Blog Post

Microsoft Teams Blog
3 MIN READ

Discover why integrating apps into Microsoft Teams enables greater efficiencies for all users

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MSTeamsApps
Brass Contributor
Apr 18, 2019

No one knows better than project managers and IT professionals that the way we work is changing. From data moving to the cloud, to work being done on the move, modern productivity solutions like Microsoft 365 help make it all possible.

 

One tool that’s integral to this evolving workplace success is Microsoft Teams. In the two years since its launch, more than 500,000 organizations worldwide have embraced Teams to help people stay on the same page and get more done.

 

For millions of users around the world, Teams has become their primary workspace to meet, chat, call, share files, and access the other apps used by their organization. Internal and external communications have improved, and users are able to customize how they work—all without leaving the Teams environment. The upside? Less toggling between apps and platforms, greater efficiencies, and more time savings.

 

Let’s look at how three partners—Polly, Smartsheet, and Zoom.ai —added value for their customers by integrating their services into Teams.

 

Polly: Take the pulse of your team in real time

Polly is a native polling experience that was live in AppSource within the first six months of the Teams launch. With Polly, users can quickly collect data on everything, from where to celebrate a coworker’s birthday to which HR benefit is most important to them. Users appreciate how Polly surveys run in tandem with conversations, so workflow is never disrupted, and results appear in real time. Users can create multiple-choice polls, free-form polls, or a mixture of both. The feedback Polly consistently receives is that it’s intuitive, fun to use, and works seamlessly with Teams.

Polly surveys run in tandem with conversations and track responses in real time.

Polly has seen adoption shift from mostly start-ups and smaller businesses to enterprise-level organizations. In 2018, the company tripled its user base, and recently secured $7 million in additional funding. With this additional funding, Polly is currently investing heavily in building richer functionality and features set to release this year—including recurring polls, multi-question surveys, and much more.


Smartsheet: Successfully go from idea to impact
Smartsheet, a work execution platform that helps organizations improve collaboration, partnered with Teams just prior to launch. Thanks to development documentation they call “the best in the industry,” combined with its marketing efforts, Smartsheet saw the highest uptake of any integration add-on it had ever offered—with thousands just in the first two weeks.


Integration with Teams means that Smartsheet users can add sheets and dashboards to “tabs” within a Teams channel, have ad hoc chats, receive Smartsheet notifications, and more—all without leaving the app. This ensures everyone has the most current view of individual responsibilities and group milestones in the same place team communications happen.

Smartsheet users can access their dashboard and other features in Teams.

Smartsheet users appreciate getting more done with fewer meetings and emails. This integration facilitates visibility and communication, ensuring group work is productive from start to finish.


Zoom.ai: Offload tasks with automated assistant
Zoom.ai was one of the first Teams partners to launch for the enterprise with its automated assistant bot, for all employees to offload administrative tasks. From HR professionals, sales, and other externally focused employees to almost all knowledge workers, everyone is juggling a lot at work. Zoom.ai automated assistant integrates into Microsoft Office 365 and 60+ enterprise SaaS applications to automate time-consuming, repetitive tasks in an employee’s workday.

Zoom.ai takes on automated tasks to free up time in your workday.

On average, Zoom.ai users save 10+ hours per month by having their automated assistant negotiate meeting times with people inside—and outside—the organization, provide profile details to help prepare for meetings or interviews, automatically book a conference room, and add travel time between external appointments. Now, that’s service.


Enhance your Teams experience
Customers tell us that Teams has become their primary productivity and collaboration tool, instead of just another tool to learn. And, working with strong partners is key to this success.


Polly, Smartsheet, and Zoom.ai are just three of over hundreds of third-party apps integrated into the Teams platform. From IT to analytics, you’ll find apps to make working in Teams more seamless and productive for you and your organization.


Additional resources
Developing on Teams? Learn more about building on the Teams platform for your organization, find documentation, training, and more.

 

Are you an IT admin who deploys Teams integrations? Learn how you can best manage these apps for your organization by driving adoption and managing app settings and permissions.

Updated Jan 26, 2021
Version 2.0