New updates across Microsoft 365 for hybrid working

In the last Microsoft edition we discussed new innovations coming to Teams Rooms, Fluid and Viva to navigate the new hybrid working world. This time, we take a look at the new updates Microsoft 365 have released to further support hybrid workers.

Microsoft Teams updates – Create tasks and more

Create tasks directly from a Teams message

Often conversations through messaging create follow-up actions, but creating a task in a separate app can be inconvenient or easily forgotten. To make things quicker, Teams will now allow users to create tasks in any chat or channel conversation. Users can simply click the ellipses located in the pop-out menu and then click ‘More options’, followed by ‘Create task’. The tasks can be tracked via the app in Teams.

Spotlight multiple users

To allow users to create a focus on specific people, both organisers and presenters will now be able to use the spotlight feature on up to seven participants at the same time. Simply spotlight an individual, then click on the context menu and select ‘Add spotlight’.

Manage attendee camera settings

Sound and video disruptions often affect the workflow in meetings, so now users can manage attendee audio and video permissions. The new features allows users to configure the permissions to either have all attendees’ camera enabled or disabled before the meeting. This can also be applied to individual attendees.

Easily find people and information

Make connections within your company

Microsoft’s Organisation Explorer enables users to quickly find and explore people and relationships through a new browser experience. The feature can be used within Outlook to discover team relationships, see their skills and availability. The new feature is currently in preview.

Find people with enriched profile cards

Looking to find information quickly about people in your business? Powered by Microsoft Graph, profile cards aggregate and organise a large scale of signals across the business as people continue to work in Microsoft 365. Profile cards further deliver contextual information about a person.

Soon, Microsoft Graphic connections will be able to pull information much more quickly with enhanced profile cards. The information will be sourced directly from HR management systems like Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, and many others.

Personalise the Microsoft Bookings experience

Microsoft Bookings is now equipped with administrative controls and two new roles which allows dictation of level of access and control. You can now also take advantage of new branding options for company logos, colour themes and rich text editor to personalise confirmations, cancellations and reminders.

Appointment scheduling will also be simplified with easier calendar switching, filtering options and more. Users can experience the new features by toggling on the ‘Try the new bookings’ switch located on the top right corner of the Bookings web app.

Minimise busywork and simplify your tasks

Outlook mobile with Cortana

Save time by using Cortana to respond from anywhere, all by using your voice! Cortana is now available in Outlook mobile and enables users to use their voice to send emails, find out when their next meeting is and even set up meetings. Currently this is available iOS users but will be available for Android soon.

Automate meeting scheduling

Microsoft have released Scheduler, a new service powdered by Cortana to automate meeting scheduling. Users can add Cortana to emails and ask to find an appropriate time and day to meet. This will then prompt Cortana to work with the Schedule service to find times and send out invites. Administrators will need to add the service to their subscription and enable it in the admin centre.

Yammer discussion insights

With Conversation Insights, businesses can measure the reach and impact of Yammer discussions with analytics. The insights feature impressions, engagement, trends and breakdowns reaction types for each discussion. Members can see the insights for conversations they create, and admins can see insights for all conversations created. Simply click on the ellipsis on the top right of a Yammer conversation.

Visio on the web landing page

The new Visio on the web landing page produces an enhanced start experience. The start page gives Visio for the web users a similar experience to other Microsoft 365 apps – therefore allowing easier file discovery and file creation.

The new experience further includes better categorising of templates and samples, a new search experience and performance improvements. Want to experience the new landing page? Go to Office.com, click on ‘All apps’, and then the Visio app tile underneath the Office 365 tab.

Outlook extension in Microsoft Edge

Users can now download Outlook extension in Microsoft Edge to quickly read, send and receive emails. The new extension also allows easier calendar management, tasks and more all within the browser tabs and without going into Outlook!

If you’re looking for more information on how to navigate around the new updates, contact our Microsoft Gold Certified team today.