compliance, and Administration

Implementing the ideal collaboration and communication system in any business starts with ensuring excellent security and compliance. Fortunately, Microsoft protects businesses by ensuring that all data sent via Teams is encrypted at rest and in transit.

Plus, users can also access single sign-on for Microsoft 365 apps, enable multi-factor authentication, and leverage advanced auditing and reporting capabilities. Teams also comes with:

  • Administration tools for managing apps and users
  • Usage reporting and analytics for Teams
  • Configurable user settings and policies
  • Financially backed 99.9% uptime guarantees
  • Phone and web support around the clock

Microsoft Teams Review: Pricing Options

From a pricing perspective, Microsoft Teams benefits from being a highly affordable solution for many major brands. There’s even a free plan for Microsoft Teams, which supports unlimited one-on-one meetings for up to 30 hours, unlimited group meetings for up to 60 minutes, and 5GB of cloud storage per user.

You’ll also be able to support up to 100 participants per meeting, access unlimited chat functionality, file sharing, tasks, and polling, and leverage data encryption. Outside the free plan, various “paid” plans are available depending on your industry and specific needs.

For businesses, the core Microsoft Teams plans include:

  • Microsoft Teams Essentials: $4 per month, per user, for unlimited group meetings for up to 30 hours, 300 participants per meeting, 10 GB of cloud storage per user, and any time phone and web support.
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6 per month, per user, for all the features of Essentials, plus Teams meeting recordings with transcripts, web and mobile versions of various Office apps, cloud storage of up to 1TB per user, standard security, and business-class email.
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 per month, per user for everything you get in the Basic plan, plus webinar hosting, Office desktop apps with advanced features, reporting and attendee registration tools, and customer appointment management.

In 2022, Microsoft also introduced Microsoft Teams “Premium,” an add-on solution for Microsoft Teams designed to make every meeting more intelligent, personalized, and secure. The Premium service includes enhanced features for AI-powered meetings, information protection, and powerful, engaging webinars.

There are also various Office 365 plans available from Microsoft, which include access to a range of Microsoft tools, including Teams. These solutions have dedicated versions for the Educational and Government landscapes, with bonus features and tools for interacting with students or preserving data compliance.

Notably, companies planning on using Microsoft Teams for calling will need to purchase a separate Phone plan on top of their Teams subscription. The cheapest calling plan is the “Bring Your Operator” plan for $8 per user per month, which enables call functionality with Operator Connect. There’s also the Microsoft Teams Phone with a calling plan for $15 per user per month, and Microsoft 365 E5 for $57 per month, per user, with access to productivity apps and services included.

Microsoft Teams Review: The Major Benefits of Teams

Microsoft Teams is widely regarded as one of the most popular communication and collaboration tools. The flexible and scalable digital “work hub” was designed to help keep team members connected wherever they are. In recent years, Microsoft has proven itself a fantastic partner for companies searching for reliable remote and hybrid work tools.

The benefits of Microsoft Teams are potentially endless. Some of the key components which help Microsoft Teams to stand out from other apps include:

  • Excellent Integration with Microsoft Tools: Microsoft Teams naturally works perfectly with a huge variety of existing Microsoft tools, ranging from the Office 365 collection of productivity apps to Microsoft Business Intelligence, Dynamics, and more. Even integrations are available for Microsoft Power Platform, empowering companies to create their own apps and automations within the Teams landscape.
  • Endless add-ons, integrations, and apps: Microsoft doesn’t just support connectivity between Teams and its own apps and services; it also allows companies to build a true single-pane-of-glass workplace with endless add-ons and integrations. Companies can find various valuable apps within the Microsoft marketplace designed to enhance their meeting experiences and reduce the time employees spend jumping between tabs.
  • Outstanding security: Peace of mind is easy to access with Microsoft Teams. Every Teams instance comes with exceptional encryption built-in. Plus, companies can easily set up security and compliance policies using tools like Microsoft Purview. There’s support for two-factor authentication built into teams and single sign-on. Plus, Microsoft constantly commits to upgrading its security levels according to the latest standards.
  • Flexible calling options: Microsoft Teams’ phone functionality allows companies to build voice communications into their collaboration stack however they choose. Companies can either opt for a Microsoft calling plan or connect their preferred carriers through Operator Connect and Direct Routing. Operator Connect is also available for carriers, so companies don’t have to compromise on excellent communication.
  • Endless innovation: The Teams landscape is constantly evolving, with intelligent new features and functionality inspired by the community. Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen the introduction of everything from real-time translation and transcription to metaverse-style avatars for video conferencing and AI-enhanced booking systems. Microsoft never stops building on the capabilities of Teams.
  • Ease of Use: Microsoft Teams ensures companies can benefit from all the advantages of rapid technology adoption with an easy-to-use and intuitive environment. The platform is straightforward to use and provides plenty of documentation and guidance for beginners. Plus, companies can easily allow employees to customize their experience with different add-ons, workflow automation, hardware options, and theme changes.

Finishing Thoughts and FAQ

Microsoft Teams has proven to be one of the most powerful tools in the collaboration and communication landscape over the last few years. Though it started life as a relatively simple replacement for the Skype for the Business ecosystem, Microsoft Teams has grown to be much more. Today, it’s a true digital work hub designed to replace the old-fashioned office space with an ever-evolving and dynamic space for productivity.

Microsoft Teams empowers employees to connect, share ideas, and work together asynchronously or across various challenges. The flexible, scalable, and agile environment can adapt to suit the needs of virtually any business. Moreover, Microsoft is committed to constantly updating the Teams environment to make it even more compelling for today’s business users.

Q: What is Microsoft Teams Compatible With?

A: Microsoft Teams works cohesively with many different Microsoft tools, including SharePoint, Exchange, OneDrive, Yammer, and Office tools like Word. Outside of the Microsoft portfolio, there are more than 700 apps users can add directly to Microsoft Teams. Plus, users can also build custom apps using the Power Platform.

Q: Does Microsoft Teams support Guest Access?

Yes, Microsoft supports cross-company collaboration and guest access, with comprehensive controls available for business leaders to determine how much data each guest should be exposed to.

Q: Does Microsoft Teams offer Business Calling?

Companies can add business calling functionality to Microsoft Teams using a Microsoft Teams Phone plan. It’s possible to buy calling capabilities directly from Microsoft or connect with an external vendor via Direct Routing or Operator Connect.

Q: What are the top alternatives to Microsoft Teams?

For companies who don’t want to use Microsoft Teams for UCaaS and collaboration, there are many great alternatives, including RingCentral MVP, Zoom, Cisco Webex, GoTo, and 8×8.

Q: Is Microsoft Teams Secure?

Microsoft holds Microsoft Teams to the highest possible security standards. All conversations are encrypted at rest and in transit. Plus, Microsoft has achieved many regulatory certificates for its security measures. There’s also extensive support for security, privacy, and compliance controls available within Teams for business leaders.

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