Automated Transcript
So, Tom, we’re back for another month with another set of updates from Microsoft. How are you feeling?
I’m feeling good. Good to be back. A short and sweet one this time, but important updates nonetheless. I’ll hand over to you to kick us off.
Completely agree, very important updates. So, firstly, I’ve done a little bit of categorisation. These updates are the ones that will matter most to the end users. There are some quality of life changes that we can see, one being that you can now forward chat messages. Previously, you’d have to do a bit of good old-fashioned copy and paste. Now you can forward them on to either an individual colleague or a group if required.
The next one is intelligent recap. We’ve discussed this a couple of times, but we keep coming back to it. Co-Pilot is doing everything at the moment, making a big difference in how we’re using Teams and, in a way, how we’re using Teams less because it can take away a little bit of that manual input, leveraging AI more and hopefully providing some productivity gains. The big takeaway this time is around intelligent recap for meetings. We’re seeing more and more meetings in our diaries compared to years gone by. The important thing is you don’t necessarily need to be there for all the meetings anymore. You can use intelligent recap, leverage the AI, and get some of that key information without having to sit through 40 minutes of stuff that might not be relevant to your job. Whether it’s people discussing topics that generate a task list or just seeing if your name has been mentioned and if you need to weigh in, that’s really important.
Another one, a bit of a strange one for those of us working from home, is dealing with backgrounds during important calls. You’re constantly thinking, “What is in my background? Has the dog left a chew toy? Is the washing hanging on the radiator?” Teams is going to help us out with that. With augmented reality added to our virtual backgrounds, you can tell it to do what you want. Maybe your lighting’s not very good and you need to soften it up, or you just need to tidy up the room behind you. You can tell Teams to do it for you. There’s never been a better time to be lazy.
The last one on quality of life for me is simplified audio-video controls. We get a bit more granular access to what our end-user peripherals are picking up. So, for me, if you can’t organise home lighting to save your life and you end up looking like a Bond villain on all your calls, you’re able to adjust some things to make sure it comes across better. Because we’re not always in a nice studio like this.
A lot to unpack in what you just said. If you want my two cents, which I hope you do, that’s why I’m here, on each of those points. We’ll kick off with forwarding chat messages. This is another small change that has a big impact and improves the general quality of life of the application for users. Any small change for one person can be a big change for another, and all these small changes add up to make the platform as user-friendly and intuitive as possible. It helps avoid confusion in group chats, making it clear who you’re messaging and what you’re relating a message to if you’re forwarding something. Although small, it’s a brilliant change, and I’m happy to see it.
Next, intelligent recap. Co-Pilot itself in Teams and across the whole Microsoft 365 ecosystem is something pretty special and exciting. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes from it in the future. The intelligent recap is a big deal, especially as it grows. People will want to interact with it more. For those constantly in meetings, with clashes and such, Co-Pilot will take that information, consolidate it, and provide a snapshot of the key points. Even if you’re not on the calls and your name gets mentioned, you still get all the information you need without relying on others to bring it to you and potentially forgetting.
The augmented backgrounds, again, would have been more useful during Covid when the wife and kids were running about in the background. But it’s a useful change nonetheless. Simplified audio and video controls, a small change, but anything to make the platform more accessible and user-friendly is a good point for me.
These are great features, but we are seeing some of these enhanced features come at a cost. There is a business model behind this, and with any value comes a cost. Some features are included with Co-Pilot licensing or Teams Premium licensing. Do you think we’re getting to a point where, if you want to leverage Teams to its maximum capability, investing in the right licensing is non-negotiable?
Yes, definitely. With how spread across the Microsoft suite these licenses are, having Co-Pilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., would eventually pay for itself with that added functionality. Users would be far happier with the platform, and because they have an AI doing the heavy lifting, productivity would increase. You’d see a faster turnover of work, and from that, you’d see a return on investment fairly quickly.
From an end-user perspective, there’s a lot to unpack and digest in terms of what will give value. Sometimes users may not know they want something until it’s available. What was it Henry Ford said? If you asked consumers what they wanted, they would have said faster horses. This functionality provides benefits even if users didn’t know they needed it. I didn’t know I needed to tidy up my background, but I’ll be doing it now.
Absolutely. Aside from the end-user piece, there are some quality of life updates from an administrative perspective as well, many linked to the Teams Premium license. When we’re talking about delivering value, it’s not just about end-users but also about who is maintaining and managing the platform behind the scenes.
First, we have maintenance windows that can be set within Teams Admin Center. We’re not going to push out updates to Teams-managed devices during business hours, minimising disruption to users. It also helps with after-event issues. If a meeting keeps dropping out or has poor call quality, maybe a user doesn’t report it straight away. With Teams Premium license, telemetry data extends up to seven days from the conclusion of the event. So, even if a user takes a couple of days to report an issue, IT admins have a better chance to diagnose and resolve call quality issues.
We’re also seeing a lot more federation as Teams is widely adopted across industries. Organisations are connecting their users via Microsoft Teams for communication. Previously, reporting on this was limited, but now we have an external federation report. IT admins can see how many messages are going across federated tenancies and how these connections are being used.
Controlling data is growing in importance, especially related to meetings. With Teams Premium license, administrators can set privacy policies for meetings, preventing chat messages from being copied or forwarded for sensitive reasons, such as HR or disciplinary meetings. This extends to meeting playback if recorded, with the ability to apply watermarks, available on mobile and web too.
There’s a lot there. What stands out to you?
The last two points go hand in hand. Controlling data is crucial, especially when federated with another organisation. Cyber security is huge, and this is another layer to keep data safe. The last point is really important for keeping organisational data secure.
In terms of federated reporting, it can be crucial for assessing business compatibility in mergers or showing the value of acquisitions. It can also apply to different business divisions, supplier relationships, or even customers. Federation ensures information is freely passed to run services smoothly.
The management of devices is important too. With significant investment in Teams telephony and native devices, ensuring they are up to date without disruption is key. Policy-based updates that roll out of hours reduce stress for IT admins and ensure smooth operation.
Capturing real-time telemetry data is useful. If a call quality issue persists across multiple people and calls, having that data helps diagnose and resolve it. People are busy and may not report issues immediately, so extending the telemetry data availability is beneficial.
These updates aren’t about making drastic changes but evolving the platform gradually. Over time, these small changes add up to a significantly better platform. Microsoft listens to users and applies updates accordingly, adding value for those invested in the ecosystem.
Absolutely. During the pandemic, some people didn’t like Teams as their platform of choice, but you can’t deny the constant improvements being made. Microsoft is continuously rolling out updates to enhance user experience, which is crucial in a tech-driven world.
Thank goodness for these updates because I’ve got a mortgage to pay. So, I need the blog. We need to be here to hand out the good stuff.
Thank you very much for joining us on this edition of Gamma Books. It was a short and sweet one, but we’ll be back again soon with more updates.
