Microsoft Teams is the workspace that acts as the focal point for collaborative team working, video calls, workplace conversations, and document sharing, and is available as a suite of Microsoft Teams collaboration tools and apps.

More than just a communication tool between team members, it was launched in 2017 as a rival to Slack. The Covid-19 pandemic saw the use of Teams catapulted to 75 million daily users, with the rapid rise down to increased home and remote work.

According to Microsoft, Teams is the fastest growing app in its history, and usage grew to more than 145 million daily active users in 2021. Microsoft Teams is widely regarded as the best option when looking at team collaboration solutions, as it has a user-friendly interface, integration with Microsoft Office 365, and offers a number of tools.

Teams is a form of collaborative software and makes it easy to communicate, but with the help of extra app integrations, it can provide a better end-user experience.

Having features like video streaming, meeting scheduling, and productivity planning helps you and your team avoid having a variety of apps when Teams can do the job.

Microsoft Teams Collaboration tools

File Sharing

With secure cloud file sharing and collaboration tools built into Teams, it allows you to work together no matter where you are. Access files from anywhere by keeping your files close to hand on all your devices with SharePoint and OneDrive embedded into Teams. Control what you share by choosing who can access, view, and edit files to help protect sensitive information.

Built-in access to other programs and apps allows you to connect to Word, OneNote, and a number of apps for productivity and project management. With multiple ways to share files online within Teams channels, meetings, and group chats, you can use a link or upload directly into Teams.

Microsoft Planner

With Microsoft Planner you can organise teamwork with collaborative and visual task management. Create Kanban boards with features including files, checklists, and labels, with the ability to assign tasks to team members. Collaborate in Planner and Microsoft Teams and check visual status charts – all in the cloud.

Planner gives you everything you need to help you focus on your work with its extra elements, which include, colour-coded labels and files.

Planner also automatically visualises task status into insights such as pie and bar charts.

Microsoft Stream

Microsoft Stream enables live streaming and video on demand for team meetings, events, and training. Stream can be added as an app for Microsoft Teams and is a tool that doesn’t require a separate download.

Microsoft Stream allows you to have all your videos in one place. Whether at home, work or on the go, everyone has a seamless video experience. Allowing you to connect authentically with your various audiences using video, Microsoft Stream can help drive engagement across your audiences and aids collaboration more easily with video in all your apps.

Viva

In February of last year, Microsoft announced Viva, its Employee Experience Platform (EXP). Viva brings together communications, knowledge, learning, resources, and insights into an integrated employee experience. Key amongst what was introduced as part of Viva is its Insights tool.

Insights is aimed at helping people achieve balance, build better work habits and find focus wherever and whenever they need it. It helps to build better work habits, improve the effectiveness of meetings, and tackle issues of productivity and wellbeing, providing actionable recommendations to be taken into consideration.

MURAL

MURAL is a visual collaboration tool in Teams. Do your best work together with the power of visual collaboration seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Teams.

MURAL adds a new visual dimension to make collaboration more engaging, productive, and even playful — from anywhere.

Pin a shared digital canvas (a mural) to your Teams channels to brainstorm, ideate, and plan your next innovative project. Easily enable your team to collaborate visually using sticky notes, drawings, diagrams, templates, and other visual-thinking tools to make your meetings and workshops more interactive, delivering better input from everyone and driving decision-making.

With the MURAL bot in Teams, you and your team can stay aligned and up-to-speed with real-time notifications. Using the personal app, access and work on any mural just as you would in the web app, and jumpstart collaborative projects by easily sharing templates right from Microsoft Teams.

Shifts

Shifts is the fast and effective schedule management tool in Teams and allows you to keep your workforce connected and in sync.

Managers can create, update, and manage shift schedules for their teams. They can assign shifts, add open shifts, and approve schedule requests from employees.

Employees can view their own and their team’s schedules, set their availability, request to swap or offer a shift, request time off, and clock in and out.

Since Microsoft Shifts is hosted in the cloud, everything is managed in real-time.

To find out how we can help implement Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams into your business, get in contact with us today.