New Microsoft 365 Features That Will Streamline the Way You Work
Microsoft 365 has long been the trusted workflow solution for organizations in all industries. Microsoft 365 brings together and integrates all the critical applications that professional teams rely on to get day-to-day work done. However, with so many different applications being used, it can be hard to keep track of the Microsoft updates and improvements deployed for each app.
Microsoft is constantly working to fix problems and enrich the Microsoft 365 user experience. Still, professional teams are often too busy to keep constant tabs on what’s new with Microsoft 365 and how improvements will benefit them. That’s where we come in.
Our team of Microsoft specialists has created a quick guide of all the new Microsoft 365 features you should know about. These updates were just released in May, and we want to ensure that you and your team are getting the very most out of your Microsoft 365 subscription. Read on to learn more about the Microsoft 365 updates that will optimize the way you work across the app suite.
New Support Experience in the Teams and Security & Compliance Admin Centres
Many Microsoft 365 users are probably already familiar with the new support experience in the main Microsoft 365 Admin Portal. Since Microsoft received so much positive feedback from this initial deployment of the new support experience, they’ve smartly extended the feature to the Teams Admin Portal and the Security & Compliance Admin Portal.
The new support experience is simple and streamlined. Simply sign into either the Teams or Security & Compliance admin centres and select the ‘Need Help’ button to access the ‘Help’ pane. Then, the new support experience allows you to search for issue-specific answers directly, contact support, open request tickets, and view any existing request tickets that you have open. You’re always a click away from a variety of Microsoft 365 supports – it’s that simple.
Planner Integration With The Message Centre
Microsoft 365 has also streamlined Planner integration with the Message Centre to help users manage and triage their workflow. In addition to syncing messages between a Planner plan and the Message Centre, this new integration allows admins also to choose which types of messages get synced.
There are just a few things to keep in mind with this new integration feature. First, If you’re an admin trying to set up this feature, you must be a member of the Planner plan that you’re trying to sync to the Message Centre. Also, to access this feature, you must be an admin that has full access to the Message Centre – not just a reader role. Finally, keep in mind that this feature began rolling out in early May 2020, but will be rolled out in full, across the globe by the end of June 2020.
3×3 Video Layout in Microsoft Teams Meetings
Considering the influx of people working from home or remotely, this is an especially exciting feature that many users have been waiting to see for a long time. In Microsoft Teams video meetings, the number of visible participants that can be viewed on-screen simultaneously is now increasing from 4 video feeds to a maximum of 9. This new and improved layout is designed for greater team collaboration, and the technology is fully optimized for video.
This means that people who have their video feed turned on during a meeting will be displayed in full view on the meeting stage. Users who are participating with audio-only will appear as small icons in the lower part of the meeting screen. The best part? There’s no admin action required – these changes are fully automatic and now available seamlessly to all Microsoft Teams users. One thing to keep in mind though, is that everyone has different hardware and bandwidth connections. As such, the actual number of video feeds that get displayed will vary based on the different capabilities of participants.
Streamlined Data Sharing in Power BI
Finally, Microsoft has come up with a new and improved data sharing tool designed specifically for team sharing in Power BI. When using Power BI, users can now share report data to their teams seamlessly with the new ‘Share to Teams’ button. Senders can direct the recipient’s attachment to a specific chart in a report, or share the entire report with a specified team.
This new feature is incredibly user-friendly. When you’re working in Power BI and want to share data with team members, start by selecting the ‘Share to Teams’ button. Then, type in the team name you’d like to share with. Just like that, your report data will be shared directly with your team. Microsoft has made stress-free data sharing that simple.
Want to Learn More About User-Friendly Microsoft 365 Features?
If you have questions about Microsoft 365 or are wondering if you’re getting the most out of new and improved features, the team of IT professionals at Sydney Technology Solutions can help. Give us a call at (02) 8212 4722, drop us a line at [email protected] to chat with a live agent or book a consultation.
