Microsoft Teams Community Blog articles

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – March 2026

LyndsayCA1986 — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 18:31:09 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft365 expert community briefings, podcasts and upcoming community events.

Expert Briefings

Real AI Use Cases in the Contact Centre with Luware Nimbus - Costs, Risks and Benefits

https://empowering.cloud/real-ai-use-cases-in-the-contact-centre-with-luware-nimbus-costs-risks-and-benefits/

Marcel Gaufroid, Head of Sales – EU, at Luware shares a practical, step-by-step approach to implementing AI in the contact centre using Luware Nimbus, drawn from real-world experience with over a thousand customers.

Luware's three AI pillars for the contact centre: automation, augmentation, and analytics
Why post-call transcription and summarisation are the essential low-risk first step for any AI strategy
How post-call processing slashes LLM costs by up to 80% compared to real-time transcription
Building a feedback loop: using verified agent interactions to train virtual users over time
Replacing traditional IVR with AI intent detection — achieving over 90% routing accuracy for one insurance customer
Cost realities of deploying customer-facing virtual agents and why a step-by-step approach matters

Microsoft Places in 2026: APIs, Desk Booking, and Copilot Context

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-places-in-2026-apis-desk-booking-and-copilot-context/

Brennan McReynolds, Product Strategy Lead for Microsoft Places, at Microsoft, shares what changed during Places’ first full year in general availability and what is coming next as hybrid work patterns continue to shift.

How Places supports flexible work planning in Microsoft Calendar and Microsoft Teams, including building and room context
The evolution of desk booking on maps, location check-in signals, and improving confidence in finding the right space
Why Places is focused on in-person connection and collaboration, not desk booking for everyone
How the Places directory and Microsoft Graph APIs enable partners to manage buildings, floors, rooms, desks, and maps at scale
Three integration patterns: spatial data in and out, occupancy and check-in signals, and extensible experiences like visitor management and digital signage
How location context feeds Work IQ and future Copilot experiences for planning, scheduling, and room selection

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update March 2026

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-365-ai-workplace-update-march-2026/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the latest Microsoft Teams and Copilot news and announcements in less than 15 minutes for March 2026.

Many thanks to Ribbon for their continued support.

PowerPoint Deck

Microsoft 365 Copilot Wave 3
Anthropic in M365 Copilot
Copilot Cowork
Agent 365
Microsoft 365 E7
AI Workplace Roadmap
Teams Devices Roadmap
New Teams Certified Devices
Events

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

CTO of LabourNet on Microsoft Teams Phone and Contact Centre with a Dispersed National Workforce

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Mike Love, CTO at LabourNet, is joined by Janet Souter-Dantu, Co-founder at ScopServ Integrated Services (Pty) Ltd, and Vanesia Raborethe, Head of Sales at ScopServ Integrated Services (Pty) Ltd, to discuss LabourNet's move to a Microsoft Teams-based contact centre with Landis.

Microsoft's Jeff Teper - SharePoint at 25, Past, Present, and AI Future

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Jeff Teper, President of Microsoft 365 Collaborative Apps and Platforms, discusses 25 years of SharePoint — from its humble origins as an intranet product to a cloud platform supporting over a billion users and exabytes of data.

AI enabling real-time communications with Adam Jacobs, IC3 Principal Program Manager at Microsoft

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Adam Jacobs, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, works in IC3—the real-time communications platform team behind Microsoft Teams. With four years at Microsoft and a decade at Polycom before that, Adam shares insights from the backend of one of the world's largest communications platforms.

Scaling Microsoft Teams Phone and Teams Rooms at BAE Systems with Andrew Wigmore

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Andrew Wigmore, Teams Product Owner at defence contractor BAE Systems, shares insights from his 40-year career and the company's journey to Microsoft Teams and the cloud.

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 9^th April – 08:00 PST / 16:00 GMT

Joining us for April's Teams Fireside Chat is a trio of Teams Phone experts from Microsoft:

Sean Gilmour, Principal Product Manager Lead - Advance Calling, Microsoft
Wendy Arnett, Principal Product Manager Lead, Microsoft
Scott Plette, Partner Group Product Manager - Teams Calling and Premium, Microsoft

Talking about the latest in Teams Phone. Bring all your Teams Phone and Teams questions.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

March sessions

NEW for this session: Microsoft Teams Device Spotlight: Shure IntelliMix Bar Pro; Josh Blalock at Shure will give a 10-minute deep dive on this device. No pitching, just technical info and answering questions.

APAC - 17 March | 16:30 AEDT Hosted by MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Justin O'Meara and Andrew Higgs at Microsoft

EMEA/NA - 17 March | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PDT Hosted by MVP Graham Walsh, Jimmy Vaughan at Microsoft and MVP Michael Tressler

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything is a monthly community event which gives you all an update on the important and Microsoft Teams devices news, as well as the chance to ask questions and get them answered by the experts. We have 2 sessions to cover different time zones, so there's really no excuse not to come along to at least one!

Copilot Fireside Chat

Join Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell for Copilot Fireside Chat on March 25th 16:00 UK / 08:00 PT.

The session will be live from MVP summit with a special guest. Come along and bring all your Copilot questions.

Copilot Fireside Chat is a virtual event that usually takes place on the last Wednesday of each month at 16:00 GMT. All are welcome to come along and discuss everything Copilot. Bring along your Copilot questions and get them answered by the experts, with special guest appearances alongside hosts Zoe and Kevin.

M365 Change Community Round Up

Join MVPs Darrell Webster and Daniel Glenn from the M365 Message Centre Show on Thursday 19th March at 13:00 UK / 08:00 ET / 07:00 CT

The M365 Change Community Round Up is a live monthly call open to all, where we take a closer look at the most impactful Microsoft updates and what they really mean for your organisation.

From urgent action items in the Microsoft 365 Message Center to exciting new features on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, many changes will significantly impact your organisation's productivity and even have implications for your security and compliance policies.

Stay in the know —not just on new, shiny features, but also on the all-important, high-admin and high-user-impacting items.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – February 2026

LyndsayCA1986 — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 14:00:00 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert community briefings, podcasts and upcoming community events.

Expert Briefings:

Microsoft Places in 2026: APIs, Desk Booking, and Copilot Context

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-places-in-2026-apis-desk-booking-and-copilot-context/

How Places supports flexible work planning in Microsoft Calendar and Microsoft Teams, including building and room context
The evolution of desk booking on maps, location check-in signals, and improving confidence in finding the right space
Why Places is focused on in-person connection and collaboration, not desk booking for everyone
How the Places directory and Microsoft Graph APIs enable partners to manage buildings, floors, rooms, desks, and maps at scale
Three integration patterns: spatial data in and out, occupancy and check-in signals, and extensible experiences like visitor management and digital signage
How location context feeds Work IQ and future Copilot experiences for planning, scheduling, and room selection

AI Voice Agents with Azure Communication Services

https://empowering.cloud/ai-voice-agents-with-azure-communication-services/

Sean Keegan, Developer Evangelist for Azure Communication Services at Microsoft, explores communication APIs and building AI-powered voice solutions with Tom Morgan, Microsoft MVP and Software Engineer at Cloud Interact.

Recent advances in voice AI and how Azure Communication Services enables developers to embed voice, video, chat, email, and SMS into custom applications
Low-code and pro-code approaches to building voice agents, from Copilot Studio to custom Azure solutions
How AI is transforming legacy IVR systems with natural language understanding and sentiment analysis
Microsoft Teams interoperability and how developers can create branded experiences whilst maintaining familiar Teams workflows
Real-world use cases across healthcare, retail, and customer support.

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update February 2026

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-365-ai-workplace-update-february-2026/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the latest Microsoft Teams and Copilot news and announcements in less than 15 minutes for February 2026.

Many thanks to Neat for their continued support.

PowerPoint Deck

Enhanced M365 Copilot Memory
Copilot Chat (free) in Outlook with all emails and Calendar
Ilya Bukshteyn's ISE keynote
Microsoft Teams Licensing Changes April 2026
Places Roadmap Updates
Express voice enrolment
Meet App Becomes Events App
Teams Live Events and API are retiring
Multiple phone numbers on Teams Phone Devices
Transitioning Teams Android Device Management
Events

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Inside Microsoft’s IC3 and the future of AI Communications with Microsoft CVP Mahendra Sekaran

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Mahendra Sekaran, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, leads product management and data science for IC3 (Intelligent Conversations and Communication Cloud)—the core communications platform powering Microsoft Teams.

The role AV Distribution play in Microsoft Teams Rooms with Jenny Hicks

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Jenny Hicks, Technical Director at Midwich UK, joins the podcast to share insights on AV distribution and the evolving Microsoft Teams Rooms landscape.

Logitech's New Rally AI Cameras and Multi-Camera Microsoft Teams Rooms with Henry Levak

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Henry Levak, VP of Product for Logitech for Business, shares exciting new product announcements ahead of ISE 2026.

Microsoft Places in 2026: APIs, Desk Booking, and Copilot Context

Audio Podcast

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 12^th February – 08:00 PST / 16:00 GMT

Join live for Teams Fireside Chat in March with our guest Preethi Ramarathinam, Head of Product - Microsoft Teams Events, at Microsoft.

Preethi will give us the latest on developments in Microsoft Teams live events.

Teams Fireside Chat is an open community chat that is held each month. In each session, we are joined by a guest speaker who shares their insights. In the latter half, we open the floor to discussion and Q&A.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

February sessions

APAC - 18 February | 16:30 AEDT Hosted by MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Justin O'Meara and Andrew Higgs at Microsoft

EMEA/NA - 18 February | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PDT Hosted by MVP Graham Walsh, Jimmy Vaughan at Microsoft and MVP Michael Tressler

Copilot Fireside Chat

In February, April Yoho joins regular Copilot Fireside Chat hosts and Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell.

April is a senior cloud developer advocate and the DevOps practice lead at GitHub - join us and bring your questions!

February 25th 16:00 UK / 08:00 PT.

M365 Change Community Round Up

Join MVPs Darrell Webster, Daniel Glenn from the M365 Message Center show, and Tom Arbuthnot on Thursday 26th February at 13:00 UK / 08:00 ET / 07:00 CT

The M365 Change Community Round Up is a live monthly call open to all, where we take a closer look at the most impactful Microsoft updates and what they really mean for your organisation.

Stay in the know —no just on new, shiny features, but also on the all-important, high-admin and high-user-impacting items.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – January 2026

LyndsayCA1986 — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 17:15:11 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert community briefings, podcasts and upcoming community events.

Expert Briefings:

AI Voice Agents with Azure Communication Services

https://empowering.cloud/ai-voice-agents-with-azure-communication-services/

Recent advances in voice AI and how Azure Communication Services enables developers to embed voice, video, chat, email, and SMS into custom applications
Low-code and pro-code approaches to building voice agents, from Copilot Studio to custom Azure solutions
How AI is transforming legacy IVR systems with natural language understanding and sentiment analysis
Microsoft Teams interoperability and how developers can create branded experiences whilst maintaining familiar Teams workflows
Real-world use cases across healthcare, retail, and customer support.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents, Features and Control - Deep Dive with Rolf Tröndle

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-365-copilot-agents-features-and-control-deep-dive-with-rolf-trondle/

In this expert briefing, MVP Rolf Tröndle walks through what’s new with Microsoft 365 Copilot, taking us from Wave 0 to Wave 2, then demos the built‑in agents and the controls you need to run them safely.

For IT admins, platform owners, and business leads evaluating or expanding Copilot usage with the right governance and user experience.

Key updates for both unlicensed and licensed users, including the unified Copilot UI, Office app chat integration, audio overviews, and Outlook prioritisation
Pay‑as‑you‑go options for Copilot Chat and SharePoint Agents
Live demos of Copilot Agents: SharePoint, Facilitator (meeting moderation), Interpreter (live translation and voice simulation), Project Manager (Planner Premium), Researcher and Analyst (deep reasoning and Python for data), Skills (people skills discovery), Service (Forms surveys and follow‑ups), and the new SharePoint Knowledge Agent for auto‑metadata and site improvements
Governance and architecture essentials: Graph grounding vs web, storage locations, auditing in Purview, eDiscovery and retention, DLP to block sensitive content, and SharePoint site‑level exclusions
Admin controls and licensing: Copilot control system, agent access and sharing, web search policy, Viva Insights inclusion, and when to use add‑on licences vs PAYG

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update January 2026

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-365-and-copilot-enterprise-update-january-2026/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the latest Microsoft Teams and Copilot news and announcements in less than 15 minutes for the first update of 2026.

Many thanks to Landis for their continued support.

Powerpoint deck

Microsoft 365 AI Workplace - 2026 Focus Areas
Microsoft’s continued AI Focus in 2026
7 New Microsoft Copilot Roadmap Features
26M Teams Phone Users
8 Microsoft Teams New Features and Updates
7 New Teams Rooms and Devices
Events

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

From PBX to Microsoft Teams and Voca Contact Centre at the Chartered Institute of Housing

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Richard Sewell, IT Manager, at the Chartered Institute of Housing discusses the organisation's decade-long telephony transformation, from traditional PBX through hosted VoIP to Microsoft Teams with Voca contact centre.

Copilot and Agent Adoption in the Big Four Professional Services Firms

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Mo Khalifa, AI Workforce Specialist at Microsoft, discusses enterprise AI adoption, agent workflows, and Microsoft Copilot strategies with the Big Four professional services firms.

Scaling Microsoft Copilot Adoption 22,000 Diverse Users at Centrica

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Bill Compton, Head of Digital Adoption at Centrica, shares how he's driven Microsoft Copilot adoption across a diverse 22,000-person organisation—from field engineers to call centre agents to knowledge workers.

Microsoft Teams Rooms and Phone Journey at Toyota Financial Services

Audio Podcast | YouTube

JT Elliott, Unified Communications and Collaboration Manager, at Toyota Financial Services, shares his journey from traditional AV to deploying over 300 Microsoft Teams Rooms with Logitech.

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 12^th February – 08:00 PST / 16:00 GMT

Joining us for February’s Teams Fireside chat will be Michel Bouman, AI Powered Workplace Lead EMEA, India and SEA - Teams Engineering at Microsoft. We’ll take a look at all the announcements from the ISE show.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

January Sessions

APAC – 21^st January | 16:30 AEDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Justin O'Meara and Andrew Higgs at Microsoft

EMEA/NA - 21^st January | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Jimmy Vaughan at Microsoft and MVP Michael Tressler

Copilot Fireside Chat

Copilot Fireside Chat with Adam Harmetz, VP of Product Management, Data Science, and Tech Community at Microsoft will join Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell for January's Copilot Fireside Chat.

28^th January | 08:00 PT / 16:00 GMT

M365 Change Community Round Up

Join MVPs Darrell Webster, Daniel Glenn from the M365 Message Center show, and Tom Arbuthnot on Thursday 22nd January at 13:00 UK / 08:00 ET / 07:00 CT

The M365 Change Community Round Up is a live monthly call open to all, where we take a closer look at the most impactful Microsoft updates and what they really mean for your organisation.

Stay in the know —not just on new, shiny features, but also on the all-important, high-admin and high-user-impacting items.

Teams Phone Extensibility: Bridging Microsoft Teams with Contact Center Platforms

Manoj_Kumar1120 — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 17:31:57 GMT

In the modern workplace, communication is no longer confined to emails and meetings. With the rise of hybrid and remote work models, organizations are increasingly relying on unified communication platforms to stay connected. Among these, Microsoft Teams has emerged as a central hub for collaboration, offering chat, meetings, and calling capabilities. But what happens when the need goes beyond internal communications, into the realm of customer service and high-volume interactions?

This is where Teams Phone extensibility becomes a game-changer. It allows organizations to expand the native calling features of Teams and integrate them with enterprise-grade systems like contact centers. This blog explores how Teams Phone extensibility works, why it matters, and how it can be implemented to create a seamless communication ecosystem.

Understanding Teams Phone Extensibility

At its core, Teams Phone extensibility is about customizing and enhancing the built-in voice capabilities of Microsoft Teams. While Teams offers reliable peer-to-peer and group calling, businesses often require more sophisticated features, especially in customer service facing environments.

Extensibility enables organizations to:

Route calls dynamically based on business logic, agent availability, or customer priority.
Integrate with CRM platforms to provide agents with real-time customer context.
Enable advanced analytics, including call metrics, sentiment analysis, and performance dashboards.
Ensure compliance with industry regulations through secure call recording and data handling.
Support omnichannel communication, allowing seamless transitions between voice, chat, email, and social media.

Why Extend Teams to a Contact Center?

While Teams is excellent for internal collaboration, contact centers are designed for scalable, structured, and customer-centric communication. Integrating Teams with a contact center platform offers several strategic advantages:

Unified Communication Interface

Agents can handle internal collaboration and external customer calls within a single interface, reducing friction and improving efficiency.

Infrastructure Optimization

Organizations can leverage their existing Teams deployment, minimizing the need for separate telephony systems and reducing operational costs.

Enhanced Agent Productivity

With contextual data from CRM systems and streamlined workflows, agents can resolve issues faster and more effectively.

Improved Customer Experience

Customers benefit from faster response times, personalized service, and consistent communication across channels.

Integration Approaches: How It Works

There are multiple ways to extend Teams Phone functionality to contact center platforms. Each approach offers different levels of customization and scalability:

Direct Routing via SBCs

Direct Routing allows Teams to connect to external telephony systems through a Session Border Controller (SBC). This setup enables calls to be routed to contact center platforms, offering full control over call flows and interoperability with legacy systems.

APIs for Custom Development

Using Graph API and Cloud Communications API, developers can build tailored solutions that interact with Teams calling features. These APIs support:

Call initiation, transfer, and termination
Real-time transcription and sentiment analysis
Integration with ticketing systems and CRMs

Certified Contact Center Integrations

Some vendors offer certified integrations that are pre-built and optimized for Teams. These solutions typically include:

Native Teams interface for agents
Presence and availability sync
Built-in analytics and compliance features

Voice Bots and Automation

Voice-enabled bots can be deployed within Teams to handle routine tasks such as:

Answering FAQs
Routing calls based on intent
Providing self-service options before escalation

This reduces the workload on human agents and improves response times.

Indent:

Microsoft Teams: The central collaboration hub.
Session Border Controller (SBC): Connects Teams to external telephony systems.
Contact Center Platform: Manages customer interactions and call routing.
CRM System: Provides customer context to agents.
Voice Bots: Handle routine inquiries and call routing.
Analytics Dashboard: Monitors performance and insights.
Graph & Cloud Communications APIs: Enable custom development and integration.

Implementation Considerations

Before extending Teams to a contact center, organizations should evaluate several key factors:

Security & Compliance: Ensure that all data handling and call recording practices meet regulatory standards.
Scalability: Choose solutions that can grow with your business and adapt to changing needs.
User Experience: Maintain a consistent and intuitive interface for both agents and customers.
Support & Maintenance: Consider the long-term viability of the integration, including vendor support and system updates.

Real-World Scenario: Retail Contact Center Integration

Consider a retail company that uses Teams for internal communication. By integrating Teams with their contact center platform:

Incoming customer calls are routed through Teams to the contact center.
Agents receive calls within the Teams interface, with customer profiles displayed from the CRM.
Supervisors monitor call quality and agent performance using analytics dashboards.
Voice bots handle common inquiries like order status or return policies, freeing agents for complex issues.

This setup not only improves operational efficiency but also enhances customer satisfaction through faster and more personalized service.

Conclusion

Teams Phone extensibility is more than a technical feature, it’s a strategic enabler for modern businesses. By bridging the gap between internal collaboration and customer engagement, organizations can create a unified communication ecosystem that is agile, scalable, and customer focused.

As digital transformation continues to reshape how we work and communicate, extensibility will be key to building resilient and responsive organizations. Whether you're a small business or a global enterprise, integrating Teams with your contact center platform can unlock new levels of productivity and customer satisfaction.

Microsoft Syntex: "Turning Your Documents into Digital Intelligence”

Surya_Pammi — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 14:34:54 GMT

In today’s digital workplace, organizations generate a massive volume of content contracts, invoices, reports, emails, and more. Managing this information manually is not only inefficient but also error prone.

Microsoft Syntex, an AI-powered service within Microsoft 365, transforms how businesses handle content by automating classification, metadata extraction, compliance, and even document generation.

Now, with deeper integration into Microsoft Teams, Syntex brings intelligent content management directly into your daily collaboration workflows making Teams not just a communication hub, but a content powerhouse.

The Challenge: Content Overload in Collaborative Workspaces

Modern organizations operate as continuous content engines, producing vast volumes of unstructured data ranging from legal agreements and HR policies to invoices, reports, and project documentation. As collaboration increasingly shifts to digital platforms like Microsoft Teams, this content is no longer confined to traditional repositories. It flows dynamically across chats, channels, meetings, and shared libraries.

This distributed and fast-paced collaboration model introduces new complexities. Teams working across departments and geographies often struggle to locate the right documents, maintain version control, and ensure compliance with organizational policies. The traditional, manual approaches to organizing, tagging, and processing documents are not only time-consuming but also prone to human error.

Without intelligent systems in place, critical information remains buried in silos, workflows become fragmented, and operational efficiency suffers. The need for a scalable, AI-driven solution that can bring structure and automation to this content chaos within the collaborative environments teams already use is more urgent than ever.

Microsoft Syntex

Microsoft Syntex revolutionizes content management by embedding AI and automation into the Microsoft 365 tools you already use including Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive.

It brings structure, intelligence, and compliance to your content lifecycle without disrupting your workflows.

Key Capabilities

Content Understanding
Syntex uses AI models to classify documents and extract metadata. For example, it can identify an invoice, extract the vendor name, amount, and due date, and tag it for easy retrieval whether it's stored in SharePoint or shared in a Teams channel.
Content Processing
Automate tasks like routing documents, applying retention labels, or triggering workflows via Power Automate all from within Teams conversations or SharePoint libraries.
Content Compliance
Syntex applies governance policies automatically, ensuring sensitive documents shared in Teams or stored in OneDrive meet regulatory standards.
Content Generation
Syntex can generate them from templates, pre-filled with metadata accessible directly from Teams tabs or SharePoint document libraries.

Integration Where You Collaborate

Microsoft Syntex is deeply integrated into Microsoft Teams, enabling intelligent document management within your collaboration spaces:

Automatically tag and classify documents shared in Teams channels.
Extract metadata from files uploaded to Teams or linked from SharePoint.
Trigger workflows and approvals using Power Automate directly from Teams messages.
Access AI-powered document templates and metadata-driven content from Teams tabs.

This seamless integration ensures that content intelligence becomes part of your collaboration culture, not just a backend process

Business Benefits

Boost Productivity
Syntex automates repetitive tasks like document tagging and data extraction, freeing up time for strategic work right within Teams.
Reduce Costs
By minimizing manual document handling, Syntex lowers operational costs and reduces errors in shared workspaces.
Unlock Insights
Syntex transforms unstructured content into searchable, structured data making it easier to find and act on information shared in Teams.
Enhance Compliance
Automatically apply retention and sensitivity labels to documents shared in Teams, ensuring secure and compliant collaboration.

Real-World Use Cases in Teams

1. Finance

Microsoft Syntex can automatically identify and extract key fields from invoices such as vendor name, invoice number, amount, and due date right from Teams conversations. It then routes these documents for approval using Power Automate, reducing manual data entry and speeding up processing. This ensures timely payments and minimizes errors in financial workflows.

2. Legal
Legal teams can use Syntex to manage contracts by automatically classifying them and applying retention or sensitivity labels. This helps ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements while keeping documents organized and accessible. It also reduces the risk of data breaches and missed deadlines by automating policy enforcement

3. Human Resources

HR departments can streamline onboarding by generating offer letters, NDAs, and other documents from pre-approved templates. Syntex organizes these documents in Teams workspaces and tags them with relevant metadata for easy retrieval. This not only saves time but also ensures consistency and compliance across employee records.

The Future of Collaborative Content Management

Microsoft Syntex is more than a tool it’s a strategic enabler of digital transformation.

By embedding AI into Microsoft Teams, Syntex:

Makes content intelligent and actionable.
Bridges the gap between collaboration and compliance.
Empowers teams to work smarter, not harder.

As AI continues to evolve, Syntex will play a pivotal role in turning everyday documents into drivers of innovation and efficiency right where your teams work.

Advanced Meeting Features in MS Teams: Breakout Rooms, Live Transcription and Intelligent Recap

Surya_Pammi — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:54:54 GMT

Microsoft Teams has solidified its role as a cornerstone of modern workplace collaboration, facilitating daily communication for over 320 million active users globally as of 2024. While core capabilities like chat, file sharing, and video conferencing remain central, it’s the platform’s evolving suite of meeting enhancements Breakout Rooms, Live Transcription, and Intelligent Recap that are transforming virtual collaboration in 2025. These innovations harness AI, real-time engagement, and automation to drive more efficient, inclusive, and results-oriented meetings, tackling persistent challenges in remote and hybrid work environments.
This comprehensive guide delves into each feature, offering technical breakdowns, practical guidance, user-centric tips, and current screenshots. By the end, you’ll gain not only a clear understanding of what these tools offer, but also how to deploy them effectively to elevate your daily workflow. Whether you're a technical lead, educator, HR professional, or seasoned Teams user, mastering these capabilities will empower you to lead meetings with greater clarity, impact, and engagement.

Microsoft Teams: A Rapidly Evolving Collaboration Powerhouse

Before exploring the features in detail, it’s important to understand the broader context in which they’ve emerged:

Microsoft Teams now supports over 8 million organizations in the United States alone, with more than 145 million daily active users spanning diverse industries.
Capabilities such as Teams Rooms, integrated telephony, and extensible APIs have positioned Teams as a foundational platform for enterprise collaboration, education, and virtual events.
The rapid adoption of interactive meeting tools reflects growing demands for enhanced engagement, accessibility, and productivity particularly within hybrid and globally distributed teams.

Against this backdrop, let’s examine the advanced meeting features that are redefining digital collaboration.

(1) Breakout Rooms in Microsoft Teams

Breakout Rooms empower meeting organizers to segment participants into smaller, purpose-driven groups within a larger Microsoft Teams session. This approach reflects familiar formats used in classrooms and workshops enabling focused discussions, collaborative brainstorming, or task-based work before reconvening for broader engagement. Since their launch, Breakout Rooms have become a vital tool for facilitating large-scale meetings, training programs, agile project sprints, and educational environments.

Setting Up and Managing Breakout Rooms: Creating and Configuring Breakout Rooms:

Schedule Your Meeting
- Launch Microsoft Teams (desktop or web) and either schedule a meeting or initiate an ad-hoc session via the calendar.
- Ensure you are the meeting organizer or a designated presenter with breakout room management permissions.
Access the Breakout Rooms Panel
- Before or during the meeting, click the Rooms icon in the meeting controls toolbar to open the breakout room interface.
Create Rooms
- Define the number of breakout rooms (up to 50 per meeting).
- Choose how participants will be assigned: manually, automatically, or randomly using the Shuffle option.
- For scheduled meetings, you can preassign participants in advance via the Breakout rooms tab.
Assign Participants
- Allocate attendees using drag-and-drop, auto-distribution, or the Shuffle function.
- Recent updates allow participants to self-select and move freely between open rooms if enabled by the organizer.
Customize Room Settings
- Rename rooms for clarity (e.g., “Strategy Session” or “Support Group A”).
- Set timers to automatically close rooms and return participants to the main session.
- Assign room managers (presenters) to oversee specific rooms.
- Toggle options like Automatically move people to rooms based on your meeting flow.
Start Breakout Sessions
- Click Open Rooms to initiate breakout sessions. Participants will be notified and moved automatically or manually, depending on your settings.
- Rooms can be opened or closed individually or all at once.
Facilitate Engagement and Communication
- Organizers and room managers can enter any room to observe or assist.
- Use the Announcement feature to send messages or reminders to all rooms simultaneously (e.g., time remaining, next steps).
Close and Reconvene
- Click Close Rooms to bring participants back to the main meeting. A countdown timer ensures smooth transition without abrupt interruptions.

Advanced Features Introduced in 2025:

Participant Room Choice: Attendees can now view a list of active breakout rooms and navigate between them at will, fostering more fluid and interactive collaboration. Once enabled by the organizer, this feature is active by default.
Attendance and Activity Reporting: Meeting organizers gain access to detailed participation records for each breakout room, including timestamps for when users joined or exited. These logs are downloadable as CSV files provided the rooms remain undeleted.

Table: Core Breakout Room Management Functions

Feature	Organizers/Managers Can	Participants Can	Notes
Create and name rooms	Yes	No (unless promoted to manager)	Up to 50 rooms per meeting
Assign participants	Manually, automatically, shuffle/randomly	Join assigned room; self-select if enabled	Shuffling possible mid-meeting
Set time limits	Yes	See time remaining in room UI	Automatic reconvene on timer expiry
Send announcements	Yes, to all rooms	Reply in chat (visible only to organizers)	Useful for instructions and time checks
Move freely between rooms	Enable/disable option	Yes, if organizer enables participant choice	New in Teams as of late 2024/early 2025
Report attendance	Yes (organizer only)	No	Downloadable post-meeting

Elaboration: These capabilities offer robust facilitation and oversight tools for meeting organizers and designated breakout room managers. Delegating room management enables scalability for large or complex sessions, while participant-controlled room navigation supports dynamic formats such as unconferences, networking events, and rotating group activities. Attendance tracking plays a vital role in ensuring accountability, meeting compliance standards, and fulfilling educational accreditation requirements delivering added value for organizers who need verifiable engagement data for training or regulatory reporting.

Benefits of Breakout Rooms:

Breakout rooms offer targeted solutions to common virtual meeting challenges:

Enhanced Engagement Smaller group settings encourage active participation, helping reduce “meeting fatigue” and fostering more balanced contributions.
Improved Focus Limiting group size keeps discussions on track and minimizes distractions or off-topic conversations.
Agile Collaboration Teams can work on parallel sub-tasks and reconvene to share outcomes ideal for brainstorming sessions and agile workflows.
Training and Team Development Facilitators can leverage breakout rooms for roleplays, case studies, and interactive exercises in educational or team-building contexts.
Transparent Output Files, whiteboards, and other artifacts generated in breakout rooms remain accessible for post-session review and analysis.

Best Practices:

To maximize the impact of breakout rooms in Teams, apply these proven strategies:

Advance Planning Define session goals and group structures ahead of time. Use pre-assignment to streamline setup.
Role Assignment Appoint facilitators and note-takers within each room to guide discussion and capture insights.
Clear Communication Share instructions or materials in advance or use the broadcast feature during the meeting to align participants.
Support Without Micromanaging Hosts should periodically join rooms to offer support, but avoid disrupting the flow unless necessary.
Time Management Use timers to maintain focus and ensure sessions stay within schedule.
Smooth Transitions Notify participants before closing rooms to avoid abrupt endings that may disrupt rapport.
Collaborative Tools Encourage use of chat and whiteboards for shared note taking and idea exchange.

Known Limitations and Troubleshooting Tips:

While powerful, breakout rooms come with a few constraints:

Participant Capacity Up to 300 users can be assigned; PSTN callers and certain devices may not be supported.
Feature Gaps Some functionalities like adding participants mid-session or persistent chat are still evolving.
Device Support Breakout rooms are currently optimized for desktop clients and modern browsers; mobile support is limited.
Manager Controls Only one person can actively manage rooms at a time, though up to ten managers can be designated.
Chat Persistence Room chats close when the breakout session ends and are not retained.

Troubleshooting Checklist:

Ensure all participants are using the latest version of Teams.
Confirm the organizer is present and has the necessary permissions.
Verify that breakout room settings are enabled in meeting policies.

2025 Roadmap Highlights:

Global Rollout of Participant Self-Selection Full support for users choosing and switching rooms independently, live as of January 2025.
Enhanced Reporting and Analytics More granular metrics per room and improved chat export capabilities.
Teams Premium Integration Advanced room management features tailored for organizations with heightened compliance or security requirements.

(2) Live Transcription in Microsoft Teams

Live Transcription in Microsoft Teams provides real-time, AI-driven conversion of spoken dialogue into a time-stamped, on-screen transcript. Designed with accessibility in mind, it empowers all participants including those with hearing impairments, language differences, or a preference for visual cues to stay fully engaged throughout the meeting.

Key capabilities include:

Real-Time Capture Spoken content is transcribed instantly, with speaker attribution displayed in a dedicated side panel.
Post-Meeting Transcript A searchable transcript is automatically saved and can be downloaded or shared for reference and documentation.
Recording Integration Transcription syncs with meeting recordings, offering a combined video-text resource for compliance, review, and archival purposes.

How Live Transcription Works?

Speech Recognition Engine Microsoft Teams Live Transcription is powered by Azure AI Speech, a cloud-based Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) service that processes audio streams in real time. It identifies speakers and generates near-instantaneous transcribed text.

Voice Isolation AI models distinguish individual voices for improved accuracy, assigning speaker names based on user profiles or meeting identification.
Speaker Diarization Advanced diarization tags each speaker, enhancing clarity in multi-speaker environments.
Language Models Teams supports a growing list of languages, with continuous updates to improve recognition of accents and specialized terminology.
Platform Integration The transcription engine integrates seamlessly with Teams’ recording infrastructure, connecting outputs to OneDrive, SharePoint, and Microsoft Stream.

Privacy and Security by Design:

End-to-End Encryption All spoken audio is securely transmitted to Microsoft’s speech services and back to the client using encrypted channels.
Governed Data Retention Transcripts are managed in accordance with organizational data policies and retention labels, and are fully compatible with Teams compliance tools such as eDiscovery.
Participant Consent Users are notified when transcription is activated, and IT administrators can enforce explicit consent protocols for compliance-sensitive scenarios.

Real-Time Display and Editing:

Live Transcript Interface A dedicated panel within the Teams client displays color-coded, time-stamped text with speaker attribution as the meeting progresses.
Language Selection Requirement Starting in 2025, users must choose the spoken language before initiating transcription to ensure optimal accuracy and accessibility.
Controlled Access Transcript controls including start, stop, and download are restricted to meeting organizers and designated roles, as defined by Teams meeting policies.

Benefits and Key Use Cases:

Accessibility and Inclusion
• Enables participation for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, non-native speakers, or those who prefer visual reinforcement.
• Inclusive meeting practices are no longer optional they’re increasingly mandated for compliance, particularly in education and public sector environments.
Productivity and Documentation
• Frees participants from the burden of manual note-taking, allowing deeper focus and more meaningful contributions.
• Transcripts simplify the extraction of key decisions, action items, and meeting minutes through search and filtering.
Global and Distributed Teams
• Real-time transcription and live translation via Teams Premium bridges language and time zone gaps, supporting seamless collaboration across geographies.
Compliance and Legal Oversight
• Transcribed records provide audit-ready documentation to support investigations, meet regulatory requirements, and uphold industry standards in sectors like finance, law, and healthcare.

Setting Up and Using Live Transcription:

Prerequisites:

Live transcription is available with most Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, and Enterprise subscriptions.
Administrators must enable the feature in the Teams Admin Center by activating “Allow transcription” and optionally “Allow cloud recording” within meeting policies.
Only meeting organizers or presenters have permission to start or stop transcription.

How to Enable Live Transcription:

Launch the meeting.
In the meeting controls, select More actions (···) → Record and transcribe → Start transcription.
When prompted, select the appropriate spoken language.
The transcript panel will appear, participants will be notified, and transcription will begin.

Customization Options:

Organizers and co-organizers can modify the transcription language this capability is now limited to those roles to ensure quality.
Admins can configure meeting policies to automatically start transcription for recurring sessions.

Post-Meeting Access Transcripts can be viewed, edited, or downloaded after the meeting, subject to role-based permissions and organizational retention policies.

Table: Live Transcription What’s New in 2025

Update	Description	Value/Impact
Language selection required	Organizers/co-organizers must select spoken language at start	Improves transcription quality; reduces mismatches
Permissions clarified	Only organizers, co-organizers, transcript starter can adjust language	Fewer accidental errors and improved experience
Enhanced privacy for captions	With transcription off, only last 5 minutes of captions shown on screen	Protects sensitive discussion in meetings
Expanded languages	Additional supported languages for real-time and translated captions	Greater accessibility for diverse/global teams
Copy/paste prevention	Meeting hosts can prevent copying of captions, transcripts, and AI summaries	Stronger information protection for compliance-sensitive contexts

Elaboration: These 2025 updates respond directly to feedback from enterprise users, educators, and compliance officers. The mandatory language prompt has already decreased mismatched transcripts, while the “5-minute limit” on captions (when full transcription is off) addresses privacy concerns for example, in confidential HR, legal, or executive meetings. The ability to block copying of captions and transcription, and to restrict transcript downloads, is a boon for organizations bound by data security requirements.

Best Practices for Using Live Transcription:

Optimize Audio Quality Use reliable microphones, minimize background noise, and encourage one speaker at a time to ensure accurate transcription.
Use Supported Languages Verify that the meeting language is among those officially supported to achieve the best transcription results.
Maintain Transparency Always inform participants when transcription is active and obtain explicit consent when required by policy or regulation.
Maximize Integration Export transcripts to tools like OneNote, Power Automate, or third-party summarization platforms to streamline workflows and enhance productivity.

Integration with Microsoft 365 Apps:

SharePoint and OneDrive Transcripts and recordings are securely stored with appropriate permissions, enabling compliance labeling and controlled sharing.
Microsoft Stream In select environments, meeting content including video and transcripts flows into Stream for centralized video management.
Power Automate Users can build automated flows to retrieve transcripts and apply AI-driven summarization or archival processes, including GPT-based models.

Security, Privacy, and Data Retention:

Granular Admin Controls Administrators can configure retention periods, access permissions, and external sharing policies for transcripts.
Tenant-Wide Policy Enforcement Auto-expiration settings help manage data lifecycle, reducing sprawl while preserving access for post-meeting needs.
Sensitivity Labeling (Planned) Microsoft is working toward deeper integration of sensitivity labels for transcripts and video content, enhancing protection for confidential meetings.

Adoption Trends and Future Roadmap:

Widespread Adoption As of 2025, over 70% of Teams meetings in large enterprises utilize live transcription by default, reflecting its growing value.
Upcoming Enhancements Continued advancements include expanded language support, real-time AI summarization, and deeper accessibility features alongside broader integration with Microsoft Copilot and multi-language meeting capabilities.

(3) Intelligent Recap in Microsoft Teams

Arguably the most impactful Teams innovation of the past year, Intelligent Recap leverages AI to distill meetings into concise, actionable insights. Much like how modern email clients streamline your inbox, Intelligent Recap replaces lengthy replays and manual notetaking with automated summaries of key points, decisions, tasks, and follow-ups delivered instantly.

Core Capabilities Include:

AI-Generated Meeting Summaries Automatically compiles key topics, decisions, and next steps into clear, accessible notes.
Automated Task Extraction Copilot identifies action items and can assign them to relevant team members post-meeting.
Chapters and Timeline Indicators Recordings are segmented by topic, with markers for joins/leaves, screen shares, mentions, and other pivotal moments.
Speaker Analytics Provides insights into speaker participation, including who spoke when and conversational trends across sessions.
Personalized Highlights Each participant receives tailored highlights based on their engagement and activity during the meeting.
Audio Recaps Podcast-style spoken summaries offer a convenient way to catch up on meetings while on the move (currently in public preview).
Multilingual Support Recap notes are available in users’ preferred languages, with coverage expanding as part of the ongoing preview rollout.

Note: Some advanced features require a Microsoft 365 Copilot or Teams Premium license.

How Intelligent Recap Works?

Data Collection To generate a recap, meetings must be transcribed and optionally recorded. The AI engine processes multiple data streams including spoken dialogue, chat interactions, shared files, and on-screen content. Customers using Copilot or Teams Premium benefit from deeper integration with meeting artifacts such as screen shares and annotated whiteboards.
AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) Microsoft’s AI models apply advanced NLP techniques, including topic modeling and entity recognition, to analyze transcripts and recordings. The system detects actionable phrases (e.g., “Let’s follow up,” “John will handle…”), identifies topic transitions, and segments content into chapters for easier navigation.
Personalization and Access Control Access to Intelligent Recap is limited to authorized users typically organizers, presenters, or licensed participants. Each user receives a personalized experience, with visual markers indicating when they were mentioned, when they joined or left, and which sections are most relevant to them.
Delivery and Interaction Recaps are available via the Recap tab in Teams calendar events and meeting chats. Users can interactively jump to key moments in the transcript or recording.
API and Graph Integration Teams Graph APIs enable programmatic access to transcripts and summaries, allowing organizations to automate workflows, build custom dashboards, and implement advanced compliance or archival solutions.

Benefits and Use Cases of Intelligent Recap

Capture Critical Moments Stay informed on meetings you missed or exited early view key discussions, decisions, and speaker contributions without replaying the entire session.
Streamlined Follow-Up Action items are automatically identified and can be assigned or tracked directly from the recap panel.
Enhanced Transparency and Accountability Clear documentation of decisions, responsibilities, and next steps help teams maintain alignment and accountability.
Support for Asynchronous Collaboration Recaps make meetings accessible to distributed teams, enabling flexible participation across time zones and schedules.
Executive Efficiency Leaders can quickly review summarized insights and key moments without sifting through full-length recordings.

Intelligent Recap in Practice: Real-World Scenarios

Project Reviews Instantly surface decisions, blockers, and task assignments from complex project meetings.
Client Engagements Summarize commitments and next steps for seamless follow-up no manual notetaking required.
Training and Workshops Provide attendees with concise learning summaries and key takeaways.
HR and Compliance Sessions Maintain indexed records of sensitive discussions for audit trails or legal review.
Cross-Functional Collaboration Share recaps securely via Teams, Outlook, or external links without exposing full recordings or transcripts.

Best Practices for Maximizing Intelligent Recap

Enable Transcription and Recording by Default Ensure both features are active in Teams policies and templates to unlock full AI-powered summaries.
Use Clear Agendas and Explicit Language the AI engine detects direct assignments (e.g., “Lisa will present next week”), so clarity in speech and roles improves recap precision.
Validate Before Sharing Organizers should review and confirm action items and assignments before distributing summaries.
Secure Sensitive Content Apply Teams’ security and permission settings to control access to recaps and related artifacts.
Educate Your Team Guide users on where to locate recaps and how to interact with them within the Teams interface.

Microsoft 365 Ecosystem Integration

OneDrive and SharePoint Intelligent Recap files are securely stored alongside meeting recordings and transcripts, with permission aligned to organizational policies.
Outlook Recaps can be shared directly from the Teams Recap tab via Outlook, streamlining post-meeting communication.
Planner, To Do, and Project AI-detected tasks can be seamlessly pushed into Microsoft task management tools, enabling follow-through and accountability.
Custom Applications Graph API support allows organizations to integrate recaps into dashboards, CRM systems, and business intelligence platforms.

Security, Privacy, and Compliance

Licensing Requirements Advanced recap features are available to users with Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.
Data Governance IT administrators can manage access to transcripts and recaps, enforce restrictions on copying and forwarding, and apply controls for confidential meetings.
Retention Policies Audio summaries and AI-generated recaps are retained according to organizational settings typically between 60 and 90 days.
Sensitive Meeting Controls For high-confidentiality sessions, Teams supports disabling content sharing and applying sensitivity labels to restrict distribution.

Adoption Insights and User Trends

As of September 2025, over 3 million Teams Premium users actively leverage Intelligent Recap.
Feedback shows a 20–30% reduction in manual notetaking and marked improvements in task completion post-meeting.
The combined use of recap and live transcription has led many organizations to retire third-party tools, simplifying compliance and enhancing user experience.

Recent and Upcoming Enhancements

Visual Summarization AI now incorporates screen-shared content and key visuals into recaps, enriching context beyond spoken dialogue.
Multilingual Delivery Recaps can be automatically generated in each participant’s preferred language, supporting global collaboration (currently in preview).
Audio Recap Launching September 2025, this feature offers podcast-style summaries of up to eight meetings ideal for on-the-go catch-up.
Expanded API Capabilities New endpoints empower developers to automate recap workflows, integrate with knowledge repositories, and support compliance operations.
Accessibility Improvements Upgrades include enhanced voice synthesis, screen reader compatibility, and improved transcription accuracy across diverse speech patterns.

Conclusion: Embracing the Future of Meetings

Breakout Rooms, Live Transcription, and Intelligent Recap have evolved from optional enhancements to foundational pillars of modern collaboration in Microsoft Teams. By merging real-time engagement, AI-driven automation, and seamless integration across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, these features empower teams to conduct more inclusive, efficient, and outcome-focused meetings regardless of location.
As we move through 2025 and beyond, organizations that embrace these capabilities will experience measurable gains in productivity, accessibility, compliance, and team satisfaction. Backed by Microsoft’s continuous innovation roadmap centered on flexibility, privacy, and intelligence Teams remain the benchmark for digital collaboration.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – November 2025

LyndsayCA1986 — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 15:00:00 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert community briefings, podcasts and upcoming community events for November 2025.

Expert Briefings

AI in Teams Devices: What’s New and What’s Next?

https://empowering.cloud/ai-in-teams-devices-whats-new-and-whats-next/

Irena Andonova, Head of Product for Teams Devices at Microsoft, discusses the evolution of Teams Rooms, Phones and Devices

AI is transforming physical meeting spaces—supporting speaker attribution, voice isolation, and real-time summarisation, even in unscheduled in-person meetings
Voice and face enrolment enables accurate transcript attribution across Windows and Android platforms
AI-powered features in Teams Phones
How AI is being embedded into the Pro Management Portal to support large-scale operations, automate issue resolution, and deliver actionable insights
The importance of usage analytics for facilities planning—e.g. identifying underused or overbooked rooms by floor and day
Ongoing investment in cross-platform scalability, including Autopilot for Windows and Android, and integration with MDEP (Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform).

Copilot Agents, No-Code to Pro-Code Options – Paolo Pialorsi, Senior Developer Advocate at Microsoft

https://empowering.cloud/copilot-agents-no-code-to-pro-code-options-paolo-pialorsi-senior-developer-advocate-at-microsoft/

Tom Morgan speaks with Paolo Pialorsi, Senior Developer Advocate at Microsoft, to demystify Microsoft 365 Copilot agents and how to choose the right build path for each scenario.

Pick the approach that fits the use case, skills and long‑term ownership. Start no‑/low‑code for speed and validation, move to pro‑code when you need custom orchestration, channels or packaging at scale.

What an agent is: foundational model, orchestrator, skills, knowledge base, optional UX, and agent‑to‑agent interaction
Two core models: declarative agents using the Copilot orchestrator vs custom engine agents where you bring your own model and orchestrator
No‑code starting points: SharePoint agents for document‑centric scenarios, and Copilot Studio Lite for connectors, web content and generative features
Low‑code with Copilot Studio (full): leverage Power Platform connectors, agent flows and optional custom engine agents
Pro‑code declarative agents: build with the Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit in VS Code, ship manifest‑driven packages, add APIs via OpenAPI, enable capabilities like image generation, web search and code execution
Fully pro‑code custom agents: Microsoft 365 Agents SDK or Teams AI Library with your own hosting, channels and knowledge infrastructure
Capabilities nuances: MCP support in Copilot Studio today, autonomous agents available in Copilot Studio but not in declarative agents yet
Licensing overview: public‑web knowledge uses the included Copilot entitlement; Graph‑grounded scenarios require pay‑as‑you‑go or Copilot user licences
Portability and composition: export from SharePoint agents or Copilot Studio Lite to edit as declarative JSON; mix approaches using agent‑to‑agent patterns

AudioCodes Voca is teams Unify Certified – discussing AI, Azure and Smarter Contact Centres

https://empowering.cloud/audiocodes-voca-is-teams-unify-certified-discussing-ai-azure-and-smarter-contact-centres/

Gidi Adlersberg, Voca Business Line Manager at AudioCodes, unpacks the evolutions of Voca CIC, now one of only five Microsoft Unify-certified Contact Centres.

Voca CIC was built cloud-first on Azure Communication Services, enabling deep native integration with Microsoft Teams Phone
The Unify certification demands more than basic functionality—vendors must demonstrate real-time transcription, sentiment analysis, and AI-driven agent support
Voca’s media handling is fully embedded in Teams, inheriting its five nines SLA and eliminating external API dependencies
AI capabilities are now enterprise-grade and standardised, with Microsoft dictating fulfilment methods—bringing consistency and reliability to vendors and customers
Voca’s commercial model simplifies Azure’s consumption-based pricing by offering predictable monthly agent tiers
The model is designed to reduce cognitive load for IT leaders and improve budget predictability
Voca CIC is seeing strong adoption beyond traditional contact centres—20% of deals now support informal agents like pension advisors and reception teams

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update October 2025

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-monthly-update-october-2025/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the latest Microsoft Teams news and announcements in less than 15 minutes for October 2025.

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

How IQVIA scaled 650 Microsoft Teams Rooms with Global Standards & Smart Operations

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Andre Razzuri, Associate Director at IQVIA, explains how IQVIA rolled out Microsoft Teams Rooms to 650 rooms globally, creating standards and managing a global environment.

Microsoft Teams Rooms – How to Choose Beyond the Specs

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Simon Dudley, independent consultant and with extensive former experience at Polycom, Lifesize, and Logitech, examines how customers, OEMs and resellers can navigate the increasingly commoditised video conferencing market.

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 19^th November | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PDT

Join us for November’s Teams Fireside Chat. We'll be joined by Kerry Perez Heffernan – Teams Product Marketing at Microsoft for all of the news from Microsoft Ignite 2025.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

November Sessions

EMEA/NA – 26^th November | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

APAC – 26^th November | 16:30 AEDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

Copilot Fireside Chat

Copilot Fireside Chat with Garry Trinder – Senior Cloud Advocate at Microsoft – 29^th October | 16:00 GMT / 08:00 PT

Join Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell for the monthly Copilot Fireside Chat series! The next session is on 29^th October at 16:00 BST / 08:00 PT and we’ll be joined by special guest Garry Trinder – Senior Cloud Advocate at Microsoft to discuss the different options for building agents and which is best for your use case.

M365 Change Community Round Up

As Microsoft 365 Copilot rapidly expands its reach across the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem it's become more important to stay on top of Microsoft 365 change than ever before.

The new M365 Change Community Round Up is a new live monthly call open to all, where we take a closer look at Microsoft Message Center updates and what they really mean for your organisation.

🗓️ Join MVPs Darrell Webster, Daniel Glenn from the M365 Message Center show, Tom Arbuthnot and special guests every last Thursday of the month at 13:00 UK / 08:00 ET / 07:00 CT (25^th September is the first session).

It's the perfect opportunity to stay in the know, not just on new shiny features, but the all important, high admin and high user impacting items which can have serious consequences if not prepared for.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – October 2025

LyndsayCA1986 — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 15:00:00 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert community briefings, podcasts and upcoming community events for October 2025.

Expert Briefings

Backing up your Teams Phone Number Configuration – Why & How

https://empowering.cloud/backing-up-your-teams-phone-number-configuration-why-how/

Damian Lewis from BSI discusses how to safeguard your Microsoft Teams phone numbers from accidental deletion or changes. He outlines common scenarios that can cause number loss and presents a straightforward solution using PowerShell automation to create regular backups.

The risks to phone number assignments including account disabling, usage location changes, license changes, and administrative errors
A practical PowerShell-based backup solution that automatically stores number assignments in blob storage
How to restore numbers quickly when problems occur using the backed-up data
GitHub repository with code and documentation for implementing your own backup solution

Crestron Multi-Camera Expansion – Five Cameras without Automate VX

https://empowering.cloud/crestron-multi-camera-expansion-five-cameras-without-automate-vx/

Cara Shannon, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Intelligent Video and Unified Communication, at Crestron talks about their latest developments.

Crestron has expanded its intelligent switching capabilities with 1 Beyond cameras, allowing up to five cameras (one primary i12 camera plus four companion cameras) without requiring the full Automate VX system. The primary camera connects via USB whilst companion cameras connect over the network, with switching available through visual cues or manual control via Crestron control systems.

Two switching modes: automatic visual-based switching or manual control through touch panels
Mix and match capability between i-Series (intelligent tracking) and P-Series (standard PTZ) cameras for manual switching
Configuration through One Beyond Camera Manager software
Automate VX systems still offer advanced features including voice activation, visual AI auto-framing, and support for up to 12 cameras

Understanding the Importance of SOC 2 Type II Compliance when Choosing Cloud Services

https://empowering.cloud/understanding-the-importance-of-soc-2-type-ii-compliance-when-choosing-cloud-services/

Steve Jump, Cyber Risk Governance Advisor and Chief Security Officer at Numonix, discusses the critical importance of SOC 2 Type II certification.

The difference between SOC 2 Type I (point-in-time assessment) and Type II (evidence of control operation over a defined period)
How SOC 2 builds upon ISO 27001 certification as the foundational security framework
Numonix's secure recording approach where client-specific encryption ensures they cannot access customer data
Why SOC 2 reports are shared selectively under NDAs rather than published publicly
The business value for customers in highly regulated industries like banking, healthcare, and government who need proof of vendor security standards
How proper certification streamlines vendor evaluation compared to lengthy spreadsheet questionnaires
The rigorous auditing process that validates not just policies but active compliance and issue resolution

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update September 2025

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-monthly-update-september-2025/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the latest Microsoft Teams news and announcements in less than 13 minutes.

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Telco Infrastructure Evolution – Automation, AI and Containerisation Explained

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Matt Hurst, Senior Director of Strategic Business Architecture at Ribbon, joins Tom Arbuthnot to discuss the significant changes occurring in telco infrastructure with AI, analytics, and automation. Matt clearly explains how Automation, Containerisation and AI work and apply in telco and also large enterprise infrastructure.

Scaling M365 Copilot Adoption Across 20,000 Users

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Tom Arbuthnot discusses Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption with Karoliina Kettukari, Head of Modern Work at OP Financial Group in Finland.

OP Financial Group has licensed approximately half their workforce for M365 Copilot, with strong support from senior management and eager employee adoption. The organisation also utilises Copilot Chat for an additional 50% of their licensed user base, particularly for roles working primarily in customer systems rather than M365 applications.

AV, AI and Meeting Equity – Multi-Camera, Multi-Agent, Multi-AI with Bo Pintea

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Bo Pintea from Huddly talks about the evolution of multi-camera setups and their role in creating more immersive and equitable meeting experiences.

The Future of Converged Communications – Leon Wright, Global Lead at Microsoft

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Leon Wright, Global Lead for Converged Communications at Microsoft, discusses how AI is transforming Teams Phone, telco partnerships and customer engagement.

Microsoft Teams Desk Phones – AI Features and Roadmap

Audio | Podcast

Prashi Badkur, Senior Product Manager Lead for Teams phone devices at Microsoft, talks about the evolving role of physical desk phones.

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 8^th October | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PDT

Join us for October’s Teams Fireside Chat. We'll be joined by Scott Plette, Partner Group Product Manager - Teams calling and Premium at Microsoft.

As a Partner Group Product Manager for Teams Phone and Teams Premium, Scott Plette manages the team charged with defining, prioritizing, and driving the development of Teams Phone experiences for desktop, mobile, and devices, as well as advanced communication and protected communication scenarios enabled by Teams Premium.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

October Sessions

EMEA/NA – 15^th October | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

APAC – 15^th October | 16:30 AEDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

Copilot Fireside Chat

Copilot Fireside Chat with Karuana Gatimu, Director, Customer Advocacy – AI and Collaboration at Microsoft – 24^th September | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PT

Join Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell for the monthly Copilot Fireside Chat series! The next session is on 24^th September at 16:00 BST / 08:00 PT and we’ll be joined by special guest Karuana Gatimu, Director, Customer Advocacy – AI and Collaboration at Microsoft

M365 Change Community Round Up

As Microsoft 365 Copilot rapidly expands its reach across the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem it's become more important to stay on top of Microsoft 365 change than ever before.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – September 2025

LyndsayCA1986 — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 16:00:17 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert community briefings, podcasts and upcoming community events for September 2025.

Expert Briefings

Copilot Agent Business Use Cases: Custom Agents with Microsoft Copilot Studio

https://empowering.cloud/copilot-agent-business-use-cases-custom-agents-with-microsoft-copilot-studio/

Microsoft's Alev Tamer and Chris Wheeler both Senior Copilot Solutions Engineers, explain line of business Copilot agent use cases.

Three types of agent development: declarative agents (text-based chatbots), low-code agents (Copilot Studio), and pro-code agents (Azure AI Foundry)
Demonstration of how specific AI models like DeepSeek can be selected for specialised queries and use cases
Real-world examples including a case file checker for law enforcement and HR onboarding process automation
Overview of upcoming features including computer use capabilities for legacy application interaction and agent-to-agent communication

Microsoft Teams Native Bluetooth Headsets Explained: Say Goodbye to Dongles

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-native-bluetooth-headsets-explained-say-goodbye-to-dongles/

Gregory Franc De Ferriere from Logitech talks about their unique certified native Bluetooth headsets for Microsoft Teams.

Gregory explains how Logitech's Zone Wireless 2 and Zone 305 became the first two Microsoft-certified headsets that work without dongles, eliminating a long-standing pain point for users.
Why dongles were historically necessary
How recent advancements in Windows 11 and Intel chipsets have made native Bluetooth possible
The collaborative effort between Logitech, Microsoft, and Intel to enable full Teams functionality (mute sync, call controls, Teams button) over Bluetooth
Understanding the Microsoft Open Office certification

Neat’s Latest Meeting Room Innovations with Lee Edgerton

https://empowering.cloud/neats-latest-meeting-room-innovations-with-lee-edgerton/

Lee Edgerton, Alliance Lead for Neat in the APAC region, talks about the adoption of Microsoft Teams Rooms across Asia-Pacific markets and Neat's latest innovations.
• Australia leads in adoption. APAC regions show varied technology maturity
• AI integration preventing meeting rooms from becoming "dark spots"
• Dual Neat Centers and Neat Focus, innovations to support larger and custom spaces
• New BYOD capabilities bridge native and flexible meeting experiences
• Platform support expanding to include Google Meet

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update August 2025

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-monthly-update-august-2025/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the latest Microsoft Teams news and announcements in less than 15 minutes.
• Microsoft Q4 2025 Earnings In-Car Teams Video Calls
• Trigger workflows using emoji reactions
• On-Behalf-Of Outbound Teams Phone Calls Change
• First Unify Certified Contact Center
• No more Paid Teams Metered APIs
• GPT-5 is here in M365 Copilot and more
• Summarise Email with Copilot Chat
• Improved M365 Copilot in Word

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Microsoft Teams: From Slack Rival to AI for Work – Jim Gaynor, Directions on Microsoft

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Jim Gaynor, Editorial Vice President at Directions on Microsoft, reflects on the evolution of Microsoft Teams and its shifting role in Microsoft’s strategy.

Understanding AI Assisted Tech and the European Accessibility Act\

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Neil Milliken, Global Head of Accessibility at Atos, looks at how accessibility is evolving in the enterprise—driven by AI, inclusive design, and upcoming regulation.

Neil shares insights from over two decades in assistive technology and accessibility, including how mainstream tools like Microsoft 365 are increasingly embedding features that benefit everyone—not just those with disabilities.

Scaling Partner Management of Teams Phone in SMB and Midmarket

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Mark Herbert, co-founder of Call2Teams (at Qunifi, acquired by Dstny) and now launching Haptap Call Manager, explores how partners are enabling Microsoft Teams Phone for SMB and mid-market.

AI, AV, and the Evolving Role of the Integrator

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Dave Hatz, VP of Machine Intelligence at CTI, a major AV integrator and events company, shares his journey from AV programming into AI leadership.

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 11th September | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PDT

Join us for September’s Teams Fireside Chat, where we’ll be joined by Patrichi Dash, Product Manager, Dynamics 365 CS at Microsoft. We’ll be discussing Teams Phone extensibility and Unify-certified Teams integrated contact centers.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

September Sessions

EMEA/NA – 17th September | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

APAC – 17th September | 15:30 AEDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

Copilot Fireside Chat

Copilot Fireside Chat with Karuana Gatimu, Director, Customer Advocacy – AI and Collaboration at Microsoft – 24th September | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PT

Join Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell for the monthly Copilot Fireside Chat series! The next session is on 24th September at 16:00 BST / 08:00 PT and we’ll be joined by special guest Karuana Gatimu, Director, Customer Advocacy – AI and Collaboration at Microsoft

THE FUTURE OF CONTACT CENTRES

GauravGuptaG — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 16:45:06 GMT

The Future of Contact Centre’s based on current trends

1) Introduction

The Contact Centers in the past decades have evolved from traditional call centers to dynamic hubs of customer engagement. As businesses have started prioritizing customer experience (CX) and Agent Experience (AX) modern contact centers are leveraging AI, cloud platforms, and omnichannel communication to meet growing customer demands.

Generally, Contact Centre is the first point of contact when a customer calls in for help but with customers becoming more tech savvy and self-reliant they are more bound to use the self-service option for simple tasks. The AI based virtual assistants can automate simple routine tasks and provide instant responses e.g. password reset etc.

Therefore, the agent is usually required only for more complex tasks and so complex tasks are the ones that are going to land the agent's queue. The agent will not only need good communication skills but also need good problem-solving skills and, in some cases, technical training to understand the product or service.

Ensuring agents adapt quickly and proficiently to the changes in contact center technology organizations need a system that offers ‘real time updates’ to seamlessly reference data to all agents. With the advent of AI applying speech and sentiment analytics to contact center interactions, real time reports, call analytics combined with CRM details can provide valuable data and insights for the customer. All this data can be used to interpret the customer needs, target specific training for agents and reduce agent call handling time whilst increasing customer satisfaction.

Below are a few points that show how Contact center space is evolving for the future

2) AI in Contact Centers:

AI is being used in contact center space to transform customer Interactions. AI is no longer a futuristic concept it’s a practical tool that enhances both customer and agent experiences. AI-powered virtual agents and chatbots handle routine tasks, providing instant responses to customer queries. Meanwhile, AI-driven insights offer real-time assistance to human agents, leading to faster and more effective resolutions.

Key AI Capabilities in Contact Centres:
a) Virtual Agents: Provide self-service options for common customer requests.
b) Sentiment Analysis: Detect customer emotions and escalate conversations when necessary.
c) Predictive Analytics: Anticipate customer needs and personalized interactions.
d) Real-Time Agent Assistance: Offer live prompts and knowledge base suggestions during conversations.

Omnichannel Communication:

It enables seamless customer experience. In today’s world customers expect to interact with different partners/vendors/consumers across multiple channels, including voice, chat, email, social media, and video. An omnichannel contact centre integrates these channels into a unified platform, ensuring consistent experiences no matter how customers reach out.

Benefits of omnichannel support:
a) Enables customers to switch between channels without losing context.
b) Provides agents with a complete view of customer interactions.
c) Offer personalized experiences based on customer preferences and history.

Cloud Contact Centres as a Service
The Cloud Contact Centre as a Service is generally abbreviated as CCaaS. The CCaaS solutions are rapidly gaining traction. These platforms offer scalability, flexibility, and reduced infrastructure costs compared to on-premises systems. Businesses can deploy contact center capabilities within days, enabling remote agents to work seamlessly from anywhere.

The advantages of CCaaS:
a) Rapid scalability to accommodate seasonal spikes.
b) Cost-effective pay-as-you-go pricing models.
c) Built-in AI, analytics, and reporting tools.
d) Enhanced security and compliance.

Workforce Engagement Management
Ensuring employee satisfaction is essential to delivering exceptional customer experiences. Workforce Engagement Management (WEM) solutions provide tools for scheduling, performance monitoring, and training.

Key Features of WEM:
a) Real-Time Performance Monitoring: Track agent KPIs and provide actionable feedback.
b) AI-Driven Coaching: Identify areas for improvement using AI-powered insights.
c) Employee Wellness Tools: Monitor agent well-being and suggest breaks when necessary.

Emerging Technologies Shaping the Future
What is expected next?

5G-enabled contact centres:

Ultra-low latency, HD voice/video communication.
Enables seamless, high-quality interactions.

Generative AI:

Automated call summaries.
Streamlined post-call workflows.

Emotion AI:

Deeper customer sentiment analysis.
Enhanced understanding of customer emotions.

Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) for Browser-Based Calling

Enables click-to-call from websites without plugins.
Low-latency, encrypted voice/video communication.
Blockchain for Secure Identity Verification
Decentralized identity checks reduce fraud in financial service contact centers.

Augmented Reality (AR) for Remote Support
Field service agents use AR glasses for real-time visual guidance. Example: A technician shares live video with an expert for troubleshooting via Microsoft HoloLens

Summary
The Modern contact centers are no longer just telephony systems they are rapidly evolving as AI-powered, cloud-native, API-driven command centers that unify customer interactions across different channels. By leveraging machine learning, omnichannel routing, and real-time analytics, businesses can deliver hyper-personalized, efficient support at every customer touchpoint at scale.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – June 2025

LyndsayCA1986 — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 17:04:27 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert community briefings, Podcasts and upcoming community events.

Expert Briefings

Understanding BYOD Microsoft Rooms with Microsoft Teams – Experience, Features and Licensing

https://empowering.cloud/understanding-byod-microsoft-rooms-with-microsoft-teams-experience-features-and-licensing/

MVP Randy Chapman of Logitech and Chris Fitzsimmons of AVI-SPL provide an in-depth overview of BYOD Meeting rooms with Microsoft Teams.

BYOD meeting enhancements, including automatic device detection, speaker recognition and layouts
Administrative processes for effective BYOD deployment and management within organizations
Licensing and how it aligns with Features like speaker attribution and intelligent recap
How BYOD relates to Microsoft Places and desk booking

Ribbon Edge 8500 & Use Cases for a Scalable Modular SBC/Gateway/Router with Application Support

The latest addition to Ribbon’s Edge 8000 series, the Edge 8500, brings enhanced scalability and modularity to enterprises maintaining legacy voice infrastructure while migrating to cloud services. Senior Director Gordon Eddy showcases how this robust appliance addresses critical enterprise communications needs.

The Edge 8500 features expansion slots supporting up to 96 analogue FXS ports, 16 T1/E1 PRI connections and application solution modules for third-party software
With capability for 1,000 concurrent calls, the Edge 8500 delivers enterprise-grade reliability
The solution combines SBC, gateway and 10G routing capabilities into a single device, simplifying deployment and management for branch offices and enterprise networks
Network modernisation is made possible by facilitating analogue and TDM services over IP networks, addressing the ongoing analogue-to-IP transition challenges

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update May 2025

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-monthly-update-may-2025/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the Microsoft Teams news and announcements for May in less than 15 minutes.

Microsoft Earnings FY25 Q3 – M365 Highlights
Microsoft 365 news from Microsoft Build
Office 365 / Microsoft Teams EU antitrust update
9 Microsoft Teams Roadmap Highlights
Operator Connect and Teams Phone Mobile updates
Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android updates
Teams Devices updates
Events

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Inside Gong’s AI Microsoft Teams Integration

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Patrick Burke from Gong shares insights on how they are using AI to maximise RevOps and how they use Numonix TraaS to pull insights from Microsoft Teams meetings.

Rolling out 200 Teams Rooms globally in 90 days and driving savings at SCOR

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Tom Arbuthnot talks with Reto Schadegg, Global IT Infrastructure Manager at SCOR about how they rolled out 200 Microsoft Teams Rooms across 35 countries in just 90 days.

Compliance Recording in Microsoft Teams: What it Really Takes and How to Choose

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Tom Arbuthnot chats with Michael Levy, CEO of Numonix, about what it really takes to deliver compliance-grade recording in Microsoft Teams.

Bookable Desks in Microsoft Teams Explained

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Microsoft’s Evie Grimshaw dives into bookable desks in Microsoft Teams and how they fit into the broader solution with Microsoft Places.

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 11^th June| 16:00 BST | Virtual

Join us for this month’s Teams Fireside Chat, where we’ll be joined by MVPs Habib Mankal and Michael LaMontagne to dive deep into the topic of Facilitator. Bring along all your Facilitator questions and feel free to bring a friend!

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

June Sessions:

EMEA/NA – 16^th June | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

APAC – 17^th June | 15:30 AEDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything is a monthly community which gives you all an update on the important and Microsoft Teams devices news, as well as the chance to ask questions and get them answered by the experts. We have 2 sessions to cover different time zones, so there's really no excuse not to come along to at least one!

Copilot Fireside Chat

Copilot Fireside Chat with Daniel Laskewitz, Senior Cloud Advocate (Power Platform) – 25^th June | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PT

Join Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell for the new monthly Copilot Fireside Chat series! The next session is on 30^th April at 16:00 BST and we’ll be joined by Daniel Laskewitz, Senior Cloud Advoacte (Power Platform) at Microsoft who will be discussing Copilot Studio, MCP and Dataverse with Copilot.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – May 2025

LyndsayCA1986 — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:00:00 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert community briefings, Podcasts and upcoming community events.

Expert Briefings

SharePoint Online Advanced Management: Benefits, Features & Licensing

https://empowering.cloud/sharepoint-online-advanced-management-benefits-features-licensing/

MVP Rolf Tröndle gives us an in-depth exploration of the SharePoint Advanced Management features, licensing requirements and its role in enhancing data control and management.

Key features include reporting, site restrictions and access controls to prevent data oversharing
How SharePoint Online Advanced Management is bundled with Copilot licenses
Upcoming features include restricted content discoverability and enhanced enterprise application insights
Walkthrough of key functionalities include site access restrictions and setting up lifecycle management policies

Understanding the new Microsoft Teams Unified Chats and Channels Experience

https://empowering.cloud/understanding-the-new-microsoft-teams-unified-chats-and-channels-experience/

Noga Ronen, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Microsoft Teams at Microsoft discusses one of the most significant updates to Microsoft Teams since its launch: the new chat and channels experience.

Microsoft Teams now offers a combined chat and channels interface, providing users with a more unified experience
Custom sections and favourites allow users to personalise their experience
Enhanced filtering options enable users to triage their messages with persistent filters for unread messages and @mentions
Future enhancements such as threaded conversations and AI features, which will further enhance collaboration and information discovery across the platform
How users can toggle between new and classic modes, giving them control over their experience in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update April 2025

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-monthly-update-april-2025/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the Microsoft Teams news and announcements for April in just 15 minutes.

Teams clients older than 90 days will be blocked
General Channel is back
Detect sensitive content screen shared in meetings
Share PowerPoint control with all presenters
New Unify Contact Center to Microsoft Teams Integration model
Enforcement of Teams Phone license checks for Extend Contact Centres and Attendant Consoles
M365 Copilot Chat will be pinned by default in Teams and Outlook
Teams Devices Updates
Roadmap Watch

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

The Path from PBX to Microsoft Teams Phone with Tom Garland, Global Service Delivery Manager

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Tom Garland, Global Service Delivery Manager at Willis Towers Watson shares an insight to the journey from traditional PBX systems to Skype for Business, and then to Microsoft Teams.

Mastering Microsoft 365 Change with Ally Ward, M365 Global Service Owner

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Ally Ward, M365 Global Service Owner at a major legal firm, unravels the complexities of managing Microsoft 365 change, sharing effective strategies for handling frequent updates and ensuring seamless IT operations.

Copilot Practical Applications and Success Stories with Sarah Miller

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Sarah Miller, Senior Product Marketing Manager – Microsoft 365 Copilot at Microsoft, dives into practical applications of Microsoft Copilot Agents.

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 8^th May | 16:00 BST | Virtual

Join us for this month’s Teams Fireside Chat, where we’ll be joined by Jamie Stark, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft. In the second half, we’ll open the floor to discussion and Q&A, giving you the chance to get your questions answered by the experts.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

May Sessions

APAC – 21^st May | 15:30 AEDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

EMEA/NA – 21^st May | 16:00 BST / 08:00 PT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

Copilot Fireside Chat

Copilot Fireside Chat with Yina Arenas – 30^th April | 16:00 BST / 09:00 PT

Join Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell for the new monthly Copilot Fireside Chat series! The next session is on 30^th April at 16:00 BST and we’ll be joined by Yina Arenas, Vice President of Product for Azure AI Foundry.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – March 2025

LyndsayCA1986 — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 20:45:46 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert community briefings, Podcasts and upcoming community events.

Expert Briefings

Dynamics 365 Contact Center Explained: Features, Licensing and Use Cases

https://empowering.cloud/dynamics-365-contact-center-explained/

MVP Chris Goodwill, Strategic Partner Manager and Solution Specialist delves into the implications, use cases and future possibilities of Dynamics 365 Contact Center.

The evolution of Dynamics 365 Contact Center from its roots in Dynamics CRM
How Dynamics 365 Contact Center leverages Azure Communication Services and integrates with Microsoft’s existing platforms, providing a seamless omnichannel experience
Navigating the complexities of Dynamics licensing and deployment
How AI is being leveraged to add features such as self-service, AI-driven insights and smooth interactions
Real-world applications and success stories in organisations that have adopted Dynamics 365 Contact Center, including Lenovo and Virgin Money

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update February 2025

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-monthly-update-february-2025/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the Microsoft Teams news and announcements from ISE in just 15 minutes.

Microsoft Teams Rooms Express Install
ISE News and New Devices
MDEP – New OEMs and ODMs
MTRoW Boards + Edge WebApps
MTRoW Multiple Camera View
Microsoft Teams Super Resolution
New Teams Phone Mobile Provider
Roadmap:
Events

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Chandra Chivukula, Vice President, Engineering Microsoft Teams

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Chandra Chivukula, Vice President of Engineering for Microsoft Teams, talks to Tom about the engineering strategies behind Microsoft Teams and how moving all users to the new client in 2024 has enabled more efficient and agile collaboration and a foundation for future innovation.

UC Status Podcast Crossover – Thoughts on 2025 from a Combined 40+ years in UC

Audio Podcast

In a podcast crossover, Tom Arbuthnot joins friends Randy Chapman, Mark Vale and Shawn Harry in episode 65 of the UC Status Podcast, where they discuss all things Microsoft Teams, AI, and future innovations.

Video Rooms in 2025 with Olly Henderson, Head of Video Product Jabra

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Olly Henderson, head of Video Product Management and Portfolio at Jabra, discusses the evolution of meeting room technology and how Jabra is redefining enterprise audio and video conferencing solutions.

City of Independence, from Analog Phones to Microsoft Teams Five9 over 20 Locations

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Chris A. Johnson, Municipal Cyber Center Manager at the City of Independence, Missouri, shares their journey from an old analog phone system to a modern cloud-based communication infrastructure using Microsoft Teams and Five9 with the help of AVI-SPL.

Microsoft Teams Phone Success at Derby City Council

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Kathie Anderson, IT Change Manager at Derby City Council, shares the experience of transitioning to Microsoft Teams and meeting the unique challenges faced by local authorities.

Upcoming Community Events

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

March Sessions

APAC – 19^th March| 17:30 AEDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

EMEA/NA – 19^th March| 15:30 GMT / 08:30 PDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 19^th March| 16:00 GMT / 09:00 PT | Virtual

Join us for this month’s Teams Fireside Chat, where we’ll be joined by Pete Daderko, Senior Director, Microsoft Teams Product Marketing at Microsoft, LIVE from Enterprise Connect. In the second half, we’ll open the floor to discussion and Q&A, giving you the chance to get your questions answered by the experts.

Copilot Fireside Chat

Copilot Fireside Chat with MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell – 26^th March | 17:00 GMT / 10:00 PT | Virtual

Join Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell for the new monthly Copilot Fireside Chat series! The next session is on 26th March at 17:00 GMT and we'll be joined by special guest Jeff Teper, President – Microsoft 365 Collaborative Apps & Platforms at Microsoft.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – February 2025

LyndsayCA1986 — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 16:00:03 GMT

The latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert community briefings, Podcasts and upcoming community events.

Expert Briefings

What organisations best fit Microsoft Teams Phone?

https://empowering.cloud/what-organisations-best-fit-microsoft-teams-phone/

MVP Mark Vale, Microsoft Teams Phone Architect, explores the evolving landscape of Microsoft Teams Phone.

Integration possibilities with Operator Connect and other carriers
Recent advancements, including Queues App, Service Level agreements and Survivable Branch (SBA) advancements
Integrating traditional telephony devices such as fax machines and door access systems within the Teams environment
Adoption trends among mid-market and SMB segments
Impact of AI and Extensibility in Teams Phone

Microsoft Places Deep Dive – Real-World Deployment, Features and Licensing

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-places-deep-dive/

Chris Fitzsimmons, Senior Solutions Architect and Nathan Chapman, CTO, who have both been hands-on since the early previews, provide insights into how Microsoft Places coordinates and optimizes workplace management.

Microsoft Places integrates with Microsoft Teams and Outlook to optimize workplace coordination and collaboration through an AI-powered interface
How Microsoft Places can be used to optimize office space use with actionable insights derived from workplace data
Features include location cards, room and desk booking and the capacity to coordinate in-office days for enhanced team collaboration

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update January 2025

https://empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-monthly-update-january-2025/

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the latest Microsoft news you need to know this month in less than 15 minutes.

SMS in Teams – MC971033
Teams Web chat widget – MC974364
Transcripts on by default – MC973519
Meeting Recap share link – MC966633
Mandatory Android Updates and AOSP – MC969451
MTR Captions additional languages - MC960811
MTR Windows 10 EOL
Queues App Roadmap
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
Events

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Microsoft Teams and Teams Phone in 2025

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy discusses key trends and insights in the unified communications and collaboration space and shares thoughts for 2025.

Teams Phone Product Management – Balancing Innovation and Fundamentals

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Emily Kirby George, Microsoft Teams Product Manager at Microsoft, share her unique perspective on product management in the world of Microsoft Teams Phone sharing challenges of balancing innovation with fundamental reliability.

From Microsoft to SOFTEL: Aaron Steele’s Teams Journey

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Aaron Steele, Practice Lead at SOFTEL shares his journey through Microsoft to his current role of SOFTEL, and his thoughts on the ever-evolving UC landscape.

Truly Cloud Native SBCs and Voice Services

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Mark Cobbold, Vice President of Product Management at Ribbon Communications, explores the evolution of telecom networks from hardware to cloud-native solutions.

Upcoming Community Events

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

January Sessions

APAC – 21^st January | 17:30 AEDT

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

EMEA/NA – 22^nd January | 16:00 GMT / 08:00 PST

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

Teams Fireside Chat

Teams Fireside Chat – 13^th February | 16:00 GMT | Virtual

Join us for this month’s Teams Fireside chat, where as usual we’ll be joined by a guest speaker from Microsoft who will share their insights. In the second half, we’ll open the floor to discussion and Q&A, giving you the chance to get your questions answered by the experts.

NEW Copilot Fireside Chat

Copilot Fireside Chat with MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell – 29^th January | 16:00 GMT | Virtual

Join Microsoft MVPs Zoe Wilson and Kevin McDonnell for the new monthly Copilot Fireside Chat series! The next session is on 29th January at 16:00 GMT and we'll be joined by special guest Dona Sarkar, Chief Troublemaker of the Copilot and AI Extensibility Program at Microsoft. She is currently running 100 experiments and hopes that people all over the world can use Microsoft's AI and Copilot products to reason over their own data and truly make AI useful for their business and lives.

Copilot Fireside Chat is a virtual event that takes place on the last Wednesday of each month at 16:00 GMT. All are welcome to come along and discuss everything Copilot. Bring along your Copilot questions and get them answered by the experts, with special guest appearances alongside hosts Zoe and Kevin.

Methodology and Scripts for Bulk Migration of Team Sites Using ShareGate Tool

GauravGuptaG — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 22:55:43 GMT

During a recent client project, we successfully migrated approximately 4,000 Team sites, totaling around 50 TB of data. I wanted to share the methodology we used, including the scripts, as it might be helpful for anyone in the community looking for a similar approach for their clients.

1. Migration Approach

1.1. Team Structure Creation

Copy Team with Data or Without Data:

For small team sites, copy the team structure along with data.
For large team sites, copy the team structure without data initially, then run Copy Site to transfer the contents and entire structure from source to target.
Note: We recommend the latter approach for all team sites, regardless of size as Sharegate doesn’t have control on the versioning with Copy Team. By Default, it copies all the available file versions.

For bulk operations, use the script provided below.

1.2. Document Target URLs

After creating the team structure in the target, record the Target URL.
Create an Excel file listing each Source URL alongside its corresponding Target URL for the Input file.

1.3. Execute Copy Operations

Run Copy Structure and Site for each Source URL and its corresponding Target URL.
For bulk operations, follow the script provided below.

1.4. Lock the sites in Source

Ensure that the source sites are locked after the migration process.

2. Copy Team site structure in bulk

Create an Input text file and enter the Team Display Name as show below:

With Data

==================================================

$source = Connect-Tenant -Domain <<SourceDomain.onmicrosoft.com>> -Browser

$destination = Connect-Tenant -Domain <<TargetDomain.onmicrosoft.com>> -Browser

$tracefile="Migrate_Teams_SourceToTenant$(get-date -format 'MMddyyyyHHMMss').log"

Start-Transcript $tracefile

$Teamslist = Import-Csv -Path "C:\Script\Input.csv"

Foreach ($SiteName in $Teamslist)

{

$TeamsName = "$($SiteName.'TeamDisplayName')"

$team = Get-Team -Name "$TeamsName" -Tenant $source

Write-Host "Migrating Team $TeamsName to Destination Tenant in Progress..." -ForegroundColor Green

Copy-Team -Team $team -DestinationTenant $destination

}

Stop-Transcript

===========================================================================

Without Data

===================================================

$source = Connect-Tenant -Domain SourceDomain.onmicrosoft.com -Browser -DisableSSO

$destination = Connect-Tenant -Domain TargetDomain.onmicrosoft.com -Browser -DisableSSO

# Start Transcript

Start-Transcript -Path "D:\Script\BulkCopyTeamWITHOUTData\BulkCopyTranscript.txt" -Append

$Teamslist = Import-Csv -Path "D:\Script\BulkCopyTeamWITHOUTData\Input.csv"

foreach($SiteName in $Teamslist)

{

$options = New-TeamCopyOptions -NoFiles

$TeamsName = "$($SiteName.'TeamDisplayName')"

$Getteam = Get-Team -Name "$TeamsName" -Tenant $source

Write-Host "Migrating Team $TeamsName to Destination Tenant WITHOUT DATA in Progress..." -ForegroundColor Green

Copy-Team -Team $Getteam -DestinationTenant $destination -CopyOptions $options

}

Stop-Transcript

3. Copy Site (Structure and Content) in bulk

================================================

Import-Module ShareGate

$csvFile = "D:\script\CopyContent\Input.csv"

$table = Import-Csv $csvFile -Delimiter ","

$sourceconnection = Connect-Site -Url https://SourceDomain.sharepoint.com/sites/TestTeambyGaurav -Browser -DisableSSO

$destinationconnection = Connect-Site -Url https://TargetDomain.sharepoint.com/sites/TestTeambyGaurav -Browser -DisableSSO

$copysettings = New-CopySettings -OnContentItemExists Skip

Set-Variable srcSite, dstSite

foreach ($row in $table) {

# Clear-Variable srcSite

Clear-Variable dstSite

$srcSite = Connect-Site -Url $row.SourceSite -UseCredentialsFrom $sourceconnection

$dstSite = Connect-Site -Url $row.DestinationSite -UseCredentialsFrom $destinationconnection

Copy-Site -Site $srcSite -DestinationSite $dstSite -Merge -Subsites -VersionLimit 1 -CopySettings $copysettings

======================================================

Note:

Input file should be in the format as mentioned below:

-VersionLimit 1: Limits the number of versions to copy

$copysettings = New-CopySettings -OnContentItemExists Skip: Creates a new copy settings object that specific to skip items if they already exist in the destination.
For incremental migration: Replace “Skip” with “IncrementalUpdate” in previous step

4. Lock the Sites in Source

==============================================================

Connect-SPOService -Url https://SourceDomain-admin.sharepoint.com

Import-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -DisableNameChecking

$siteUrlsFile = "C:\Sites.txt"

$siteUrls = Get-Content -Path $siteUrlsFile

# Loop through each site and set the lock state to ReadOnly

foreach ($siteUrl in $siteUrls)

Set-SPOSite -Identity $siteUrl -LockState ReadOnly

Write-Host "Site locked: $siteUrl"

}

============================================================

5. Migration of Private Channels:

Private Channels have their own SharePoint sites.
During the Team structure creation in step 1.1, Private Channels will be migrated to the target. However, their content will not be copied since they have separate SharePoint sites.
Create an input file mapping Source Private Channels to their corresponding Target Private Channels, and follow the steps outlined in Step 3.
Lock the Private Channels as described in Step 4.

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – October 2024

LyndsayCA1986 — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 15:00:00 GMT

Check out the latest Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 expert briefings, Teams Insider Podcast and upcoming community events.

Expert Briefings

Teams Private Line

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/374/Teams-Private-Line

MVP Carsten Lund Meilbak gives us an overview of Private Line in Microsoft Teams, covering everything you need to know to get setup.

Private Line allows users to have an additional number on their Teams client that operators independently from their main number’s forwarding rules and delegates
Private Line calls do not honour call forwarding settings or the ‘Do Not Disturb’ status
Current requirements for adding a Private Line
Configuring Private Line using PowerShell
User experience and interface

Copilot Usage Reports

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/375/copilot-usage-reports

Kevin Kieller discusses the importance and utility of Copilot usage reports, including making sure your organization is making the most of its Copilot licenses.

Why use Copilot analytics?
Detailed insights on app adoptions
Understanding usage trends
Promoting Copilot usage
Exporting and utilising usage data

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update September 2024

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/376/Microsoft-Teams-Monthly-Update-September-2024

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares the latest Microsoft news and updates you need to know this month.

No more General Channel
Callback for call queues
Microsoft Teams Intelligent recap coming for ad-hoc meetings and calls
Teams Client Updates Channel Improvements
5 Town hall updates
Additional languages – Copilot for Microsoft 365
CNS Retirement Updates – old phones will get an update
6 Microsoft Teams Rooms updates
New certified devices
Upcoming community events

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Mahendra Sekaran, Corporate Vice President Teams Phone, M365 at Microsoft

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Mahendra Sekaran, Corporate Vice President, Teams Phone, M365 at Microsoft discusses the journey of Microsoft Teams, his role, understanding IC3 (Intelligent Conversations and Communications Cloud) and ACS (Azure Communication Services) and how they are related to Microsoft Teams and leveraging AI in development.

Dynamics 365 Contact Center Explained with Alan Ross, Partner Group PM Manager

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Alan Ross, Partner Group PM Manager, Dynamics 365 Contact Center at Microsoft delves into Dynamics 365 Contact Center and the role of Copilot in improving agent productivity and customer experience.

Support Timelines for Android Teams Rooms and Phones – a Customer Perspective

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Dan Hall, Global IT Collaboration Solution Owner at a large manufacturing company gives us a view on using Android-based Phones and Rooms for Microsoft Teams and support timeline considerations.

AudioCodes CEO Shabtai Adlersberg – The AudioCodes journey, Hardware to SaaS to AI

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Shabtai Adlersberg, Co-Founder, CEO and President of AudioCodes shares the fascinating journey of AudioCodes over the past 31 years, from its establishment to becoming a leader in the voice industry and more recent journey into SaaS and AI.

What is the True Value of Copilot?

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Brett Johnson, Microsoft 365 Copilot GBB (Global Black Belt), shares his personal and customer experience of how Copilot in Microsoft Teams and beyond is streamlining meetings, communications and workflows.

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat - Queues App with Stella Lin & Casandra Marrero – 10^th October | 16:00 BST | Virtual

Join us for the monthly Teams Fireside Chat, where this time we’ll be joined by Stella Lin, Principal Product Manager of Microsoft Teams and Copilot and Casandra Marrero, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Microsoft Teams.

Teams Fireside Chat occurs on the 2^nd Thursday of every month at 16:00 UK. For each session, we are joined by a guest speaker from Microsoft who shares their insights. In the second half, we open the floor to discussion and Q&A, giving you the chance to get your questions answered by the experts.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

October Sessions

APAC – 22^nd October | 16:30 AEST | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

EMEA/NA – 23^rd October | 16:00 BST | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – September 2024

LyndsayCA1986 — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 15:59:18 GMT

Check out the latest expert briefings, Teams Insider Podcast, Microsoft Teams Operator Connect updates and upcoming community events.

Expert Briefings

Searching for Teams Messages

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/372/searching-for-teams-messages

In our latest community briefing, MVP Nikki Chapple explains the three methods to search Microsoft Teams messages.

The three methods to search for Teams Messages are:
- User search, content search and eDiscovery Standard
User Search: For end-users, quick and shows threaded conversation, security trimmed
Content Search and eDiscovery Standard: For admins, searches entire tenant but is limited to individual messages
eDiscovery Premium: Comprehensive search for admins, shows threaded conversations, detailed export

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update August 2024

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/373/Microsoft-Teams-Monthly-Update-August-2024

MVP Tom Arbuthnot runs through the latest Microsoft news and updates you need to know this month.

Microsoft Earnings FY24 Q4 Modern Work Insights
Multiple Teams Client Improvements
Custom Emojis and Reactions
Copilot Dashboard for all M365 Copilot users
Speaker recognition for all Teams Rooms on Windows
Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows 5.1.24.0
Microsoft Teams Devices updates
Android Teams Room and Teams Phone support date changes
Teams Displays end of support September 2025
Roadmap Watch

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Microsoft Mesh, Real-world Use cases and AI Futures

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Jeremy Dalton, Head of Immersive Technologies at PWC and Cathy Moya, Senior Customer Success Program Manager – Mesh Team at Microsoft, dive into Microsoft Mesh adoption and use cases and how virtual reality and virtual worlds can enhance collaboration and communication.

AV and UC Converging with John Bailey, Senior Vice President AVI-SPL

Audio Podcast | YouTube

John Bailey, Senior Vice President of Technology and Innovation at AVI-SPL, discusses industry changes and the convergence of AV and IT.

Microsoft Devices Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) Explained

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Yoav Barzilay, Microsoft Senior Product Manager, explains the Microsoft Devices Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) and how it fits in the Microsoft Teams devices ecosystem.

Lessons from BT’s Large Scale Microsoft Teams Rooms Deployment

Audio Podcast | YouTube

James Robinson, Director & Principal AV Consultant at AVenture Audio Visual, shares his extensive previous experiences with deploying Microsoft Teams Rooms at scale at BT.

Microsoft Teams Operator Connect Updates

The race to 100 countries or 100 operators continues with both countries and operators at the 97 mark. There's not too much to report here this month, although providers continue to be extending their Microsoft Teams Operator Connect coverage to more countries.

Providers Change:

Momentum – Canada and USA

Country Changes:

HALO - USA
LoopUp – Republic of Korea
Orange Business Services - Mexico
Tata Communicaitons – Uganda, South Africa and Dominican Republic

Check out our full Power BI report of all the Operators here:

https://members.empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-operator-connect-providers

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat with Ron Pessner – 12^th September | 16:00 BST | Virtual

Join other community members for the September Teams Fireside Chat where Ron Pessner, Microsoft Corporate Vice President - Product Management, will be joining us to share his insights.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

September Sessions

EMEA/NA - 16^th September | 16:00 BST | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

APAC – 17^th September| 15:30 AEST | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – August 2024

LyndsayCA1986 — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 15:00:00 GMT

Check out the latest community briefings, Teams Insider Podcast and Operator Connect Updates.

Community Briefings

Microsoft Mesh: The Future of Virtual Collaboration

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/370/microsoft-mesh-the-future-of-virtual-collaboration

In our latest community briefing, MVPs Miguel Tabera and Ángel Carrillo discuss the vision for the future of collaboration within Microsoft Teams and how Microsoft Mesh is enabling collaboration like never before.

Key features of Microsoft Mesh: Avatars, Immersive Spaces and Customer Immersive Spaces
Microsoft Mesh experiences in Microsoft Teams including hybrid meetings and use cases
Customization of immersive spaces: no code and pro code (Mesh toolkit) options
Future development of Microsoft Mesh with Copilot

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update July 2024

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/371/Microsoft-Teams-Monthly-Update-July-2024

MVP Tom Arbuthnot runs through the latest Microsoft news and updates you need to know this month.

Empowering.Cloud 2nd Anniversary
EU issues 'Statement of Objections' to Microsoft - what does this mean for Teams?
Important Microsoft Teams Rooms and Phone update (MC804766)
Dynamics 365 Contact Center Generally Available
Copilot for Sales Teams plugin
Microsoft Teams Bookable Desks Generally Available
Microsoft Teams Webinar Integration with HubSpot
New Optimized Microsoft Teams VDI
Changes for creating and managing Teams Phone (TP) resource accounts
Classic Teams end of support
Skype for Business Server Subscription Edition

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Truly Working from Anywhere with Teams Phone Mobile

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Robert Skyrme, BT/EE Technical Pre-Sales Consultant and Tom Arbuthnot explore everything Teams Phone Mobile, including its benefits and real-world use cases for field workers, sales teams and engineering teams.

Making your Microsoft Teams Meeting Room Intelligent

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Chris Fitzsimmons, Senior Solutions Architect at AVI-SPL and MVP Tom Arbuthnot explore Copilot and AI in Microsoft Teams Rooms and BYOD, what is available today, what is coming, and the value it brings.

Enhancing Efficiency at Century Communities with Microsoft Teams Phone

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Craig Cothern, National Director of IT Delivery at Century Communities, a top 10 home builder in the US, and Oli Lifely, Head of Sales at Luware UK, discuss Century Communities' Microsoft Teams journey and how Luware Nimbus addressed their unique communication challenges.

The Evolution of Microsoft Teams Rooms and Devices with Craig Durr

Audio Podcast | YouTube

Craig Durr, Chief Analyst and Founder of The Collab Collective explores the evolution of meeting room technology, AI's impact and multi-camera solutions.

Microsoft Teams Operator Connect Updates

The race to 100 countries or 100 operators is on – there's not too much to report here this month, although providers continue to be extending their Microsoft Teams Operator Connect coverage to more countries.

Country Changes:

GlobalConnect – Norway
CallTower – Australia
Tata Communicaitons – Kenya and Ukraine
Telnyx - Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Panama, Peru

Check out our full Power BI report of all the Operators here:

https://members.empowering.cloud/microsoft-teams-operator-connect-providers

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat with Miguel Corteguera – 8^th August| 16:00 BST | Virtual

Join other Empowering.Cloud community members as we chat with Miguel Corteguera, Technical Strategy – Global Customer Success at Microsoft at 16:00 BST on Thursday 8^th August.

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything

EMEA/NA – 19^th August | 16:00 BST| Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

APAC – 20t^h August | 15:30 AEST | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – April 2024

LyndsayCA1986 — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 15:00:00 GMT

In this month’s Empowering.Cloud community update, we cover the latest briefings from MVPs, the Microsoft Teams Monthly Update, updates in the Operator Connect world and upcoming industry events.

Community Briefings

Introduction to Copilot Dashboard

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/358/Introduction-to-Copilot-Dashboard

In the latest community briefing, Solutions Architect, Jack Fisher runs us through the Copilot dashboard within Viva Insights, focusing on access control, key areas of the dashboard, and FAQs.

Access it through Teams in the Viva Insights app or as a standalone Power BI app
Access controls managed by global administrators in the M365 Admin Center
Explore different tabs: Readiness, Adoption, Impact, Sentiment, and News and Research
Assess your organization's readiness for Copilot, track user adoption, measure impact, gauge sentiment, and stay informed with the latest AI research.

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update March 2024

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/362/Microsoft-Teams-Monthly-Update-March-2024

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the latest Microsoft Teams and devices news for March 2024 in this month’s update:

New Planner in Teams launched in public preview integrating To Do, Planner and Project for the web
New Outlook in-person events including attendees, RSVP in-person or online from March 2024 for OWA and new Outlook Desktop
Pure IP launch Mobile Connect for Microsoft Teams powered by Tango Extend
Microsoft Teams Rooms updates, both on Android and Windows
Shure MXW neXt 2 Mics Microsoft Teams Certified
Google DeepMind Co-Founder joins Microsoft as CEO of its new AI division
Microsoft Security Copilot GA 1st April 2024 as a capacity-based service

Setup of Resilient AudioCodes SBCs for Microsoft Teams Direct Routing

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/355/Setup-of-Resilient-AudioCodes-SBCs-for-Microsoft-Teams-Direct-Routing

Seth Schumacher walks us through, step-by-step, how to set up resilient AudioCodes SBCs for Microsoft Teams Direct Routing.

Configuring and Deploying AudioCodes SBC using VMware
Console level configuration
Graphic interface setup, licensing and other useful AudioCodes tools
Simulating internal IP PBXs and various SIP devices
Demo: configuring IP interfaces, setting up SIP interfaces, network translation rules and DNS name configuration

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

The Importance of Standards in Designing Meeting Spaces with Greg Jeffreys

https://www.teamsinsider.show/2111467/14623898-the-importance-of-standards-in-designing-meeting-spaces-with-greg-jeffreys

Greg Jeffreys, co-owner at Visual Displays, is back for a second podcast – this time him and Tom Arbuthnot discuss a holistic approach to room design including the role of user experience in room design, performance standards and current and future trends including multi-camera setups and spatial audio.

Modern Work Transformation Trends: AI, BYOD and the Long Tail of PBX with Tim Banting

https://www.teamsinsider.show/2111467/14592710-modern-work-transformation-trends-ai-byod-and-the-long-tail-of-pbx-with-tim-banting

Tim Banting, Practice Leader, Digital Workplace at Omdia and Tom Arbuthnot discuss key trends in digital transformation, including generative AI, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy and the persistence of PBX.

Deploying 1,000 Microsoft Teams Rooms Globally at AstraZeneca with Stephen McClellan

https://www.teamsinsider.show/2111467/14638099-deploying-1-000-microsoft-teams-rooms-globally-at-astrazeneca-with-stephen-mcclellan

Stephen McClellan, Associate Solutions Engineering Director, Conferencing at AstraZeneca and Tom Arbuthnot discuss the technology journey from full Cisco to Microsoft Teams at AstraZeneca, deploying over a thousand Microsoft Teams rooms.

Understanding E911 in Microsoft Teams with MVP Eric Marsi

https://www.teamsinsider.show/2111467/14656715-understanding-e911-in-microsoft-teams-with-eric-marsi

MVP Eric Marsi discusses the intricacies of E911 regulations and strict compliance requirements with Microsoft Teams.

Demystifying Microsoft Copilot: Real-world Use Cases & Experience with MVP Kevin McDonnell

MVP Kevin McDonnell, Copilot Strategy and Modern Workplace AI Lead at Avanade and MVP Tom Arbuthnot dive deep into Copilot, discussing the challenges and opportunities it brings to modern workplaces and real-world use cases.

Microsoft Teams Operator Connect Updates

With there now being 92 Microsoft Teams Operator Connect providers and 94 countries covered, the 100 mark is in sight!

The newest providers and countries they cover are:

ABB – Australia, New Zealand
BCX – South Africa
Hawaiian Telecom - USA

Check out our full Power BI report of all the Operators here:

https://app.empowering.cloud/research/microsoft-teams-operator-connect-providers-comparison

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat – 11^th April, 16:00 GMT | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Tom Arbuthnot

Guest Speaker: Vandana Thomas, Product Leader, Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile

Join other community members as we chat with Microsoft’s Product Leader for Teams Phone Mobile, Vandana Thomas on April’s Teams Fireside Chat. As usual, we’ll open up the floor to discussion to bring along your burning Microsoft Teams questions to get them answered by the experts.

Registration Link: https://events.empowering.cloud/event-details?recordId=recLQiD9PjZbQahog

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything – 15/16^th April| Virtual

EMEA/NA – 15^thApril, 16:00 GMT | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

Registration Link:

APAC - 16^th April, 15:30 AEST | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

Registration Link: https://events.empowering.cloud/event-details?recordId=recsMBe3O6J10xSC2

Comms vNext – 23-24 April | In-Person | Denver, CO

Comms VNext is the only conference in North America dedicated to Microsoft Communications and Collaboration Technologies and aims to bring the community together for an event full of deep technical sessions from experts, an exhibition hall with 40 exhibitors and some great catering too!

Registration Link: https://www.commsvnext.com/

Microsoft 365 Conference – 30^th April-2^nd May | In-Person | Orlando

The Microsoft 365 Conference is the world’s largest gathering of Microsoft engineers and community. This year’s event will focus on the transition to an AI-powered workplace, as well as the integration of remote and in-person work with AI-driven business productivity.

Registration Link: https://events.empowering.cloud/event-more-info?recordId=recjMUgRxmsteVank

Empowering.Cloud Community Update – March 2024

LyndsayCA1986 — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 15:00:00 GMT

In this month’s Empowering.Cloud community update, we cover the latest briefings from MVPs, the Microsoft Teams Monthly Update, updates in the Operator Connect world and upcoming industry events. There’s lots to look forward to!

Troubleshooting your Meeting Room Experience

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/329/Troubleshooting-your-Meeting-Room-Experience

Jason Wynn, MVP and Presales Specialist at Carillion, shows us how to get the most out of our meeting room experience, troubleshoot some common issues and explains how and why we’re trying to get all this information together.

Use of Teams Admin Center, Microsoft Pro Portal and Power BI reports
Configuration and live information from Microsoft
Monitoring hardware health and connectivity
Live environment analysis and troubleshooting
Network performance and jitter rates
Call performance analysis and optimisation

Introduction to Frontline Workers in M365

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/327/Take-Charge-of-The-Microsoft-Teams-Phone-Experience

MVP Kevin McDonnell introduces us to the topic of M365 for Frontline Workers, including challenges faced by frontline works and how Microsoft 365 can help provide a solution to some of these.

Challenges faced by Frontline Workers
Challenges faced by managers and organizers
Solutions in Microsoft 365 for Frontline Workers include:
M365 can help boost productivity, improve employee experience and provide personalized information and support for Frontline Workers

Where is My Microsoft 365 Data Stored?

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/350/Where-is-my-Microsoft365-Data-Stored

In another one of the latest community briefings, MVP Nikki Chapple tells us all about where our M365 data is stored.

The importance of knowing where your Microsoft 365 data is stored
Microsoft 365 data is stored in various locations including user mailboxes, group mailboxes, OneDrive, SharePoint sites and external locations
The location of data storage may vary depending on user location and compliance requirements

Microsoft Teams Monthly Update – February 2024

https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/349/Microsoft-Teams-Monthly-Update-February-2024

In this month’s Microsoft Teams monthly update, MVP Tom Arbuthnot gives us the rundown on all the latest Microsoft Teams news, including new certified devices and Shared Calling in TAC.

Teams and Microsoft Apps on Apple Vision Pro
Shared Calling now in Teams Admin Center
Teams 2.1 client cutover coming soon
Improved Copilot in Teams and in Windows for prompting, chat history and a prompt library
Microsoft 365 Backup Public Preview with fast restorability and native data format
Android 9 and Android 10 Device Certificate Extensions
Pexip bringing a ‘Teams-like experience’ to Cloud Video Interop (CVI)

Microsoft Teams Insider Podcast

Complex Voice Strategies for Global Organizations with Zach Bennett

https://www.teamsinsider.show/2111467/14508325

Zach Bennett, Principal Architect at LoopUp, came along to the Teams Insider Show to discuss Teams Phone options for complex and global organizations.

The Role of AI in Contact Centers and Regulatory Considerations with Philipp Beck

https://www.teamsinsider.show/2111467/14537425-the-role-of-ai-in-contact-centers-and-regulatory-considerations-with-philipp-beck

Philipp Beck, Former CEO and Founder of Luware, and MVP Tom Arbuthnot delve into key developments in the world of Microsoft Teams and Contact Center.

Microsoft Teams Operator Connect Updates

The numbers are continuing to rise in the Microsoft Teams Operator Connect world with there now being 89 operators and 86 countries covered. Will we reach 100 providers or countries first?!

Check out our full Power BI report of all the Operators here:

https://app.empowering.cloud/research/microsoft-teams-operator-connect-providers-comparison

Upcoming Community Events

Teams Fireside Chat – 14^th March, 16:00 GMT | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Tom Arbuthnot

Guest Speaker: MVPs and Microsoft speakers LIVE from MVP summit

This month’s Teams Fireside Chat is a special one as Tom Arbuthnot will be hosting live from the MVP Summit at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, where he’ll be joined by other MVPs for an expertise-filled session.

Registration Link: https://events.empowering.cloud/event-details?recordId=recJNyAGoTadbcfMN

Microsoft Teams Devices Ask Me Anything – 18/19^th March | Virtual

EMEA/NA – 18^th March, 16:00 GMT | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Michael Tressler, Jimmy Vaughan

Registration Link: https://events.empowering.cloud/event-details?recordId=recnbltzoOt2pQ2wF

APAC - 19^th March, 17:30 AEST | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Graham Walsh, Phil Clapham, Andrew Higgs, Justin O’Meara

Registration Link: https://events.empowering.cloud/event-details?recordId=recsMBe3O6J10xSC2

Everything You Need to Know as a Microsoft Teams Service Owner at Enterprise Connect – 25^th March | In-Person

Training Session: led by MVP Tom Arbuthnot

Whether you’re in the network team, telecoms team or part of the Microsoft 365 team, MVP Tom Arbuthnot’s training session will help you avoid common pitfalls and boost your success as he takes you through everything you need to know as a Microsoft Teams Service Owner.

Registration Link: https://enterpriseconnect.com/training

Teams Fireside Chat – 11^th April, 16:00 GMT | Virtual

Hosts: MVP Tom Arbuthnot

Guest Speaker: Vandana Thomas, Product Leader, Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile

Registration Link: https://events.empowering.cloud/event-details?recordId=recLQiD9PjZbQahog

Comms vNext – 23-24 April | In-Person | Denver, CO

Registration Link: https://www.commsvnext.com/

That’s all for this month, so look out for the next update in April with all the news from Enterprise Connect!