Microsoft Teams Sept 2020

Ok folks, Teams is cranking out capabilities at a pace even I am having trouble keeping up with.  In September 2020, please review this.

What’s New in Microsoft Teams | September 2020

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/what-s-new-in-microsoft-teams-september-2020/ba-p/1726562

• Offline Support in Desktop for limited network connectivity is an investment area.
• Other optimizations around desktop launching, video rendering, battery life optimization, etc. are investment areas.
• Up to 49 participants in large gallery view.

 

New capabilities on Microsoft Teams phones | September 2020

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/new-capabilities-on-microsoft-teams-phones-september-2020/ba-p/1727097

Several new capabilities that are tailored to how we work with Teams on a mobile device.  New home screens, customized views, quick access to apps, etc.

New inclusive features in Microsoft Teams and more | Ignite 2020 Edition

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/new-inclusive-features-in-microsoft-teams-and-more-ignite-2020/ba-p/1699915

The big news is the release of Live caption and Transcript.

New capabilities for Teams Management | Ignite 2020

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/new-capabilities-for-teams-management-ignite-2020/ba-p/1695234

Just tons of things…

Office 365 Compliance for Commercial, GCC, GCCH and DoD

I am commonly asked, what is Microsoft’s accreditation stance for Office 365 Commercial, GCC, GCC High and DoD for years.  Lately I get tons of questions bubbling up to me from System Integrators who work with the US Government.  In many cases they are seeking information on ITAR, CMMS, NIST 800-171, DFARs, etc, etc.

My colleague wrote this blog entry and I always suggest they read it.  Seems to always clear out the questions.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/public-sector-blog/understanding-compliance-between-microsoft-365-commercial-gcc/ba-p/718445

Skype for Business Online End of Life Coming

Remember Skype for Business Online will be reaching end of life July 31, 2021.  This was announced over two years ago and organizations should be making every best attempt they can at transitioning over to Microsoft Teams.

Reference

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/skype-for-business-online-will-retire-in-12-months-plan-for-a/ba-p/1554531

Microsoft Teams June 2020

Microsoft Teams engineering did it again, in June they released tons of new capabilities.

• Large gallery view with up to 49 participants.
• Announcement that Virtual Breakout Rooms is coming later this calendar year.
• Multi-window for meetings and calling.
• Team meetings can now support 300 participants.
• Additional Meet Now buttons to streamline users jumping into meetings.
• Priority Notifications…  I have had to use the Urgent feature a few times already…
• Etc.

Read more here - https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/what-s-new-in-microsoft-teams-june-2020/ba-p/1489142

Microsoft Teams Together Mode

If you have not heard, Microsoft Teams Together Mode is making waves.  It provides a new collaboration experience for users to meet within Teams.

It brings a unique perspective to meeting with people.  It is not just showing a video feed, it basically puts you in a room and all of the meeting attendees see each other from their point of view.  It is also great because it removes all the background, allowing you to meet from anywhere.  It is super unique and innovative.

It works really well for open discussion with small and large groups of people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGsNmYKgeTA&feature=youtu.be
https://news.microsoft.com/innovation-stories/microsoft-teams-together-mode/
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/how-to-get-the-most-from-together-mode/ba-p/1509496

Microsoft Teams May 2020 Releases

Teams is releasing capabilities at a fast and furious pace; here is what released in May 2020.

What’s New: Meetings, Calling, and Devices

• Improved meeting join launcher experience
• Easily access meeting options during a Teams meeting
• Download a participant report in a Teams meeting
• Set tenant-wide default selection for "Who Can Present" in meetings
• Set background effects policy at a user-level
• Better policy controls over screen sharing from chats
• Teams and Skype Interoperability
• Reverse Number Lookup (RNL) Enhancements
• Microsoft Teams Rooms, app version 4.4.41.0 now available
• Poly announces new solution for Microsoft Teams Rooms
• Jabra PanaCast now certified for Microsoft Teams
• Yealink, EPOS, and Jabra announce new Teams peripherals
• Limited time partner offers available for Teams Devices: Creston, Poly, Yealink

What’s New: Chat & Collaboration

• Templates in Teams
• Microsoft Lists in Teams
• Bring more people together in group chats and teams
• Pop out chats into separate windows

What’s New: Onboarding your organization to Teams

• New Skype for Business to Teams Upgrade Advisor

What’s New: Developer, Platform, and App management

• Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code Extension for Teams
• Bringing low-code bots to Teams, with Power Virtual Agents
• Simplified Power Apps and Power Virtual Agents “Add to Teams”
• Enhanced workflow automation with Power Automate + Teams
• Improved Power BI sharing to Teams

What’s New: Education

• Change in meeting join experience for our education customers
• Keeping distance learning engaging and secure

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/what-s-new-in-microsoft-teams-may-2020/ba-p/1423015

Office 365 Split Tunneling

With COVID-19 many organizations are dealing VPNs that are stressed and saturated.  One solution many organizations have been considering is using Split-tunneling for Office 365 traffic.  If you have not looked at it, please do.  There are several good articles that you should read up on.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/enterprise/office-365-vpn-split-tunnel