Microsoft Teams Insider

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

• The increasing role of AI in meetings and communications
• The shift in device usage towards mobile phones
• Persistence of traditional PBX systems in the face of UCaaS
• Challenges and opportunities relating to hybrid working models

Many thanks to Landis, this episode's sponsor, for your continued support of the Empowering.Cloud community.

The Microsoft Teams Monthly Update for January 2024 is here! Covering the following and much more in only 13 minutes!

• Teams and Microsoft Apps on Apple Vision Pro 
• Shared Calling now in Teams Admin Center 
• Teams 2.1 Client New Bulk Installer 
• Improved Copilot in Teams and in Windows 
• Microsoft 365 Backup Public Preview 
• Android 9 and Android 10 Device Certification Extensions 
• Pexip bringing a "Teams-like experience" to CVI 
• Thanks to this month's sponsor Luware for your continued support of the community

Note that this is an audio-only version of the update, so if you would like to see the accompanying slides then you can watch the video version on the Empowering.Cloud platform here.

Philipp Beck, co-founder of Luware and Tom Arbuthnot discuss key developments in the world of Microsoft Teams and Contact Center.

• The journey of Luware from on-premises to the cloud
• The importance of SOC2 Type 2 Attestation for data security
• New Luware Nimbus features and omnichannel capabilities
• Adoption of power platform for line of business automation
• Impact of AI in the contact center space and training and implementation considerations

Thanks to Luware, this episode's sponsor, for your continued support of the Empowering.Cloud community!

Zach Bennett, Principal Architect at LoopUp and Tom Arbuthnot discuss Teams Phone options for complex and global organisations.

• Different options and challenges with Teams Phone deployment
• Migration from legacy PBX systems to cloud telephony
• The complexity of certain countries like Dubai, China, and LATAM
• Usage of analog devices and methods to integrate them with cloud-based solutions,
• Importance of selecting the right Operator Connect provider based on specific requirements

Tom Arbuthnot and Mark Licinio, Service Owner of Video Conferencing & Teams devices at  BP dive deep into Marks' experience with Microsoft Teams Rooms and Digital Workplace.

• Discussion of transitioning to Microsoft Teams from Skype for business
• The journey to enabling Microsoft Teams in the meeting room
• Mark speaks about managing and operating multiple OEMs, BYOD, Android, and Windows. 
• BP's approach to testing, operations and deployment
• How their teams evaluate and select equipment and OEMs
• The significance of community engagement and networking which eases their decision-making process in the UC realm.

Thanks to Neat, this episode's sponsor, for your continued support of the Empowering.Cloud community. 

The Microsoft Teams Monthly Update for January 2024 is here! Covering the following and much more in only 13 minutes!

• Copilot for Microsoft 365 is now available to all user accounts, including business plans, with no seat minimum. This is a big unlock for small businesses and E plans.
• Copilot Pro is launched for Microsoft 365 personal and family plans, offering AI assistance integration into Office apps.
• Teams Android Auto integration is coming in February, offering a full Teams client experience for Android users.
• Microsoft has made improvements to the Teams invite interface, making it clearer and easier to use.
• Thanks to this month's sponsor Pure-IP for your continued support of the community

Note that this is an audio-only version of the update, so if you would like to see the accompanying slides then you can watch the video version on the Empowering.Cloud platform here: https://app.empowering.cloud/briefings/328/Microsoft-Teams-Monthly-Update-January-2024

• Rohan Milne, CEO at Switch Connect and Tom Arbuthnot discuss the impact and role of AI in the workspace, with a focus on its potential and limitations in different applications
• The importance of understanding experience or voice and PSTN within the Managed Service Provider (MSP) community
• Strategies for optimizing Microsoft Teams as a collaboration platform rather than just a PBX
• Impact of AI in the contact center space and its potential to disrupt current models
• Examples of challenges of implementing Teams Calling in government and enterprise settings due to existing contracts and siloed operations are highlighted
• Limitations of AI in areas like the order of actual execution of tasks
• Potential for AI to evolve to a state where it can provide real-time insights and analytics for businesses
• How Teams can be leveraged for an ROI rather than being seen as an expense for businesses

Thanks to Ribbon, this episode's sponsor, for your continued support of the Empowering.Cloud community. 

• Greg emphasizes the importance of thinking critically about each component of a room and using standards as a guide
• The importance of standards and proper room design for Microsoft Teams rooms and technology-enabled spaces
• The real-world challenges of room design, the need for audio quality and the opportunity for improvement in remote experiences
• The ROI of investing in technology-enabled spaces

Thanks to Crestron, this episode's sponsor, for your continued support of the community and for helping to make content like this possible. 

• Damian Lewis is a digital workplace specialist at a global enterprise responsible for Teams telephony, Microsoft Teams Rooms, and other Teams-related projects.
• Tom and Damian discuss the challenges of migrating legacy telephony into Teams, especially the porting of numbers, which can be unpredictable and time-consuming.
• An ideal operational model for telephony in Teams is still being defined, including allocating responsibilities between the network team and the collaboration/digital workplace team.
• Damian's organization has established a weekly Microsoft Message Center review board to stay on top of updates, assess their impact, and communicate them to users through a "did you know?" communication.
• Keeping track of Message Center updates is crucial to avoid surprises and ensure smooth operations, especially for significant changes like the retirement of Stream Classic or introducing new features.
• Damian recommends following the YouTube channel "365 Message Center Show" hosted by Daryl Webster and Daniel Glenn for additional insights into Microsoft updates.

Thank you to Numonix, this episode's sponsor, for your continued support of the community. 

In this podcast episode, Tom Arbuthnot speaks to Vandana Thomas, Microsoft Teams Phone Mobile Product Leader about what we've seen in Teams Phone Mobile throughout 2023 and what we can expect to come in 2024.

Thanks to Luware for sponsoring this episode, check out their Microsoft Teams Contact Center solution here: Luware | Contact Center and Routing Solutions

• Teams Phone Mobile has launched in nine countries with six operators.
• There are plans to expand the market coverage, aiming for 10 more markets next year.
• The integration of AI features, such as CoPilot, in Teams Phone Mobile is a big focus.
• We discuss features planned in the future.