Remote collaboration has become the norm in today’s working world. In fact, a recent survey reported 4.3 million US employees work from home at least half the time, and by 2028, three-quarters of companies expect to be partially remote. With this in mind, it’s clear that remote and hybrid work situations are the future – and you need the right collaboration software to adapt.
Whether you need to chat with colleagues, or want to collaborate on projects, Microsoft Teams is a great option for remote collaboration. Collaborating via virtual meetings and team projects is faster than with email or phone calls.
And because you can chat in real-time, you’ll feel like you’re working together even when you’re not physically in the same room.
What is Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams is a collaboration hub app under the Microsoft 365 productivity suite. It comes with the main aim of making remote and hybrid workforces more efficient by providing a quick and easy way to communicate and collaborate.
It has been built with the modern workspaces in mind, enabling collaboration and work-life integration. With a modern, simple, and intuitive user interface, Teams helps teams communicate and share content in real time across any user devices.
Collaborate on documents in real-time
With its real-time editing capabilities, Microsoft Teams is an ideal app for working on documents together. You can create a group, work on Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents together on separate devices in different locations, and then discuss and criticize the changes.
This way, you’ll be able to maintain the overall quality of the document, and make comments as the project progresses. You can also use Microsoft Teams’ threaded conversations to work on a document. In this case, the team members will be able to see the whole discussion of the content related to the document.
Integration with SharePoint and OneDrive
Microsoft Teams allows you to share files with your colleagues easily, provided that you’re using either SharePoint or OneDrive for Business on your network. To enable this feature, create a team site in SharePoint and share it with the users on your network. Team sites in SharePoint allow users to browse and view files from the site browser.
With this integration, you can upload your files from OneDrive or SharePoint to Microsoft Teams and then share them with your team members. You can also create new files by uploading them directly from the Microsoft Teams interface.
This helps to create a more unified experience for groups who work together on a project. It also makes it easier to find the file you are looking for when you need it. All you have to do is type in the name of the file, and Microsoft Teams will search your OneDrive or SharePoint storage for that file and show it to you.
Business benefits of using Microsoft Teams
Real-time communication: You can have conversations that feel like you’re in the same room. With instant translation, anyone can communicate with colleagues around the globe. You can also communicate with people who speak different languages. Collaborate on projects with people across teams and organizations, share files or just hang out with your friends.
Remote access: You can have the same features as if you were in the office. Remote access allows teams to work together and access all their work files, regardless of location. All you need is a web browser.
Collaboration: Collaborate on projects in real-time and talk via text or voice chat while you work. Teams has private and group chats based on your work needs, and access to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
Business optimization: Leverage your data to improve business outcomes with advanced analytics and insights.
Shared files access: Microsoft Teams has an inbuilt file sharing feature and you can also use third-party apps for remote file access. You can share files across Teams, Skype, OneDrive, and Dropbox.
Security and privacy in the cloud
Security is another key advantage of Microsoft Teams. Microsoft automatically encrypts all data in transit and at rest with end-to-end encryption to ensure the safety of your data.
Security features:
- Multi-factor authentication
- Data encryption
- Access management
Microsoft Teams allows admins to set the level of privacy for each user, as well as handle team-wide privacy settings that allows the admins to manage who can access what.
Microsoft Teams: the key to your collaboration hub
Microsoft Teams is a great communication tool for teams. It has all the essential tools for business communication, as well as integrations with Microsoft 365, OneDrive, and SharePoint, so users can easily collaborate on documents, share video calls and message each other using the same platform. All of these features let users easily communicate with each other, organize their work, and get things done together.
The Microsoft specialists at Jelia Technology Solutions can help you get started with Teams – implementing it into your workspace, training your staff on its uses, and optimizing security features for maximum privacy.
