Tuesday's Tip 12 - #1 App I Recommend for your Virtual Office during COVID19 Self-Quarantine

Working Remotely with Microsoft Teams

These are crazy times we are living in where as a country we are being asked to self-quarantine and work from home as much as possible. With some of the most recent technology, this is even more feasible than it was just a few years ago. There are a lot of amazing apps that allow us to do this more effectively. Teams is one of them. Not only does Teams allow for a more virtual workplace but it also has features that allow us to still feel connected to our colleagues.

What is Microsoft Teams?

By now you've probably heard about Microsoft Teams - if not - this is a great place to start. If you use the current version of Microsoft Office (O365) it is most likely part of your subscription. Teams is replacing Skype for Business.

This weeks tip is best if you view the video so you can see the screens and hear the tips while you watch my screen. Check it out!

Teams Features 

With Microsoft Teams you can use any of the following features:

• Phone and video calls
• Instant (persistent) chat
• Video conferencing/meetings
• File sharing and collaborating
• Screen-sharing
• White board capabilities
• O365 app collaboration

What's a Team?

In the Teams app, a team is any group of people working on a project, a department or other group of users collaborating. The most features are available for internal teams, although there are settings that allow you to also utilize some of the features with external users too.

Channels

Within a team, you can create channels. Channels allow you to have topics within your teams. For example, you might have the following channels: Team Events, General, R&D, and Marketing.

File Sharing and Collaborating

Effective sharing and collaborating on files within your team is always critical but even more so when working virtually. Teams makes it easy and seamless by dealing with the permissions automatically. If you share a file in a team, everyone on that team automatically has permissions.

Calls and Video Calls

These are SO easy in Teams. It makes video conferencing so accessible. You simply find the person in your contacts and click video call.

Screen Sharing

Screen sharing is also really easy - simply find the contact or group you'd like to share screens with and click the button.

Tabs

Tabs are like links to the favorite places you need to go for that team.

Internal versus External Contacts

Depending on who you work with on a daily basis - you will want to better understand the internal versus external features. Teams works easily within your organization with almost no further setup. If you need to work with external contacts (for example contacts that aren't on your same domain) you may have to have your administrator modify a few settings.

If you need help getting setup or have a need for some training, stay tuned - I'm developing a Microsoft Teams training as you read this.

Your Microsoft Guru

Kari