Microsoft Teams (and Dynamics 365 Contact Center and Places) Monthly Update Briefing - June 2024

• New Dynamics 365 standalone "Copilot" Contact Center 
• Microsoft Places Public Preview 
• Team Copilot and Custom Copilot Agents - Copilot gets proactive!
• New Teams Devices 
• 9 Teams Roadmap Updates 

Thanks to AudioCodes, this month's benefactor, for your 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.

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.

• Teams Phone Mobile is an integration of the mobile identity with Microsoft Teams, eliminating the need for separate telephone numbers and voicemails
• It allows users to make and receive calls from Teams on various devices, seamlessly migrating calls between the native mobile dialer and Teams
• The integration is done at the network level, allowing users to take advantage of Teams features for every call, including compliance recording.
• The service is currently available through select mobile operators
• Use cases for Teams Phone Mobile include field workers, sales teams, engineering teams, and those focused on compliance or CRM integration

Thanks to Landis, this episode's sponsor for helping to make content like this possible!

Jamie Wheeldon, Chief Architect at Symity and MVP Tom Arbuthnot dive deep into the impact of generative AI on the Modern Workplace. Listen to their discussion around the challenges and opportunities that adopting AI technologybrings, and the need for organisations to educate employees on using AI tools effectively to drive meaningful change.

• Potential for AI to solve productivity and information overload challenges
• Ethical considerations including data security and intellectual property
• Microsoft's role in AI adoption including Copilot tools across Microsoft 365, GitHub and Power BI
• The need for a structured approach to adopting AI and continuous learning to leverage AI tools effectively
• The potential for AI to revolutionise education 

Richard Barrett, Microsoft 365 Technical Specialist and Tom Arbuthnot discuss the power of meeting recording, transcription and AI tools in Microsoft Teams, and how organisations balance the importance of explicit consent, controls and policies.

• How explicit consent for recording and transcribing meetings works
• The ability to control access and also easily share recordings where appropriate
• Importance of controls and policies regarding transcripts for industries dealing with sensitive data such as law firms and financial services
• The value of AI-powered features such as Copilot and Intelligent Recap in saving time and enhancing productivity

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

Randy Chapman, Microsoft MVP and Solutions Engineer at Logitech, shares his views on the current state of meeting rooms and BYOD, including manageability of devices at scale and the increasing importance of sustainability for customers when selecting room solutions.

• Different options for bring-your-own-device (BYOD) 
• The challenges of updating and managing BYOD devices at scale
• Importance of hardware quality and reliability when choosing room collaboration devices
• A growing emphasis on sustainability in the industry

Fellow MVP Adam Ball, Co-founder of Cloud Revolution and Tom Arbuthnot discuss the role of AI in contact centers, and the trends in cloud phone migration and meeting room technology.

• The potential of AI to disrupt the contact center industry
• The growing trend of cloud to cloud migration for Phone
• What customers really want from meeting room technology
• Optimising project efficiency and cost-effectiveness through large scale, fast and concurrent deployments

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

May Microsoft Teams Update -all the news and updates you need to know in 15 minutes!

•  Microsoft Teams Rooms 5.0 - new client, QR code join, Autopilot and more
• 'Follow a meeting' in Outlook
• Teams voice isolation GA
•  GA Multi-tenant organization capabilities in Microsoft 365
• New hardware - Neat Bar Gen2 and DTEN DCR200 Bar
• Neat and Shure Incorporated partnership

Thanks to Neat, this month's benefactor, for your 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.

Recorded live at Comms vNext, Luke Kannel, Product Specialist at Neat and Tyler Troutman, Market Development Specialist at Shure discuss Neat's and Shure's new integration and use case. Luke also gives an overview of Neat's newly released products. 

• New Neat and Shure partnership
• Neat's latest innovations: Bar Generation 2, Pulse and Center
• Shure's integration with Neat: Enhancing audio in large spaces
• Shure's diverse portfolio of microphone solutions for Teams Rooms 

Thanks to Neat, this episode's sponsor, for their support of the Empowering.Cloud community and helping to make content like this possible!

Richard Trestain, Product Marketing Manager at Jabra and MVP Tom Arbuthnot discuss the research conducted by Jabra on hybrid work and the preferences of Gen Z employees. They cover current trends in hybrid work, the expectations and challenges faced by Gen Z workers, and the role of technology in creating an inclusive and engaging work environment. 

• Hybrid work is becoming the norm, with around 6% of people working fully remote and 43% working fully in the office.
• Gen Z employees value flexibility and demand it in their jobs, with 89% of them having jobs that allow full flexibility.
• Gen Z workers have a different mindset about work, seeing it as a sandbox where they can do what they like, rather than a pre-constrained task like Tetris.
• Technology plays a crucial role in creating an inclusive and engaging work environment for Gen Z employees, with high expectations for audio and video quality.
• Companies need to focus on providing personal connection and engagement opportunities for Gen Z workers to prevent burnout and retain talent.

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

Jason Moulden, Global Alliances Technical Lead at Crestron and Tom Arbuthnot explore the changing dynamics of the AV industry and the impact of UC and AV increasingly coming together.

• The continuous interplay between AV and UC/IT domains as they converge with modern workspace
• Adaptation of AV technology in office spaces
• The trend of Android-based solutions for simplicity in setup and integration
• How Crestron address diverse customer needs across room sizes
• Role of cloud computing and advancements in self-configuration

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