Hello Readers, I hope you’re well.
Welcome to Episode 64 of the UCStatus Podcast. This episode features me (@randychapman), Mark Vale (@markvale83) and Shawn Harry (@shawnharry).
This week we focus on all the stuff we (I) found intertesting from Microsoft Ignite 2024 in Chicago. I happened to be there this year for the first time which was awesome. I do hope to go again in the future.
Microsoft published blog posts on new things for Teams and Copilot announced at Ignite
There were a lot of great sessions, but only a couple focused on Microsoft Teams, and in particular, devices. This is one I refer to a lot in this podcast episode. Presented by Ilya Bukshteyn, Pete Daderko and Kerry Perez Heffernan at Microsoft. I attended this live in person. But there is a recording
Other notewoprthy Teams Sessions
Here’s the list
Copilot
Copilot Actions:A new AI agent feature called Copilot Actions was introduced, allowing users to automate repetitive tasks within Microsoft 365 Copilot.New AI Administrator Role:A new role called AI administrator was announced, specifically for managing and overseeing AI and Copilot administration in organizations.Copilot in Microsoft 365 Admin Centers:Copilot will be available in the Microsoft 365 admin center, Teams admin center, and SharePoint admin center, with general availability targeted for January 2025. This feature will help optimize routine tasks, generate insights, and enhance decision-making for IT professionals.Copilot in Teams admin centerCopilot in Pro Management PortalNew Agents and Tools:New agents in Microsoft 365 were introduced to unlock SharePoint knowledge, provide real-time language interpretation in Microsoft Teams meetings, and automate employee self-service.Copilot Agents:Agents can automate and execute business processes, ranging from simple prompt and response tasks to more advanced and fully autonomous agents.Copilot Control Systemhelp IT professionals confidently manage Copilot and agents securely.Copilot file summary – upload a file to Teams and let Copilot summarise the contentsCopilot in Teams can analyze content shared on-screenPlaces
Places is now Generally AvailableRecommended in-office days with CopilotManaged Booking with CopilotPlaces FinderWorkplace Presencespace analytics with Copilotteam guidancequick bookNow a detour talking about licensing. How to decide who needs what license or feature from a specific license, and how to manage it once you do.
Random Teams News
Storyline integrated in TeamsNew chat and channel experienceLoop workspaces in a channelName pronunciation in profile cardsSkin tone setting for emojis and reactionsLive transcription in Teams meetings support for multiple spoken languagesIntelligent recap for calls from chat and ‘Meet now’ meetingsDisable copying of live captions, transcripts, and recap for meetingsTranslated intelligent meeting recapActive meeting protection notifications of sensitive screenshared contentMeeting sensitivity upgrade notification based on shared fileA meeting sensitivity upgrade can now be triggered when an attendee shares a file in a Teams meeting chat or during a live share that has a higher sensitivity setting. The meeting’s settings can be upgraded either automatically or via a recommendation to the organizer, to inherit the same sensitivity setting as the file shared in the meeting.Moderated meetings in TeamsModerated meetings gives organizations with Information Barrier (IB) tenants the option to allow users with conflicting policies to join the same meeting in the presence of an approved moderatorEmail verification for external participants to join Teams meetingsBrand impersonation phishing protection personal blockBlock malicious users from your organizationadmins can block specific people for a list of usersNew admin policy to prevent bots from joining Teams meetingsSupport for SMS text notifications to attendees in Microsoft Bookings appNew calendar experience in Microsoft TeamsEnhancements to iPad Teams calendarNew expanded gallery view for minimized meeting windowNavigate meetings and messages hands-free, with the power of AI in the driver’s seat [iOS]: Available now in public previewTown Halls & Webinars
Support for 50k attendeesDVR CapabilityEvent ChatWatermarking in WebinarsOut of the box experience for eCDNEmbed supportTeams Rooms and Devices
Speaker recognition: Generally available for Teams BYOD rooms in early 2025Auto-association of peripherals in BYOD roomsSpeaker attribution in BYOD roomsAutomatically set presence in BYOD roomsDual display enhancements on Teams Rooms on Android – up to 18 video tiles on dual screen MTRs (3×3 on each display)Cloud IntelliFrame video feeds on Teams Rooms on Android and mobile devicesUsage reports for bookable desks in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portalCopilot in Teams Admin CentreAI assistant in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portalTeams Phone
Survivable Branch Appliance (SBA) can now support outages for up to 7 days: Generally available nowDelayed simultaneous ring settingsQueues app available on Teams phone devicesCallback for Call QueuesSpeed dial support on line keysCollaborative call delegation on Teams phone devicesTeams phone device users will soon be able to share access to their phone line with a specific group of users, without a structured delegation system. This enables group members to receive and initiate calls on behalf of others, enabling a simple and collaborative communication experience.Thanks for listening! Catch you next time.
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