What’s New in Microsoft Teams: Q1 2023

Microsoft Teams is an ever-evolving service that has become the primary desktop application for users to collaborate and communicate in throughout the day. With that in mind, Microsoft is investing a lot of resources, both financially and physically, to ensure the product continues to evolve. With so many changes, it is important to keep abreast of the updates and new features to ensure your organization is taking full advantage of this powerful service.

This quarterly post on Microsoft Teams will be useful for understanding the highlights of the new features and updates, specific to the Microsoft Teams desktop app and Teams on the web.

Teams Premium

A new AI-powered offering of Teams allowing for more intelligent, personal, and secure collaboration and communication. Please visit my TekkiGurus article Microsoft Teams Premium is Released for more information about Teams Premium.

Apps

• You can now add interactive apps to channel meetings.
• Viewing and editing in Visio is now available as a personal app used in a private workspace in Teams or open the pop-out app to work with Visio in another window.
• Locate and download in-context stores by downloading relevant apps based on where you are in Teams.
• Viva Sales and your CRM system can be integrated with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams allowing continuity and AI-powered selling experiences.

Chat

• When sending a message to someone with different work hours, Viva Insights can suggest you schedule the message to be sent during their work hours.
• Send a direct message to all members of your group by using @everyone.
• Start a chat with an email group (distribution, mail-enabled security groups, and 365 groups) by searching and selecting members from the groups to begin chatting.
   

Send a direct message to all members of your group by using @everyone.

Meetings

• Co-organizers can create, manage, and move between breakout rooms.
• The redesigned and improved meeting toolbar includes the ability to raise your hand, navigate easier from the More menu, and other changes to improve your meeting experience.
• Create a new or create an existing whiteboard in your meetings to share and collaborate with other meeting attendees. You can also copy and paste Loop components from chats to the whiteboard.
• Leave a meeting on all devices by choosing the arrow next to Leave and clicking Leave on all devices.

Webinars

A new presenter window locates the controls at the top and will allow the speakers’ faces to be more clearly visible while screen sharing.

Improved Management Experience with Additional Customization Options

Setup

• Details: Easier to designate co-organizers who will assist in delivering the event.
• Presenter bios: Provide speaker-specific information including a headshot, company, title, social media accounts, and a brief bio.
• Themes: Customize interface to display your brand as well as your company theme by providing a banner, logo, and company color scheme on both the registration page and during webinar communications.

Customize interface to display your brand as well as your company theme by providing a banner, logo, and company color scheme on both the registration page and during webinar communications.

Registration

• Configuration: Set maximum registrations up to 1,000, add enhanced custom questions used to gather information about your attendees, including terms and conditions, and consent from attendees.
• Attendee status: View details about attendees including who’s registered, and who has canceled their registration.

Reports

• Attendee reporting: Quickly access reporting and analytics about your attendees from one central location.

Federation Group Calling

• Easily start a group Teams chat with federated colleagues outside of the organization providing you the ability to see video and share your screen, using an internet connection instead of PSTN.
• Live Stream Webinars and Meetings to Meta Workplace Live
• By integrating the new Workplace Live, you can now live stream your Teams webinars and meetings, allowing attendees to watch them in real-time from within their Workplace groups or later from a recording.

Video and Audio

• Use custom video filters to show your personality by applying animated frames, color hues, and other customization options.
• Automatic notification if someone joins a meeting in your close proximity; Teams will mute their microphone and speakers to avoid audio feedback.
• Quickly return a missed call by clicking Call in the missed call notification area.