Microsoft has announced a number of additions and updates at Enterprise Connect 2023 which are due to roll out on its Teams platform this year.
The Enterprise Connect Conference and Expo for 2023 takes place between 27-30 March, at Gaylord Palms, Orlando in Florida.
Enterprise Connect has been the leading enterprise communications conference and exhibition in North America for over 30 years.
This year, Enterprise Connect will be hosting more than 100 exhibitors, over 40 sessions led by industry experts, and nine conference tracks. There are also keynotes from some of the biggest names in the sector, which include Microsoft, Google, Zoom, Cisco, AWS, and RingCentral.
Microsoft unveiled the new Teams app yesterday, but also released notes for a host of updates.
Meetings Updates
Collaborative notes are coming to Microsoft Teams meetings in Public Preview in April. Collaborative notes are designed to increase meeting productivity with a collaborative agenda, co-authored meeting notes, and tasks that sync with Planner and ToDo. These notes can also leverage Loop to copy and paste text within the Microsoft 365 platform.
Speaker Coach in Microsoft Teams Meetings is now available in preview. It provides personalised feedback on speaking and presentation skills as a post-meeting summary or in real-time.
Avatars for Microsoft Teams allow users to represent themselves as avatars and reactions while continuing to collaborate.
Phone Updates
Dynamic emergency calling enhancements have been added for Teams users in the U.S. This enables emergency locations to be set in the Calls app on Teams with location recommendations. In the next quarter, users will be able to set the emergency location on Teams Phones without depending on system admins to set it for them.
Busy-on-busy settings allow users to manage the way in which incoming calls are routed. Settings can be established in Call settings within the Teams app, whether you want to allow calls, play a busy tone, or redirect the call based on call routing preferences. In the next quarter, Teams phones will be able to set busy-on-busy settings as well.
User-managed call queues and auto attendant greetings let authorised users change greetings and announcements for their call queues and auto attendant from within Teams.
Click-to-call enables customers to contact sales and support teams from web pages and applications. Widgets can be added, customised, and programmed by developers to connect customers to Teams users, call queues, and auto attendants. It will be available in public preview next quarter.
Hotline phones will be available next quarter, enabling users to program Teams phones to dial a phone number, from emergency services to help desks. It can be set up through the Teams admin centre or device settings.
Simplified call delegation UI and feature enhancements will be launched next quarter to allow users to switch between lines they are managing, view shared call history for their line, and more.
Teams shared device license on Android devices will be available next quarter, allowing users to set up Androids as shared devices, auto attendants, cloud voicemail, Walkie Talkie, call queues, and more features designed for common area phones will be made available for Android.
Teams phone devices UI updates, coming next quarter, include a redesigned dial pad to reduce unnecessary mistakes while dialing phone numbers. A new meeting experience and navigation provide users with a quicker and easier way to join meetings and switch between applications on their phones.
Virtual front desk will be available via the Teams Shared Device License next quarter, providing assistance to customers and colleagues through a video call on Microsoft Teams displays. The virtual front desk can be easily configured, with call routing contact information, by IT admins.
Chat and Channels Updates
A new channel experience is being launched in April to bring workgroups and teams together in a single space to collaborate together.
The compose box and recent posts will be situated at the top of the page, making it easier to start new posts and view the latest conversations.
A conversation view is being added to make discussions more akin to chat with the option to pop posts out.
Hashtags that reference Viva Topics will add context to the channel without needing to ask others.
Contextual information, such as channel members and pinned posts, will be contained in a streamlined information pane to make it easier for members to find the information they need.
Pin posts allow channel members to easily find important posts in the channel.
Simplified badging helps users to understand when there are new activities and at mentions within a channel.
Frontline Workers Updates
Viva Connections pre-configuration for frontline workers will be generally available throughout April. This pins Viva Connections to the number one position in Teams and adds a dashboard tailored for frontline workers. It also includes adaptive cards for Top News, Tasks, Approvals, and Shifts, creating a fast means of accessing crucial workflows and resources.
Enterprise Connect 2023 is currently in full swing and UC Today has created a round-up of day one to keep you in the loop. Some of the big announcements to have come out so far include call analytics coming to Amazon SDK, RingCentral launching its generative AI RingSense platform, Zoom adding OpenAI features built into Zoom IQ, and more.
Recently, Microsoft also introduced a new Microsoft Teams Windows application in public preview.
