Most companies are no stranger to the Microsoft Office suite of products. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have been an integral part of “getting stuff done” since the 1990’s. But how familiar are you with one of their 21st century tools… Microsoft Teams?
This collaborative teambuilding platform was launched in 2017 as a way to help companies take advantage of evolving mobile technology and the way today’s workforce communicates.
Do you ever struggle with keeping everyone on the same page when information is coming at you from texts, emails, online meetings, and more? With so many communication points, it’s easy for things to get missed or duplicated unnecessarily.
If you don’t have a central communication point for your team, a project can easily get stalled because one person thought a task was finished, when it was held up awaiting approval. “Oops! I must’ve missed that email!”
Technology Visionaries helps companies harness their technology so it’s empowering, not confusing. Software and apps should increase your office productivity and connect your team, not drive you crazy. This is one reason we’re big believers in Microsoft Teams.
Work productivity improves by 20-25% with connected employees
Just by doing something as simple as providing a platform for your employees to communicate and connect with each other on daily tasks and projects can increase their productivity by 20-25% according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute.
Microsoft Teams is such a platform and it’s one we help our clients understand and benefit from. At Technology Visionaries we’re constantly searching for new ways to satisfy the needs of our clients and help them innovate.
Let’s take a look at what Microsoft Teams is and how it can give your business a competitive advantage.
What is Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams is a collaborative platform that works with Office 365 programs. It includes communication tools that bring multiple data channels together into one central hub.
Basically, it’s like a command post where your entire staff can check in with each other, instantly message back and forth, ask questions, assign tasks, schedule meetings, and share documents.
Example of How it Works
Let’s give an example of how this software could improve upon one typical task, putting together a new client PowerPoint presentation.
Usually what happens (the old way) is that one person on your sales or marketing team will make a first draft of that client presentation. Then they’ll email it, copying the pertinent team members for input.
They might get 8 to 15 emails back with various edits or comments…
“That’s great! But it needs a value statement.” Or “Could you use a different font and better background image?” You get the picture.
But these comments might not come in all at the same time. About half of them might come in within 24 hours, and another copy of the presentation is drafted, but then a few hours later other comments arrive, but are they on the original draft or the second one?
It can be confusing, because it’s not in real time.
Now imagine that the original presentation draft was shared via Microsoft Teams. Immediately everyone would get a notification (mobile or desktop), could see the file and respond as easily as texting, in real time. No one has to dig through an email or have a ton of “reply alls” to sort through.
Top 6 Benefits of Microsoft Teams
Now that you have the idea of how this central online office hub works, let’s take a look at 6 of the major benefits it can bring your company.
SharePoint Integration
How much time is wasted emailing files back and forth? That’s one reason Microsoft created SharePoint as a digital document library, kind of a “one stop shop” for corporate files.
Microsoft Teams makes it even more powerful by allowing teams to collaborate within SharePoint, keep all their files in one place, and easily share the most recently updated copy with each other.
Video Conferencing
Want to have a meeting with all your remote team members in one place? Microsoft Teams makes it easy with their video conferencing tool. See everyone’s smiling face and meet as if you’re in the same room, without needing to purchase plane tickets!
You can also use Microsoft Teams to host online video webinars or presentations for your clients and expand your reach by meeting with customers halfway across the world, all from the comfort of your office.
Collaborate within Office Programs
Microsoft Teams integrates with all Office 365 Apps, like:
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- OneNote
- PowerBI
Say you have two team members coauthoring your corporate sustainability report. They can efficiently collaborate within the same Word file in real time using Microsoft Teams.
Use it With Multiple Other Programs
You might be thinking… what can Microsoft Teams do beyond just Office 365 collaboration? It turns out, quite a lot!
Staff can customize their Microsoft Team workspace by adding any one of about 120 other apps that can be used within the communication hub. These include popular apps like Google Analytics, Evernote for Teams, MailChimp, Salesforce, and more.
Use it Across Multiple Devices
Today’s office doesn’t just use desktop computers. More workload is being shared across smartphones, tablets and other devices. Microsoft Teams not only connects all your typical technology, it can also be used on desk and conference phones and meeting room systems.
You Might Already Have it for Free
If you have an Office 365 Business Premium or Business Essentials plan, then you’ve already got access to Microsoft Teams included. So, getting started with this powerful tool wouldn’t cost you any more on your subscription. And if not, then you may want to think about upgrading.
Want to Unleash the Power of Microsoft Teams at Your Office?
Intrigued and want to learn more about unlocking the power of Microsoft Teams? Our Technology Visionaries experts can help your team get connected! Contact us online or call 732-587-5960 today.
Most companies are no stranger to the Microsoft Office suite of products. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have been an integral part of “getting stuff done” since the 1990’s. But how familiar are you with one of their 21st century tools… Microsoft Teams?
This collaborative teambuilding platform was launched in 2017 as a way to help companies take advantage of evolving mobile technology and the way today’s workforce communicates.
Do you ever struggle with keeping everyone on the same page when information is coming at you from texts, emails, online meetings, and more? With so many communication points, it’s easy for things to get missed or duplicated unnecessarily.
If you don’t have a central communication point for your team, a project can easily get stalled because one person thought a task was finished, when it was held up awaiting approval. “Oops! I must’ve missed that email!”
Technology Visionaries helps companies harness their technology so it’s empowering, not confusing. Software and apps should increase your office productivity and connect your team, not drive you crazy. This is one reason we’re big believers in Microsoft Teams.
Work productivity improves by 20-25% with connected employees
Just by doing something as simple as providing a platform for your employees to communicate and connect with each other on daily tasks and projects can increase their productivity by 20-25% according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute.
Microsoft Teams is such a platform and it’s one we help our clients understand and benefit from. At Technology Visionaries we’re constantly searching for new ways to satisfy the needs of our clients and help them innovate.
Let’s take a look at what Microsoft Teams is and how it can give your business a competitive advantage.