As we’re all aware by now, remote working is the new way business is being conducted. One of the biggest concerns that companies have is maintaining a consistent, secure, and robust communications platform so they can keep up with their employees, regardless of where they are. The landscape is littered with different audio and video conferencing apps, but the one that is quickly growing in popularity is Microsoft Teams. Even if you’re not currently using it, you’re probably still aware of it. It’s a Microsoft product, so it integrates well with the other Microsoft Office 365 applications, and it’s already a feature-rich application with tons of integrations and business solutions. But are you aware of some of the really unique features that Teams can provide to your business and employees? We’ve listed some of our favorites below, and we highly recommend you give them a try. 
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You can create mini teams within the Teams application.
Although Teams itself usually integrates with the full company directory, sometimes you want to have a smaller team within the application that will allow you to communicate with a smaller group of people. Although this can also be accomplished through a long and often messy email chain, with Teams, you can quickly communicate with just the people you need to via a chat. You can attach files, manage team members, and even create a conference call on the spot. It’s all managed in one window and you can create as many teams as you need to in order to keep your business organized.
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Teams is accessible from every device.
There will always be times during the workday when your entire team might not be at their computers, waiting for a call. Between doctor’s appointments, childcare, automotive repairs, people are occasionally going to be away from their computers and unable to join a call from their computers. However, by using Teams, people can stay accessible even when they’re not at their desk. Teams offers mobile applications for Windows, iOS, and Android with all of the features of the desktop application, including video conferencing, chats, and the ability to collaborate on the go. They even offer a web version of the application so if you are on a computer that won’t allow you to install the application, you can still access everything right from your Office 365 account.
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Teams is all about security – internally and externally.
We’ve all heard the stories about conference calls or remote learning environments getting hacked, and either the hacker goes on to interrupt the call with inappropriate and even obscene video, or they are able to steal user data and use it as a way to gain access to sensitive information. Fortunately, with Teams you can collaborate knowing that they take your security very seriously. Your data is constantly encrypted and Teams, along with every other Microsoft 365 application, is serious about compliance and security. They meet the compliance standards for HIPAA, ISO 27001, and SOC-2, which means they take your safety as seriously as you do.
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Teams = integration.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “there’s an app for that.” Well, when it comes to Teams, that really is true. No matter what business or personal software you use, chances are there is a way to integrate it into Teams. Everything from Trello to Adobe Creative Cloud to Salesforce can be integrated into Teams. And this goes beyond business as well. Are you trying to score tickets to a big concert? Try the StubHub integration. Racking your brain trying to remember who invented the internet? Try the Wikipedia integration. Did you see an unbelievably funny video that you have to share with everyone? Try the YouTube integration. There are even integrations with other video conferencing software, such as Starleaf, Zoom, Cisco Webex, and more. Teams makes it easy to keep your business organized.
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Teams shortcuts make tasks effortless.
Many Teams users are aware of the capability to use the @ sign and type someone’s name to contact them directly in the chat. But did you know that there are so many commands that can be completed by typing them into the search bar with a simple backslash? We’ve listed some of the most common commands below to help simplify your Teams experience:
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- /available – Set your status to “available.”
- /away – Set your status to “away.”
- /busy – Set your status to “busy.”
- /call *person’s name* – Initiate a call.
- /dnd – Set your status to “Do Not Disturb.”
- /help – Get help with Teams.
- /keys – See keyboard shortcuts.
- /mentions – See all of your specific mentions.
- /unread – See all of your unread activity.
There are countless more shortcuts, but these are some of the ones you will probably use the most.
There is so much you can do with Teams that we couldn’t even fit it all into one blog post! Check back next week when we list even more reasons why you should be using Microsoft Teams. And as always, if you have questions about how to implement Microsoft Teams into your organization, the experts are TAG Solutions are here to help!