Welcome to your monthly round-up of all the latest features and updates from Microsoft. This month we have been adjusting to working under lockdown with COVID-19 still dominating the headlines. This month we bring you a range of new features which can improve your utilisation of your current software including Yammer in Teams, Business Voice, and Audience targeting on SharePoint.
Yammer on Teams
Last November, Microsoft launched the new look Yammer and their Communities app. Well, you can now access this in your existing Microsoft Teams platform. No need to move between the two platforms now or get confused as to where the conversation is taking place, it’s all being held together. Simply pin your Yammer app in the Navigation and get talking.
Business Voice available to small and medium-sized businesses
As businesses are more widely working from home, there is a need to set up a way of working which is secure, sustainable and connects employees through the same system. Microsoft Voice allows your employees to communicate through Microsoft Teams as well as answering incoming calls from clients and customers. This is hugely beneficial as it can all be managed through the same secure system and can run at home or when you are back in the office. This has now been made available for smaller businesses (as well as larger organisations).
At ThinkShare we can help you set up Microsoft Teams plus Voice for your workforce, helping you to improve productivity, stay connected and keep your business working. Find out more here.
Power Automate can now access specific files
Power Automate (previously flow) is a powerful tool which can allow you to program specific actions taking away the manual requirement of a user carrying them out. These can range from adding new content to a spreadsheet or get push notifications when you receive certain communications.
For those who utilise Power Automate, you can now use the platform to run on specific files or items contained within a library. Therefore, this makes for a more powerful action and enables you to request more of the system and further increase productivity.
Audience Targeting on SharePoint
SharePoint sites can become busy workspaces and content can get missed. Now you can target specific content to the desired audiences. Site owners can turn this function on and off but once active, any site editor can start targeting specific navigation links and menus to specific audiences. This will help ensure that your content is seen by the right employees and will help to quieten the noise of unnecessary or irrelevant content.
Stock Images on SharePoint
Ok so not a ground-breaking development which is going to change the world, but we know that images can impact our mood and likelihood of engaging with the content. Microsoft have now added a stock image library to your image selector. Brighten up your SharePoint site, create professional looking and engaging content and inspire your employees.
Keeping your business secure when working remotely
With more businesses working from home, security becomes more complicated and difficult to manage. To ease security concerns with remote working, Microsoft are adding the Azure AD Premium P1 License to Microsoft 365 Business Premium (previously Microsoft 365 Business). This will allow you to get access to features such as Cloud App Discovery, application proxy, dynamic groups, and more. This will help employees maintain secure access to work apps from home connections. Find out more here.
Understanding how remote working impacts your organisation
Microsoft have added new data to your 365 usage reports so that you can get a better understanding of how remote working is impacting your organisation. Find out about the usage of all Microsoft 365 activity, calendar activity, active users, SharePoint, and Teams usage and more. Learn about the usage reports.
We hope this new feature breakdown was useful, and you can utilise some of the above features to improve usability and employee experience. We regularly share tips on how to make the most out of both Microsoft SharePoint and Teams on LinkedIn and Twitter, you can follow us here or you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter to get these tips directly in your inbox.