A free upgrade to Windows 11 will begin rolling out to eligible Windows 10 PCs and PCs that come pre-loaded with Windows 11 will start to become available for users to easily buy. As PCs play a more central role in our day to day lives, Windows 11 is designed to bring you closer to what you love by empowering your productivity and creativity.
Adepteq have the rundown on this exciting new release:
The free upgrade starts on October 5 and will be phased and measured. New eligible devices will be offered the upgrade first. The upgrade will then roll out over time to in-market devices based on intelligence models that consider hardware eligibility, reliability metrics, age of device and other factors that impact the upgrade experience. Microsoft expect all eligible devices to be offered the free upgrade by mid-2022.
Being Microsoft Gold Certified Partners, Adepteq can provide Microsoft Licences for you to purchase. If you would like to speak to an expert for more information please contact us.
To read the full Microsoft article, click here.
Microsoft Whiteboard is a free-form, digital canvas where people, content, and ideas come together. Whiteboard integration in Microsoft Teams meetings is powered by the Whiteboard web app, which lets Teams meeting participants draw, sketch, and write together on a shared digital canvas. Users can share a whiteboard to make it available to all participants in a Teams meeting. That same whiteboard is simultaneously available in all the Whiteboard applications on Windows 10, iOS, and the web app.
How do I get started with a whiteboard in a Teams meeting?
Note: The ability to start a new whiteboard is currently limited to the Microsoft Teams clients on Windows 10, macOS, and for the web. The Teams apps for iOS and Android cannot initiate sharing a whiteboard, but they can collaborate once a whiteboard is shared.
If you share a whiteboard during a Teams meeting that is being recorded, it will not be part of the recording. Microsoft are yet to announce when this feature will be available.
After a Teams meeting, its whiteboard will be available to all participants from the Teams meeting chat, in a tab labelled Whiteboard. The whiteboard will also be available in the Board Gallery in the Microsoft Whiteboard apps for Windows 10 and iOS, so that meeting attendees can continue collaborating on a whiteboard even after a meeting has ended.
Teams meeting attendees within the same Microsoft 365 tenant can collaborate on a whiteboard. Anonymous, federated, or external users are not yet supported. Microsoft are yet to announce when collaboration will be added as a feature.
So where can Microsoft Whiteboard integration with Microsoft Teams take you? At Adepteq, we are delighted that Microsoft have given organisations the resources to remain engaged, creative and experimental through a collaborative feature such as Whiteboard.
If you would like to see how your workplace can enhance creativity and productivity during the pandemic and working remotely, contact us now to discuss your options.
Click here to read the full Microsoft Whiteboard Release Article.
Following the announcements in 2020 that Microsoft Teams replaces Skype for Business Online by the end of July 2021, we want to make sure that you have everything you need to have a successful migration. Whether you're thinking of upgrading to Microsoft Teams or enhancing your Microsoft Teams keep reading on to find out what the fuss is all about!
Microsoft Teams successfully extends the abilities of Skype for Business by bringing together calling, chats, meetings, collaborations, file storage and app integration into one single platform. This central hub streamlines the way teamwork is done, improving user satisfaction and accelerating your company's businesses plans. Microsoft are constantly making changes and updates to Microsoft Teams ensuring workforces are able to collaborate and communicate in a multitude of ways with limited restrictions. Your staff are working from home during Covid-19 and struggling to stay connected, and by migrating to Microsoft Teams we help you resolve this.
Working remotely has led to the need for people to feel connected whilst staying online. Gone are the days where we go to a conference room or pop to a colleagues desk for a catch-up. With Microsoft Teams, you won't miss out on the social interaction with video calls and instant messaging chats, as well as the ability to set up and schedule meetings one-on-one or as a group.
Our experienced developers and business teams are experts when it comes to setting companies up with Microsoft Teams. We are here to educate and make you feel comfortable with Microsoft Teams right from the set-up stage all the way to integrating it within workforces.
While the Skype for Business Online service will be fully functional until July 31st 2021, we encourage organisations to begin their journey today. Make sure you allow ample time to complete your upgrade prior to the retirement date.
Contact us for more information on upgrading to Microsoft Teams today by completing our form.
This month we are pleased to share with you lots of new features that are now generally available to improve your experience with meetings and calling, chat and collaboration, as well as a number of new updates to Microsoft Teams devices. Microsoft have updates on Teams platforms capabilities and are introducing a new section called "App spotlight" that showcases 3rd part apps available in Teams.
Live Captions with speaker attribution
Microsoft Teams added speaker attribution to live captions so that you can see who is speaking along with what's being said, making meetings more inclusive and easier to follow along.
Spotlight an individual video participant for all attendees in a Teams meeting
Presenters can now pin an individual video feed for all attendees to see during a Teams meeting. Once pinned, the individual identified as the spotlight will be the main video shown to all participants. This applies to PC, Mac, mobile (view only) and Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows.
Prevent attendees from unmuting in Teams Meetings
Meeting organisers and presenters can now prevent attendees from unmuting during the meeting and enable specific attendees to unmute when they raise their hands. This can be helpful for press conferences and classroom scenarios where you want to be in control of who's speaking. Learn more.
Advanced Production for Teams Meetings
Transform your Teams Meeting into a virtual stage with a new advanced production option for broadcasts. Network Device Interface (NDI) support for Teams allows event producers to convert each participant's video into a discrete video source that can be used in the video streaming production tool of your choice. This functionality enables you to use Teams meetings in new ways, including bringing speakers into Together Mode or customised views, to deliver professional broadcasts to the end point of your choice and reach audiences wherever they are.
Microsoft Whiteboard read-only mode
Microsoft Whiteboard read-only mode is available in Teams allowing for more flexibility for you to either present the digital whiteboard in read-only mode, or to allow other to edit and collaborate when given access.
Meeting & Calling recordings stored in OneDrive and SharePoint
Teams meeting and call recordings can now be stored in your OneDrive for Business or in SharePoint, providing the ability to share recordings with guests or external users, access meeting recordings faster, and manage recordings with security and compliance controls available to other file types in Microsoft 365. Teams Admins can select their recording storage location by updating policies using PowerShell. Learn more.
Updated functionality for downloading participant reports in Teams meetings
Meeting organisers, especially teachers and event organisers, often need to know who joined and how many people joined their Teams meetings. Now you can easily download a participant report after the meeting within the meeting chat. Microsoft have also added new data into the report that allows you to better manage your attendance. Learn more.
Changes in Incoming IP Video policy (New Audio and Video Policies)
Microsoft are updating their meeting policies to allow IT administrators more control over how video is managed in Teams meetings. Current policy can only be set to prevent outgoing video. Microsoft have extended the Allow IP Video policy to prevent both outgoing and incoming video as needed. Tenant administrators can use this policy to manage bandwidth. Learn more.
ARM64 Native Teams App
Unleash the full power of Microsoft Teams on your favourite ARM devices with the new native ARM64 Teams client now generally available. Stay connected and organised while enjoying improved performance, reliability, and battery life in devices such as the Surface Pro X.
New capabilities coming to Microsoft Teams Rooms
Features beginning to roll out to Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows include:
Dell Meeting Space Solution for seamless onsite and remote collaboration
Dell's newest Meeting Space Solution for Microsoft Teams Rooms offers a complete group collaboration ecosystem that includes the OptiPlex 7080 Micro running the Teams Rooms experience on Windows, Dell Large Format Monitors, plus Logitech Tap and ConferenceCams. With proximity detection and one-touch join, you can start meeting while instantly projecting content in the room and to virtual participants.
EPOS announces two new headsets certified for Microsoft Teams
The IMPACT MB Pro 1 UC ML and 2 UC ML have now passed the rigorous reliability testing required to be certified for Microsoft Teams. You can now experience high end audio tools that provide optimal comfort, easy call handling and rich, natural sound - all while reliable, intelligent technologies filter out unwanted noise, enhance audio and boost efficiency.
See the latest in Teams Devices here
New offline presence status
Let other know when you are not available in Microsoft Teams. You can now change your presence to "Offline". This allows you to have full access to Teams while signaling to colleagues that you are unavailable.
https://www.adepteq.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/StatusDurationFINAL.mp4
Language-aware proofing
Communicate using multiple languages in Microsoft Teams. If you write different messages in different languages, you now see spellchecking relevant to the language you use when typing a message in the Teams desktop app.
Templates for creation of a new Team
When creating a new team, you can now choose from a variety of customisable templates including event management , crisis response, as well as industry-specific templates like hospital ward and bank branch. Microsoft publishes a set of first-party templates and as an IT professional you can also create new custom templates for your organisation, allows you to standardise team structures, surface relevant apps, and scale best practices.
New file sharing experience
Team members share and work together on content from a single source of truth seamlessly with Microsoft Teams. You can now create a shareable link for any file stored in Teams and directly set the appropriate permissions. Additionally, you can set permissions for files stored in SharePoint or OneDrive while composing a private chat or starting a channel conversation. Learn more
Updated SharePoint pages app
Using SharePoint pages is a great way to consolidate and share content in the right context using images, Excel, Word and PowerPoint documents, video, links, links, Twitter feeds and more - all on the same page. And now yo can more easily add your pages as tabs in Microsoft Teams. Learn more
New and simplified global notification settings
As a user you can now configure and customise your notification settings through a newly designed notification setting section. This new experience makes it easier to find the exact notifications you want so you can keep track of the activity you care about. To access, go to your profile picture > Setting > Notification. Microsoft also added a new setting that allows you to turn off message previews in chat notifications if you desire more privacy.
Anonymous grading and marking in Assignments
Tackle unconscious bias and even the playing field in class with Anonymous Grading. When enabled in the assignment detail view, student's names are anonymised and avatars are temporarily removed, presenting a random list of students. This allows you as an educator to review work with identities hidden, no shuffling of paper involved.
View assignments across all classes
Being able to see what's upcoming, whether you're an educator or student, is critical to getting a handle on your week, month, or year. Now both educators and students can once again view upcoming and turned in assignments by class or view them across all classes. Just visit Assignments in your app bar on the left-hand side of Teams to view assignments across all classes. Students can also filter by category, see the due date, and assigned value of the assignment and more.
Off-shift access controls
With off-shift access controls, IT administrators can now configure Teams to alert you when you are accessing the app on your personal device outside of working hours. The feature prompts you to accept that you will not be getting paid for time spent on Teams to help ensure that you are not involuntarily working while not on shift and helps your employer to comply with labor regulation. The feature does not require active usage of the Shifts app, but it does require Shifts being configured and schedule data being the app; either added natively with Excel import or including workforce management API connectors like Kronos, BlueYonder and more. Learn more
Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare
Microsoft announced the general availability of our first industry-specific cloud offering, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, including the new Microsoft Teams EHR connector for Epic EHR. This allows clinicians to launch a virtual visit in Teams from within their electronic health record system. Learn more about how and about the many new features now available as part of the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare.
Microsoft Teams and Power Automate - Simpler automation for everyone
A new Power Automate app for Teams makes automating workflows easier than ever with new templates and a simplified editor experience.
Organisational branding for line-of-business Teams app catalog
IT Admins can now customise their Teams line-of-business app catalog using their organisation's branding. This enhances the user experience for end users and increase organic discovery and use of an organisation's line-of-business apps. Learn more
Resource-Specific Consent now generally available on the Microsoft Graph v1.0 endpoint
Microsoft have announced that Resource-Specific Consent (RSC) is now generally available on the Microsoft Graph v1.0 endpoint. Your Teams app can now call Teams Graph APIs from the BETA endpoint without needing admin consent. This capability empowers Team owners to install an app for their specific team and restrict the app's scope and access to data to only that one team, without needing the global IT admin to provision access. Learn more
App certification
Publishers building Microsoft Teams add-ins can now work with Microsoft to certify that their app - and its supporting infrastructure - protect the security and privacy of sensitive customer data. Certified apps receive a badge that is visible in AppSource and from within the Microsoft 365 tenant administrator's console. Microsoft strongly encourage app publishers to take advantage of this program, and over time, expect to make it a requirement. Learn more
Publisher verification
It's critical that IT Admins and end-users know that partner apps come from verified sources. Using a process that relies on a verified Microsoft Partner Network account, Microsoft now offers application developers a publisher verification service. Verified apps receive a bade that is visible in AppSource and in the consent dialog when a user or admin installs an application. Learn more
Clio is a cloud-based legal software that law firms trust to manage their practices and clients from intake to invoice. As the needs of legal professionals have changed over the last year, Clio has been focused on building solutions law firms need in this new digital-first reality. To make remote collaboration even easier, Clio customers can now check the status of their matter, scan recent communications, and plan for upcoming events all within Microsoft Teams. Learn more
Adepteq use Teams ourselves and have successfully planned, deployed, trained on and are supporting Microsoft Teams with many of our clients.
If you would like to know more visit our Microsoft Teams page or to discuss how Microsoft Teams can improve your communication and collaboration, then please contact us or call 0800 6444 365.
Microsoft Lists icon
At Build 2020, Microsoft introduced Microsoft Lists, a smart information tracking app in Microsoft 365. It has now been announced that Microsoft Lists begins roll out to Microsoft 365 business customers worldwide, starting this month with the Lists app in Microsoft 365 and next month with the Lists app in Microsoft Teams.
Starting a list is easy. Create and manage lists from any browser by clicking Lists in the Microsoft 365 app launcher. Get going quickly with one of our ready-made templates for issue tracking, asset management, employee onboarding, and more. Review the Microsoft Lists "Look Book" to learn more about the ready-made templates.
Create a new list inside Teams with conversations side-by-side. The above shows using the Asset manager template.
For Microsoft Teams users, simply add a list to a channel or create a new list directly in Teams. The Teams mobile app also gets a Lists update so you can view any list you added a tab to in Teams - even on the go. Available later this year on iOS, the new Lists mobile app enables customers to create, view, and manage all their Lists from their mobile devices.
Keeping track of information is part of everyday life. Writing things down or using spreadsheets works for simple things. But when you're dealing with hundreds or thousands of items and need to coordinate with other on your team and mapped to recurring business processes, it can quickly get overwhelming. And as the global pandemic has made remote work the new normal for many of us, we're also facing the added challenge of staying in sync while staying at home.
Easily create a new list from the Lists home using one of many ready-made templates. The above shows using the Event itinerary template.
We built Lists to help you save time and reduce hassle. As simple to use as a spreadsheet, Lists helps you easily track any information, invite other to collaborate, and use rules to keep everyone in sync - in addition to being able to customise forms and flows with the Power Platform. It's a simple, smart, flexible way to track information and get more done.
Millions of people use SharePoint lists and libraries every month in Microsoft 365 to track issues, manage inventory, report status, onboard new hires, build out event agendas, manage FAQs, and more. With flexible columns, forms, and views, you can build your own solution to meet your specific needs without knowing how to code.
For example, Lauren Taylor, the vice principal or Manitou Park Elementary School in Tacoma, Washington, created a custom list to track students' reading abilities. Now teachers can quickly determine what each student needs without going through spreadsheets or reams of paper.
Assistant school principal, Lauren Taylor, works with students (Maniou Park Elementary School in Tacoma, WA).
The Jim Henson Company created a list to track celebrity and production visitors at their Los Angeles studio. What used to be a manual process done on a clipboard, this new approach using lists has saved time, giving security guards a simple, mobile-friendly way to track current visitors, flag unexpected guests and make decisions more quickly.
Avanade, a global professional services firm with 29,000 employees, now can rapidly prototype, iterate, and publish solutions that better connect employees with critical information, without expensive planning, development, and IT maintenance costs.
With corporate data available on their mobile devices, Avanade sellers are now more productive and better able to serve and attract clients.
Fully integrated with Microsoft 365, Lists works seamlessly with other apps, such as Excel, SharePoint, Power Apps (custom forms), Power Automate (customer flows) and Power BI, enabling out customers to build powerful information tracking solutions at a fraction of the time and effort it typically takes to create custom apps from scratch.
Example productivity app utilizing a list-item view form customised using Power Apps to bring in additional data from Power BI - all as a tab in Microsoft Teams.
Q: When can i expect to see Lists app and the Lists app in Teams for my Microsoft 365 tenant?
A: The new Microsoft Lists home page and associated eight ready-made templates will begin roll out by end of July 2020, first to Targeted Release customers and then to the broader production environment - inclusive of enterprise, education, and government plans. The Lists app in Microsoft Teams will begin roll out by the end of August 2020. All are expected to be complete in production worldwide by the end of October 2020.
Q: What will happen to SharePoint lists moving forward?
A: Your investments to date in SharePoint lists carry forward. Microsoft are building off the 20+ years of innovation within SharePoint and taking steps to make them even more accessible within other apps. The tens of millions of people using lists today will see new list capabilities like updated user experiences, creation in Teams, improved Quick Edit and more. Learn more about how Microsoft Lists evolve from SharePoint lists.
Q: What subscriptions do I need to use Microsoft Lists?
A: Lists is available through Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription plans where SharePoint is included. Learn more about Microsoft 365 business plans.
Q: How does Lists differ from Microsoft To Do and Planner?
A: Microsoft Lists is an information tracking app that enables teams and organisations to manage a process or workflow. While To Do and Planner are purpose-built apps, specifically designed to help individuals and teams manage their work using tasks. Commonly, when a task is completed, it becomes hidden from view. Microsoft Lists, on the other hand, enables users to collect, view, filter, sort, collaborate, and share structured information across status, life cycle, ownership, and more. Lists integrate with the Power Platform to design, build, and extend productivity apps alongside Power Apps (custom forms) and Power Automate (custom flows).
Contact us today if you would like us to discuss in more detail.
Due to the wealth of information being released around Microsoft Lists, we will be sharing more with you very soon.
Adepteq are experts in SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Teams. Call us on 0800 644 365, email info@adepteq.com or complete our Contact Form.
Over the last few weeks we have seen a large increase in the number of people conducting Microsoft Teams meetings as they move to remote work arrangements. Whether you are brand new to the tool, or conduct all of your meetings on Teams, we want to provide you tips on how to have the best online meeting experience.
With Teams, you can host online meetings with people both inside and outside of your organisation. The next time you schedule a meeting in either Teams or Microsoft Outlook, simple include the email address of your external guests and Teams will take care of the rest - including sending an email invitation complete with instructions on how to join your online meeting. Your meeting guest can click on the link, enter their name, and join the meeting from their browser - all without having to install a plug-in or download the Teams client.
Teams provides the meeting organizer with many options when it comes to defining the roles and permissions for online meeting participants. For example, you can choose to enable a meeting lobby, which lets the organiser define when and who is admitted into the meeting. You can also designate who can present, mute attendees, and start/stop recordings, just to name a few.
If you can't meet in person, meeting online with video is the next best thing. Encourage everyone in your Teams meeting to turn on their video. Turn on background blur to keep the focus on you instead of what's behind you.
When sharing content in Teams meetings, you control what others can see. You can decide whether you need to show your entire desktop, or just a specific window. If someone is sharing their desktop or an application, you can request the presenter to give you control.
Whether running a few minutes late, or double-books with a fire drill, there's a good chance that someone will miss the meeting. Instead of bringing them up-to-speed in another meeting, simply record your Teams meeting. not only is the recorded meeting stored in the cloud - and a link provided in the meeting chat - but participants can search the meeting transcript and jump to the point in time of the meeting where it was mentioned.
Microsoft Teams has vastly improved the way we operate and collaborate here at Adepteq. A seamless user friendly experience is a must for all business and organisations, and Microsoft Teams delivers. If you would like to learn more about Teams or Office 365 please contact Adepteq today!
