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6 Microsoft Teams BONUS FEATURES Every Business Needs to Use

Microsoft Teams comes bundled with your Microsoft 365 monthly subscription. While it offers internal teams the ability to share files and messages online, that functionality only scratches the surface of what Microsoft Teams can do. Teamwork, collaboration, video conferencing, and even business phone service are just a few of the convenient features Microsoft includes its Team application. What is even more noteworthy is the fact that if your team has Microsoft 365 installed, Teams are free. This blog will point out what we believe are the 7 most powerful, money-saving features and what it takes to deploy these features in your business.

It’s no secret that most of our employees work from home or find themselves more productive when working from home. Regardless of location, teamwork is key to keeping your operation running smoothly. Throughout the last few years, collaboration and teamwork have undergone significant change, impacting how we work. With the development of new collaboration software, we can now do in one software package what used to be found in several disconnected applications.

So, how do Teams consolidate current operational tools, reduce money, and stand out as a tool that significantly benefits business? Below, we look at some of Microsoft Teams’ benefits and why businesses should take a closer look.

Let’s start with the obvious – Team Collaboration

Nowadays, many businesses find it challenging to get employees in the same room at the same time. Microsoft Teams makes it easy for team members to communicate remotely, removing the need for users to use email or show up in person.

Instead, Teams give users the ability to fire up a video, post messages to members in specific teams, share files, and get their colleagues’ attention in a channel conversation or chat. It’s hard to believe that such a powerful tool is so easy to use, and it saves you the hassle of switching between software and email accounts.

Project Management Made Easier

Microsoft Teams makes it a lot easier to focus on specific projects, which helps teams work more efficiently and collaborating on high-priority tasks, especially when working remotely.

Microsoft Teams helps make it easier for users to find the information they are looking for in a drag and drop dashboard environment. It divides data into selected channels, so you’ll only be able to view messages, documents, and meetings about that particular project or channel. Furthermore, there’s less chance of you being distracted by unimportant conversations, and you’ll spend less time cleaning up and deleting unwanted messages, which, as we all know, can be extremely time-consuming to organize.

Microsoft Teams makes it possible for you to focus on your tasks at hand, only giving you information relating to your current work.

Security Features that Avert Data Leaks

Every business is concerned about your data breaches. Microsoft Teams comes to the rescue with an in-built initial security feature set up, which most other competitors don’t have.

Microsoft Teams also includes various authentication protocols, making it more difficult for unauthorized users to access your data. These include organization-wide two-factor authentication or a single sign-on through Active Directory.

Teams need to communicate and share files freely, and Microsoft has put in a lot of effort to create a solution that’s designed with security and compliance in mind.

Advantages of Microsoft Teams as Your Business Phone System

That’s Right! The days of seeking the best VOIP cloud vendor or laying out large cash buyouts on a phone solution is finally over.  Microsoft Teams can completely replace your business’s phone system.  But there is a catch.  Getting Teams to parallel the functionality of your existing phone system will take some work.  Porting phone numbers, programming the system, the call routing, voicemail schedules, picking the right phones, understanding dial plans, and figuring out how to support your users may require additional help and knowledge. But that shouldn’t inhibit you from taking this additional step. When you work with an IT expert like Blue Fox Group, we leverage our telephony background to analyze your current phone setup, see how it transfers to Teams or works within Teams. Blue Fox offers simplified dial plans that include unlimited calling, disaster recovery routing, call recording, and more.  We suggest you not try and go on this journey alone. Work with a technology partner who can guide you through deploying Teams in place of your business phone system correctly through project management, the system set up, deployment, and training. And even though your phone system is now in the cloud when you work with technology partners like Blue Fox, we provide ongoing support, so you have a real person on the other side of the line when you need help and not a resource link or search page.  What you save in eliminating your current phone system short -term will save you countless dollars long-term and add flexibility in the way your employees communicate from anywhere on any device.

3rd-Party App Integration

Microsoft understands that customers that use Microsoft products might need to use other apps as well. Teams make it easier for users to integrate with Outlook, SharePoint Online, Office Online, and Onenote, which means users don’t have to exit the app to complete their tasks.

Besides integrating seamlessly with office 365 apps, Microsoft Teams allows users to integrate with other third-party apps. There are hundreds of third-party apps on offer, from SurveyMonkey to other collaboration tools.

Easy-to-Use Interface

The Microsoft team has done a great job on the interface of their Teams Dashboard. This interface is not only intuitive and easy-to-use, but with just a few clicks, you’re able to get access to corporate data and team group chats, as well as third-party applications and services. With an easy to learn and use interface, Teams is a powerful and advantageous collaboration environment that will only grow in popularity and user adaption over time.

Microsoft Complexity, Simplified

While Office 365 may appear to be easy to use, certain complexities are built into the backend that makes the programming of Office 365 and its applications not as easy as they might initially appear. You may choose to organically implement Microsoft Teams in a “completely free for all” fashion where everyone in the company can do whatever they want with the platform. The adoption and usage of the Teams platform can grow organically.

Or you might take a controlled approach. This more managed approach involves mandating Microsoft Teams’ use for specific aspects of the company. It also involves tightly controlling who can use it and who can do certain things, resulting in a phased rollout plan across the company.

At Blue Fox Group, we have IT and the business phone expertise know-how to help consolidate non-Microsoft applications under the Microsoft 365 umbrella. We also help your team secure internal communication, maximize functionality, and enable staff members to work seamlessly from any location without skipping a beat. The Microsoft 365 suite is powerful, but only if it set-up to work the way that supports your staff and operations. Don’t waste time trying to cobble together disconnected business applications. Look to the Blue Fox Group Team for help and guidance.

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