Microsoft Teams: The answer to effective communication in 2021
Remote working is a staple within many businesses worldwide nowadays, and a key factor to its success is effective communication between colleagues. This begs the question, ‘What is the best way to achieve this?’. Well, in years past, the answer was simple; pick up your phone and ring them. However, with the present demands of working from home, effective communications requires a whole lot more. Simply being able to ring each other isn’t enough anymore. In order to be successful when remote working, individuals need the ability to share files, host online meetings, collaborate (in real-time) on documents, work together through chat, ring people, and much more – from any device.
Thankfully, there is software out there that can achieve all that is mentioned above and more. Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform that has seen a huge growth in the past year. As of November 2020, it had 115 million users, 95 million more than the previous year, which is a testament as to how valuable it can be too remote working.
We’ve answered some of the most common questions relating to Microsoft Teams below.
What is Microsoft Teams?
Launched in 2016, Microsoft Teams is a chat-based workspace within Microsoft 365. It is centred around business communication and allows for document sharing, online meetings and many more communicative features between teams.
How does Microsoft Teams work?
Thankfully, Microsoft Teams is very easy to use. It’s user-friendly design, and simplistic (yet effective) features allow users to gain a strong grasp on how to use it from the get-go. It also requires minimal set-up, meaning users can be up and running with it within the space of a few hours.
The software allows for strong user management among organisations, meaning its features can be controlled on a need-to-use basis. If all of its features aren’t required, that’s fine. The lead account can allocate specific features to individuals or teams. This is an advantage when first adopting Microsoft Teams, as it allows users to gain an understanding of the basic features the software provides, before diving into its advanced areas. Alternatively, users can have complete access to the entirety of it from the get-go, allowing them to organically learn about the vast amount of features it offers.
Microsoft Teams utilises cloud-based technology to allow its users to benefit from Microsoft’s enterprise-level security features, whilst being able to access their conversations and documents from anywhere in the world, providing an internet connection is available.
Is Microsoft Teams secure?
As mentioned previously, when using the software, users will benefit from Microsoft’s advanced security services. It is built on an enterprise-grade cloud, providing its users with the advanced security and compliance features that they should come to expect from an organisation as large as Microsoft.
It also enforces a two-factor authentication to provide an extra layer of protection against compromised credentials, protecting users accounts from unauthorised access. In addition to this, its ‘Advanced Threat Protection’ (ATP) helps to protect users from accidentally accessing malicious content, although this is an additional paid-for feature.
How much does Microsoft Teams cost?
The price of Microsoft Teams is very dependent on the features that are required by the organisation. Prices begin at as little as £4.50 per month for a basic business plan which provides easy remote solutions, with secure cloud storage and Office Online.
Is Microsoft Teams right for my business?
If you’re a business that is looking for a cloud-based solution to improve the communication channels between your colleagues whilst providing an easy-to-use file management software, then you can’t go far wrong with Microsoft Teams. The great thing is you can tailor the solution to fit your business requirements, without having to dig deep into your pocket.
Having adopted Microsoft Teams within our business, we have certainly seen the benefits that it brings, particularly since the pandemic started. We’re able to communicate and share documents with each other easily, whilst utilising the video meetings for important team meetings, such as – ‘Friday Night Drinks’.
If you believe that Microsoft Teams is suitable for your business, or would just like some extra information, fill out the contact form below and one of our experts will respond to you promptly.
