Don’t miss out on the latest community briefings, all free to access, on Empowering.Cloud
Microsoft Teams Monthly Update August 2023
https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/185/microsoft-teams-monthly-update-august-2023
MVP Tom Arbuthnot gives you all the August Microsoft Teams updates in under 15 minutes, including:
- Microsoft Teams will be integrating new root certificates into their services, specifically for direct routing. Testing on September 5th, 2023. Service may be interrupted if your Session Border Controller (SBC) doesn't trust the new root certificates.
- Microsoft has launched Teams Essentials and Teams Phone calling bundles
- Call queues on Microsoft Teams now include exception handling for when there are no agents available.
- Android devices are transitioning from Android Device Administrator to Android AOSP Management. Firmware updates will be released in 2024, IT admins will need to create new policies ahead of time.
- Cortana will be deprecated on Teams Mobile, Teams Display and Teams Rooms by the end of 2023, with Microsoft focusing more on the Copilot and AI work moving forward.
- Teams Phone has new features, including Hotline and several UI improvements.
- AudioCodes Voca conversational interaction center, for contact center scenarios, has been certified by Microsoft.
- Neat Pulse, a web-based management platform, along with Neat's Care and device support package, is now available.
- From September 30th, 2023, Teams rooms will stop supporting user licenses
- Upcoming events: Ribbon's EMEA Partner Summit, collab days at the National Museum of Computing, UC Expo Europe and South Coast Summit.
Viva Insights – Boosting Manager Effectiveness
https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/168/Viva-Insights-Boosting-Manager-Effectiveness
In this briefing Jack Fisher explains how you can boost your managerial effectiveness by using Microsoft Viva Insights:
- Microsoft Viva is a suite of modules focused on connection, insight, purpose, and growth.
- Viva Insights offers personal level insights, managerial level insights, and organizational level insights.
- In this briefing we analyse a fictitious company called Comms V Tech with 738 employees.
- Regular one-to-one meetings between managers and employees are crucial for engagement, alignment, and clarity.
- Double-booked meetings hinder organizational agility and reduce managers' availability for one-to-one meetings.
- Recommendations to improve managerial effectiveness include encouraging coaching relationships, providing a manager toolkit, enabling Viva Insights, and using collaboration tools effectively.
- Boosting one-to-one meeting time and reducing meeting overlap can lead to positive changes in employee engagement and well-being
Complex Telco Scenarios
https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/170/Complex-Telco-Scenarios
Zach Bennett talks to us about telco regulations in complex countries, such as India, China and the UAE:
- Understanding the importance of regulation and choosing a regulated provider
- The limitations and challenges regarding porting numbers in complex countries
- Considerations for emergency calling
- The complexities of telco scenarios in China, India, and Dubai, including infrastructure, regulations, and market conditions
- Updates on recent changes in France, such as the adoption of STIR/SHAKEN protocol and operator requirements for operating in the country
Microsoft Places – What We Know So Far
https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/184/Microsoft-Places-What-We-Know-So-Far
Phil Clapham discusses Microsoft Places, a tool that assists in office coordination and workplace dynamics:
- Microsoft Places was first announced in October 2022 and is aimed at facilitating the return to office spaces. It uses the Microsoft Graph API and other data sources to help users find and coordinate with their coworkers.
- Microsoft Places is split into three key functionalities: Coordinate, Modernize, and Optimize.
- Coordinate is for team leaders and users, helping to establish a team rhythm or ritual for office use which aligns with company policy.
- Modernize is for employees, facilitating the discovery and booking of workspaces, and potentially facilitating campus-wide services such as parking or shuttle buses.
- Optimize is for real estate, facilities and IT professionals, or anyone who manages office spaces. It aids in analysing space usage and attendance patterns, potentially allowing for more efficient use of resources.
- Microsoft Places also enables wayfinding - directing employees around the office similar to a mall directory, to locate specific workspaces or amenities.
- Workplace optimization with Places might enable space owners to adjust office space usage based on data-driven insights, enabling real-time office layout alterations to suit workflow needs.
- Limited testing of Microsoft Places was speculated to be in September, with larger rollouts in the months following. No dates were confirmed.
- Given the numerous integrative possibilities and the valuable workplace insights provided, Microsoft Places presents an interesting opportunity for partners.
Keeping up with Microsoft Teams Evergreen Change
https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/187/Keeping-up-with-Microsoft-Teams-Evergreen-Change
Learn how Microsoft MVP Nikki Chapple keeps up to date with the constant change in Microsoft Teams
- The Help section within Microsoft Teams provides information on what's new, help and training resources.
- Check the Microsoft Teams Blog - it is a great resource for users, product managers, and admins to stay informed about best practices, news, trends, and upcoming features.
- Explore the Microsoft 365 Admin Center: For Microsoft 365 and Teams administrators, the Microsoft 365 Admin Center offers insights into upcoming changes, allowing admins to test features and functionality before they roll out to end users. It also provides information on the impact these changes will have on the organization and enables admins to communicate the changes effectively.
What is Microsoft Loop?
https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/188/What-is-Microsoft-Loop
Darrell Webster from Modern Work Mentor gives us an overview of what Loop is, what it does, and how it will develop.
- Microsoft Loop is a collaborative canvas for making notes, sharing ideas, collecting information, coordinating tasks, and making decisions.
- It can be used within existing apps like Microsoft Teams and Outlook, or as a standalone app.
- Loop components are small productive blocks that can be added to chats or meetings, and can be as simple as a list or as versatile as a table.
- Loop components are shared using links, and permissions can be set to determine who can access the link.
- Loop components can be shared in various Microsoft 365 apps like Whiteboard and Word Online, and more apps like Teams channels will be supported in the future.
- Collaborative notes in Teams are powered by Loop, and agendas can be built with invitees.
- Loop components are stored in the creator's OneDrive, making ownership and governance a challenge.
- The Loop app is a web app accessed through Loop.microsoft.com, and can also be installed as a progressive web app, a Windows Store app, and a mobile app.
- The Loop app uses workspaces, which are collections of pages, and people can be invited to contribute to all pages in a workspace.
- Loop workspaces are stored in SharePoint using a new storage called Syntex Repository Services, with its own file management benefits.
Microsoft Teams Development Update August
https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/169/Microsoft-Teams-Development-Update-August-2023
Tom Morgan, Microsoft MVP has all the Microsoft Teams Development updates for August
- Keep your app top of mind and top of chat with message extensions in Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Microsoft Teams: Export API Support for Teams Control Messages
- Microsoft 365 Developer Proxy v0.10 with support for batching and improved select guidance
- Azure Communication Services July 2023 Feature Updates
These are just the latest briefings, be sure to check out Empowering.Cloud for all our other content, and download the Microsoft Teams App to get notifications of new briefings directly into chat.
Feedback always welcome, so if you have requests for us to cover any specific content topics, let us know in the Forum!