Microsoft 365 Targeted Release commercial cloud customers will be able to use Microsoft Teams and influence the design of its latest features with their feedback.
Targeted Release offers early access to releases for OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, Office for the Web, Microsoft 365 admin center, and some parts of Exchange Online.
Now, Teams has been added to this list, which gives customers extra time to enact security and compliance assessments, review helpdesk readiness, and authenticate new features before sharing them with their organisation.
Shikha Varshney, Employee at Microsoft Tech Community, said: “Today, we are announcing the support of Microsoft Teams for Targeted Release commercial cloud customers.
“With this support, users or tenants opted-in to Targeted Release will be the first production users to see the latest Microsoft Teams features and help shape the product by providing early feedback.”
Varshney continued: “We heard your feedback to provide single control across Microsoft 365 products for early access to features and a consistent way for change management.”
The update enhances Teams feature predictability via public Microsoft 365 roadmap and Message center announcements.
Companies can also use the early-access time to prepare user notifications and documents before the updates are released globally.
Targeted Release customers receive full support for any issues which result from the Targeted Release.
If and when they are needed, feature controls can also be used to control the release of updates to end users.
Early Access Program Options
Admins can choose how they receive updates from Microsoft 365’s services, including the best early access option for Teams.
For in-depth engagement with Teams, the Teams Private Preview is suggested. If you would rather have early access only for Teams then opt for Teams Public Preview.
Current Channel (Preview) is best for early access experiences for Microsoft 365 applications. Whereas Targeted Release offers early access experiences for Microsoft 365 services.
If you choose the Targeted Release option, admins can decide whether they want access to Targeted Release on an individual basis or for the whole organisation.
Microsoft 365 recommends selecting individuals instead of entire organisations for larger businesses.
Opting users into or out of Teams early access will simultaneously add or remove all supported services, including OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, and more.
New Teams Features to Test Right Now
Some of the features being tested through Targeted Release right now are the new Teams app, a new Teams channels experience, and Breakout rooms participant shuffle.
Spatial audio in Teams meetings is also currently available to Targeted Release customers, plus caption customisations in Teams meetings, and Together mode usability enhancements in Teams meetings.
A past example is Microsoft’s launch of Experience insights in preview in August 2022, which was accessible to customers with over 20,000 seats in its Targeted Release program.
Experience insights provide an overview of various user experience metrics for Microsoft 365 services and applications, including insights into Microsoft Teams like daily active users, daily active users by features, percentage of product usage, and help content data.
Earlier this month, Microsoft 365 launched Copilot, a new AI assistant and productivity tool that works across the Microsoft 365 portfolio to help users with their daily work.
