What is Microsoft Teams used for? Short Answer:
Microsoft Teams is a powerful collaboration tool that revolutionises traditional team communication.
With features such as video conferencing, voice calls, instant messaging, and file sharing, Teams provides a unified platform for enhanced productivity and efficiency. It comes free with Office 365 subscriptions and integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft applications and third-party apps. Teams offers benefits like boosted employee engagement, flexible working options, and increased efficiency.
While it may have limitations in phone system features and call quality, alternatives like Horizon Collaborate and MiCollab offer advanced capabilities. Overall, by adopting Microsoft Teams or exploring alternative unified communication tools, businesses can optimise collaboration, streamline communication, and drive success in the digital era.
Find out more about our UCC options including Microsoft Teams: Find out more...
Microsoft Teams is a Unified Communications tool
Unified Communications Tools were born from the need of businesses to be more flexible in their approach to working with suppliers, customers and internally with their staff.
Flexible working is a rising trend and it empowers teams to work from anywhere in the world. Mobile devices in particular are becoming an extension of the corporate network so workers can be productive anywhere.
Essentially, Unified Communications means a business can communicate using different channels of communication from one seamless application which increases the efficiency, profitability and productivity of a business.
For example, a typical Unified Communications tool will be an application but from that application, you can conduct a Voice call, Video call, Instant Message, Share Documents and Calendars with multiple people, internally or externally.
Unified Communications tools, like Microsoft Teams, are revolutionising the way businesses operate.
Let’s take a further look at the pros and cons of Microsoft Teams.
10 Pros of Microsoft Teams
- 1. Easily collaborate with internal and external contacts via Chat, Conference call, Text, or Video Call: Whether it's a quick chat, a scheduled conference call, or a video meeting, Teams provides various channels for effective communication within the organisation and with external partners or clients.
- 2. Included with your Microsoft 365 licence: Teams is a part of the Microsoft 365 suite, ensuring that organisations already subscribed to Microsoft's productivity tools can leverage Teams without any additional cost, making it a cost-effective solution.
- 3. Integrate easily with other Office and over 150 third-party apps: Teams offers integration with a wide range of Office 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint, streamlining workflow processes. Additionally, it supports integration with over 150 third-party apps, allowing users to access and utilise their favourite tools directly within the platform.
- 4. Share, access, and store documents: Teams provides a centralised platform for sharing, accessing, and storing documents, fostering collaboration and ensuring that team members have easy access to the latest versions of files. This helps to improve business productivity and efficiency.
- 5. Access previous meeting notes and recordings: The platform allows users to access previous meeting notes and recordings, helping with knowledge retention and allowing team members to revisit discussions from past meetings.
- 6. Access from any device; desktop, tablet, or mobile: Teams is accessible from any device, including desktop computers, tablets, and mobile phones, across multiple operating systems (Windows, iOS, or Android). It’s super flexible and enables users to stay connected on the go.
- 7. Host and improve live meetings: Its robust meeting capabilities allow organisations to host various types of meetings, from small team discussions to large-scale webinars and company-wide events, accommodating up to 10,000 attendees both internally and externally.
- 8. Benefit from added security: Added security is provided thanks to end-to-end encryption, robust administrative controls, and compliance features, ensuring that sensitive information remains secure.
- 9. Streamline collaboration and enhance connections: It also integrates seamlessly with Office 365 apps, enabling users to collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and projects in real time. Team members can also post messages in relevant channels and easily send messages to fellow employees.
- 10. Implement easily: Expect easy implementation, minimal setup and configuration. Organisations can define usage policies and encourage adoption to ensure that Teams becomes an integral part of their workflow, thanks to its user-friendly interface and intuitive features.
6 Cons of Microsoft Teams
- 1. It’s not a phone system: Although you can call other team members, don’t expect the same intricacy as you would get from an advanced telephony system – such as call transfers, barring and call flows.
- 2. Teams isn’t suitable for Contact Centres: Due to reduced telephony features, Teams is unlikely suitable for Contact Centres as their main telecommunications tool. It could however be used as an internal collaboration tool.
- 3. You’ll pay extra for call plans: You can expect to pay extra to enable the call feature on teams.
- 4. Voice quality is low: When using Microsoft’s SIP Trunks element, voice quality is often reduced when compared to advanced phone systems.
- 5. Online meeting experiences are limited: When compared to other UC tools (like Zoom, for example), Teams offers limited features when it comes to video meetings and conferences.
- 6. It may be difficult to transition from Outlook: When making the switch from Outlook to Teams, some team members may struggle with the transition at first. Training sessions are recommended to ensure everyone is getting the most out of teams.
Should I make the switch to Microsoft Teams?
If you’re ready to take the leap and try out Microsoft Teams, we recommend you run Teams alongside your existing phone system.
For businesses with advanced phone systems, Teams simply won’t cut it as a direct replacement. Think of Microsoft Teams as an additional collaboration tool for your employees and partners to stay in touch.
Integrating your new or existing phone system
Your existing phone system can even be integrated with MS Teams. This way, you’ll benefit from the features of Teams along with the enhanced call features of your telephony system. To learn more, discover our phone systems and how we can help.
There are other Unified Communication tools to consider. We recommend: Horizon Collaborate and MiCollab.