Cloud platforms that power communications have become an invaluable part of any enterprise technology infrastructure.
Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, companies were becoming more mobile and utlising remote workers in increasing numbers. What the crisis showed us is that the cloud isn’t just convenient, its mandatory if a company wants to stay resilient and competitive.
One of the cloud communication tools that organisations have been flocking to during lockdown is Microsoft Teams. The platform saw a one week increase in users of 37% in March, and in April it jumped another 70% in daily active users.
There are approximately 75 million daily active users on Microsoft Teams.
If you’re thinking that Teams is mainly a video conferencing tool, you’d be missing out on all the features this application has to offer small, medium, and enterprise companies.
Video conferencing is just one of the multiple ways that Teams and Microsoft 365 can improve and empower your organisation’s communications.
What’s Possible with Microsoft Teams?
A few of the challenges that companies of today face include:
- How to keep remote teams connected
- Improving customer experience in a competitive market
- Keeping documents and communications secure
- Compliance with GDPR and other data privacy rules
- Business continuity in the face of the unknown
Microsoft Teams was designed as a central communication and work hub. But beyond allowing your team to chat and video conference, it offers data security, compliance, and customer service features that can enrich your organisation.
Here is an example of some of the core areas where Teams can be an asset.
Communication Security
Company communications come in multiple forms, including emails, messages, phone calls, and webforms. When your team is mobile or remote, those communications can end up on personal devices. This means they may not be covered by any security policies you have in place and they could also be lost.
Teams allows you to capture and secure all your company communications in a single place. This includes:
- Emails
- Chats/messages
- Video meetings
- Phone calls
- Shared files
Having a central communication hub both ensures your company captures all vital business communications and is able to apply security to them to prevent data compromise.
Company & Department Level Connections
One new phenomenon of the pandemic is employees feeling disconnected or “stranded.” A survey of executives by the CNBC Global CFO Council found that approximately 40% had a problem with stranded employees due to staff working from home.
The channeled nature of teams, facilitates corporate connectiveness on a variety of levels, helping remote workers to stay connected to their department, project team, and entire company.
Teams allows you to create chat channels and “Teams” within the application. This organises communications and allows your employees to know where they can instantly reach someone in the organisation.
Improved Compliance and Data Security
Microsoft has built multiple security measures into Teams. Not only is the platform itself secure, but it enables companies to apply policies that can improve their data security and compliance efforts.
These include:
- Sensitivity Labels in Teams: Apply a sensitivity label to a newly created team to designate who can join it or who can access that team’s data.
- Information Barriers: Keep certain sensitive departments, like R&D, siloed from other team members or departments to reduce the risk of data leakage.
- Safe Links: This feature is currently in public preview and it helps prevent malware attacks due to clicking a malicious link that was shared within Teams.
Better Customer Meetings & Experience
You can use Teams to facilitate both inhouse and customer video conferences, but there’s another way you can use it to improve the customer experience.
You can invite guest users to your Microsoft Teams account, which allows you to use the platform features, like file sharing, chat, and real-time alerts with anyone you invite.
Here’s one scenario of how you could use this to improve customer experience.
- You have a large client that regularly purchases a range of your products.
- Create a channel in Teams named for that company.
- Give your client and their team the ability to interact with your support or sales team on that channel as guest users.
- This allows them to easily message, call, or video call whenever they need you (more responsive than calling your main office or sending an email)
Use Teams as Your Company Phone System
In addition to all the other features in Teams, you can now also use it as a full enterprise-class company phone system.
Microsoft Business Voice is an add-on to Teams, and it turns the application into a VoIP platform that allows users to make or receive any calls, including to and from landlines.
Here are just a few of the many features:
- Ability to port over your current phone numbers
- Full phone system features (hold, call forward, auto attendant, etc.)
- Cloud-only features (voicemail to text, auto translation, etc.)
- Answer calls from anywhere with computer, smartphone, or handset
Microsoft 365 Integration
Because Teams is part of Microsoft 365, it’s fully integrated with all the other Microsoft applications.
Connect directly to files in OneDrive or SharePoint. Jump into Word while on a Teams call to collaborate on a document without even leaving the application.
There are near endless possibilities when it comes to Teams integration both with Microsoft apps and third-party programs.
Work with FutureRange to Unleash the Power of Teams in Your Company
Teams has become a major communication platform that keeps on getting better. Our Microsoft 365 experts can help you use it to empower your communications and data security.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation. Call +353 1 2960 560 or reach us online.
