Microsoft to push Teams desktop app to existing Office 365 accounts
Microsoft plans to automatically install the Teams desktop app on Windows devices linked to existing Office ProPlus accounts, the suite of desktop applications that comes with subscriptions to cloud-based Office 365.
The move is an escalation of Microsoft's campaign to get the 180 million users of Office 365 to adopt Teams. The company has declined to say how many people are using Teams but said more than 500,000 organizations have opened accounts.
"That's quite a big deal," said Tom Arbuthnot, principal solutions architect at Modality Systems, a Microsoft-focused systems integrator. "Microsoft should see a bump in [Teams] adoption from this just because it's showing up in people's machines."
Microsoft began automatically installing the Teams desktop app with new purchases of Office 365 earlier this year. Now, the company will push the Teams desktop app on existing customers. Those customers already have access to Teams as part of Office 365, but many have not used it.
Those who have Microsoft update their ProPlus desktop apps monthly will get Teams on July 9, while those who get less frequent updates will get the app either in September or January. Businesses can install the app manually at any time and can opt out of the auto-installation.
The auto-installs will not affect Mac users, nor will they affect businesses using Office 2019, the nonsubscription version of the same suite of apps.
Microsoft to bring Kaizala messaging to Teams
In other Teams news, Microsoft will add the communications features of large-group chat app Kaizala to Microsoft Teams over the next 12 to 18 months. Most significantly, the consolidation could make it easier for Teams users to chat with external collaborators.
Microsoft launched Kaizala in 2017 as a low-bandwidth, mobile-only chat app targeted at enterprises with decentralized workforces. The app has gained some traction among businesses outside of the United States, including McDonald's Turkey and Philippine Airlines.
Similar to WhatsApp, Kaizala lets businesses add users to chat groups using only a phone number, making it easier to communicate with people outside of an organization's Azure Active Directory, such as partners, suppliers and customers. This capability is expected to come to Microsoft Teams by the end of 2020.
The first set of Kaizala features -- its checklist, training, quiz and praise widgets -- are slated to arrive in Teams by the end of 2019. Next year, Microsoft will give businesses using Teams the ability to create groups in the same style as Kaizala, which supports large chat groups in which various subgroups have restricted access to features.
The addition of Kaizala will aid Microsoft's push to sell Teams to nonoffice workers. In recent months, Microsoft has added features such as shift scheduling and location sharing to appeal the app to retail workers, delivery drivers and other employee demographics.
"Kaizala use cases included field-worker communications, and for supply chain," said Irwin Lazar, an analyst at Nemertes Research, based in Mokena, Ill. "It makes sense that they would integrate it into Teams so that those using Teams and Kaizala could communicate through a single app."
Microsoft plans to shut down the paid version of Kaizala eventually. But, for now, the app remains available to Office 365 customers globally and will continue to receive regular updates from Microsoft. It remains unclear whether Microsoft will shutter the free version of Kaizala
source searchunifiedcommunications
Industry: Unified Communications
Latest Jobs
-
- VOIP / SIP App Developer. Contract. SIP | VOIP experience needed. SC Cleared Outside IR35 Contract. London
- London
- OUTSIDE IR35
-
SIP | VOIP Developer. SC Cleared Contract. London Looking for a SC Cleared SIP / VOIP Developer to develop an application that interacts with a set of voice and video signalling API’s You will also work on developing in-house applications, browser plugins and automated tooling to support secure communication systems. Responsibilities Develop an application that will manage number mapping and associated identities using commercial SBC API’s. Develop new user-facing features using React.js or other modern JavaScript frameworks. Build reusable components and front-end libraries for future use. Collaborate with the design team to translate UI/UX design wireframes into code. Work closely with backend developers to integrate front-end code with server-side logic. Conduct code reviews and provide constructive feedback to team members. Stay up-to-date on emerging technologies and industry trends to continuously improve our front-end development practices. Troubleshoot and debug issues that arise during development and in production environments. Maintain high coding standards and practices and ensure code is well-documented. Requirement Experience of developing specialist applications using REST API’s. Good knowledge of Go, Java and Python (open to alternative combinations of languages). Proficiency in front-end languages and frameworks such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React.js, etc. Strong understanding of web standards, responsive design, and cross-browser compatibility. Experience with version control systems such as Git. Knowledge of RESTful APIs and asynchronous request handling. Familiarity with UI/UX design principles and tools.
-
- Senior Data Privacy Consultant. Client Facing | London
- London
- N/A
-
Senior Data Privacy Consultant. Client Facing | London Senior Data Privacy Consultant needed for a key client facing opportunity. Must be willing to undergo SC Security Clearance. Hybrid role- onsite with customer / office 2-3 days a week. London Key Responsibilities: Lead and support client facing data privacy projects. Assess compliance, define and deliver strategic projects / implement privacy solutions. Manage project teams and develop business opportunities. Required Experience: Experience in data protection and privacy standards. Background in consulting. Skills and Qualifications: Business consulting experience IAPP Privacy Manager / Privacy Technologist Location Greater London UK based role. Not able to provide VISA sponsorship.
-
- Security Analyst - Internal role. London commutable. Permanent
- London
- N/A
-
Security Analyst - Internal role. London commutable opportunity. Operational Security - Investigate, escalate and proactively work to ensure household name remains protected. Project Security - Coordinate, log change requests with project delivery teams to meet security requirements Policy / compliance - work with team to aid in uplifting these as and where needed This role is role to investigate, escalate and proactively work to protect a globally recognised brand. You must have current hands on operational analytical security experience with Microsoft technology stack Someone with a SOC Analyst / security engineering background would be well suited. This position will join a small team and would suit someone that has broad experience across the security threat landscape. Experience / knowledge across industry GRC standards such NIST, ISO27001 etc very advantageous and a priority. You will work across multiple teams proactively working to secure the business. Must be able to commute to Central London 3 days a week. Visa sponsorship not available Apply today to find out more.
-
- Network / Security Infrastructure Engineer | West London | Permanent
- London
- N/A
-
Network / Security Infrastructure Engineer | West London | Current Config, Install, upgrade experience On prem / Datacetner experience essential. Hands on experience MUST include: Routing, Switching, Network Security (firewall, IDS etc), Microsoft exchange / Exchange 365. Scripting / automation experience wanted. Python, Powershell etc Regular travel to West London is required. Visa sponsorship not available. Apply today for more information chris.holt@dclsearch.com Use this whatapp link to reach out https://wa.me/message/6USF5RAQBOZIP1