Two billion people who don’t spend most of their working time sitting at a computer: that’s the audience Microsoft wants to reach more with Teams. A series of new additions to the app should realise that.
Microsoft’s communication app receives a number of innovations, which should make communicating with colleagues smoother. One of the most important additions is Walkie Talkie, which makes it easier for users to use push-to-talk. As the name suggests, Microsoft also hopes that this will actually replace the Walkie Talkie, as it takes over the full functionality.
Initially, Walkie Talkie will appear in a private preview in the first half of 2020, integrated into teams’ mobile app. One advantage of this, according to Microsoft, is that teams will use Wi-Fi or a mobile connection, so there is no risk that others will be able to listen in.
Assigning tasks
Apart from the push-to-talk feature, some management tools will be added to Teams to make work easier to manage. Similar to an external app like Asana, certain objectives can be grouped together, specific locations (e.g. shops), and then seen in a single repository how much of that assigned work has been completed. That feature will also appear in the first half of 2020.
Finally, Microsoft also simplifies the use of Microsoft 365 apps by introducing SMS login. Instead of having to remember the login details of each app separately, the login to the Azure Active Directory is controlled by a single SMS. The user then gets access to the apps for which he has permission, which should make it easier for the IT department to manage large groups of employees.
13 hours ago
