Microsoft Teams is group collaboration software that you can use to help teams work together remotely. In the app, you can find chat, video calls and other collaboration tools. We will explain all the main features so you can decide if you should use them.
You can use Microsoft Teams for free, although larger teams can pay per user with Microsoft 365 Business to access Teams along with all Office 365 apps.
What is Microsoft Teams and what are its features?
Basically, Microsoft Teams allows you to work effectively online with Microsoft Office or any other integrated application. You can also take advantage of various features such as group meetings, private calls and more, which we will discuss in more detail below.
Meetings and Calls
With Microsoft Teams Meetings, you can easily host or join online meetings, and set the pace of the meeting presentation. This means that whether you want to have a one-on-one conversation or hold a conference with up to 10,000 participants, it is entirely possible with the Microsoft Group Meetings feature.
You start by arranging a meeting and setting a time and date. Then you can send out invitations in advance to whoever you want. When it’s time for a meeting, you can click immediately to start it, and anyone with an invitation can join it.
You can even send meeting invitations to people outside of your team. Meeting attendees can communicate using voice, video, or text and send files to each other. Screen sharing is also available.
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After the meeting is over, you will be able to exchange meeting notes and notes with each other, and you can also contact him via chat for more information.
Chat, work collaboration, and file sharing
While meetings can be a great place to plan for the future or to speed everyone up, most of your collaborative workflow will take place in group chat channels. The team owner can easily create separate chat channels, making it easier for users to communicate in their respective areas.
In each chat channel, team members can use @mention commands to mention other people, share links to Microsoft Office collaboration documents, or share other content such as images, videos, or attachments. All chat messages are stored online, and you can quickly search past conversations or bookmark important messages.
Additionally, each Microsoft team member can have one-to-one private chats and calls with other members in Microsoft Teams. This way, you can work together on tasks in the main chat channels for your team and reach out to others individually for more specific purposes.
Integrated apps and third-party functions
Microsoft Teams also allows users to add bots or app integrations to their team. For example, the Microsoft Team Trello app will add a new tab to your team that you can use to track your Trello progress.
Microsoft Teams can handle video calls on its own, but if you need to reach someone through Zoom, you’ll be happy to hear that Zoom integration makes this very easy without leaving Microsoft Teams at all.
What about Freehand? This allows users on your team to access the whiteboard during chat or scribble meetings. It’s ideal for adding comments to images or explaining details at large conferences.
There are countless integrations available with Microsoft Teams, and they can make your life together easier. You can create your own apps specifically for Microsoft Teams. Thus, if you have a large team but need a specific feature, you can hire a developer to create that feature for you.
How to get started with Microsoft Teams?
It’s easy to get started with Microsoft Teams. Let’s see how to put together your own team. We will then explain how you can join a team.
- First, you must visit the Microsoft Teams registration website and register for free. If you already have a Microsoft account, you can sign in to it.
- Follow the steps to set up your group.
- Then, when prompted, click the Download Windows Application button. You can also visit the download page
- Run the installer for Microsoft Teams, and then when it opens, sign in to your previously created Microsoft account. Click Continue when the Welcome to Teams message appears.
- You will be provided with a link that you can share with others to invite them to your team. This will also be emailed to you so you can use it later anytime.
- Click “Got it” and go through the registration procedure. A series of tooltips will appear explaining how channels, chat, and appointments work. Pay attention to the tab on the left – it is used to quickly switch between your team, notifications, files and private conversations.
- If you need to join a team, ask a member of your group for an invitation and follow the link in your browser. Enter your details if required, and then click Submit Request. After the request is approved, you can sign in to Microsoft Teams and click the dropdown to select the team you were invited to.
Is Microsoft Teams the only good team collaboration software?
There are countless collaboration apps out there, but only a few are often considered competitors to Microsoft Teams.
For most users, Microsoft Teams will be more than enough for effective collaboration, but if you’re curious about potential alternatives, one of the biggest competitors to Microsoft Teams is Slack. There are other great collaboration apps out there if none of them work.
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