Microsoft Teams: The Ultimate Guide to Online Team Collaboration

Microsoft Teams: The Ultimate Guide to Online Team Collaboration

Verily, the age of online team collaboration hath dawned upon us, as companies doth disperse their workforce far and wide across the globe. No longer doth we rely mainly on group emails, for now teams can work together in real time through an instant chat-style interface, no matter their locale.

Behold, Microsoft Teams doth stand as one among many tools crafted for team collaboration in the online realm. ‘Tis not meant for conversing with kin and comrades, but ’tis a platform for video conferences, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more, tailored for companies and corporations.

What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams doth exist as a chat-based workspace unveiled in the year of Our Lord 2016 for customers subscribing to Office 365 Enterprise and Business plans. ‘Tis the successor to Microsoft’s Skype for Business platform and hath replaced the Microsoft Classroom service in Office 365 Education.

Enthroned on March 14, 2017, Microsoft Teams hath made its presence widely known across all Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions. A free version hath graced us on July 12, 2018, offering most subscription-based features whilst limiting storage capacity and user count. The mobile version hath received family-friendly features commencing in the month of March in the year 2020.

In essence, Microsoft Teams doth break down into five principal components:

  • Team – A virtual "building" wherein all invited members doth gather to collaborate.
  • Channel – An individual "room" within the "building" that may be open to all or locked as invite-only, housing various themed channels such as Editorial, Gaming, Accounting, HR, and others.
  • Channel Tabs – Perchance thee to "pin" posts, files, apps, and more to each frequented channel. Verily, they art not universal, so one channel may possess different tabs from another.
  • Activity Feed – Linking all channels akin to a makeshift hallway so thou may receive mentions, replies, and other notifications tied to thy frequented channels.
  • Chat – Privy chats betwixt thee and other team members.

Administrators first doth forge a team followed by individual channels. For grand organizations, multiple teams with several channels may be essential. The client doth support more than one team, granting members access to sundry teams through a lone interface.

Members of a team can access a treasury of shared documents by clicking Files in the client, encompassing images and videos uploaded in channels. Members can open these files in a browser, download them to their PC, or obtain a link to share with others. The OneDrive feature doth empower users to craft shared folders, Word documents, Excel workbooks, PowerPoint presentations, and more.

Finally, Microsoft Teams doth intertwine with third-party apps, including Trello, Zoom, Asana, GitHub, Evernote, Adobe Creative Cloud, Salesforce, Google Analytics, and myriad others. ‘Tis even in harmony with social apps like YouTube, StubHub, and divers others.

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What separates Microsoft Teams from other platforms?

Microsoft Teams doth stand as one of many team collaboration tools in the vast digital realm. Its chief rival is Slack, and we shall compare the two in a separate detailed discourse. Each doth possess their own strengths and weaknesses, but if thou dost require a tool that doth companion Microsoft 365, Teams stands as the superior choice.

Workplace from Facebook is a akin business-focused collaboration tool. One of the foremost differences is that direct messaging cometh to pass within Microsoft Teams, whilst Facebook’s alternative leans upon a separate Workplace Chat app. Moreover, Facebook’s platform doth favor the mobile-first approach, whilst Teams regardeth the desktop worker as paramount. Workplace doth also place great emphasis on Live Videos, yet its compatibility with other apps doth pale in comparison to Teams.

Another notable token of team collaboration is Discord. It doth target gamers, offering free voice and instant message capabilities. In this scenario, gamers doth create or join public and private "servers" rather than "teams." Similar to Microsoft Teams, every edifice (server) doth host multiple rooms (channels), solely these rooms art devoted to either text or voice, not both. There doth exist a Go Live feature that doth automatically detect thy game and permit thee to stream it directly to thy Discord server. Should thee wish to partake in a video call with friends or family, Discord doth have thy back – all without charge.

Microsoft Teams at a Glance

The interface doth unveil a few fundamental components. On the left doth reside the navigation bar holding sundry tabs: Activity, Chat, and Teams. At the zenith, thou shalt behold options for Posts, Chat, and Files depending on the tab chosen on the left.

Information in the second column doth hinge on the tab thou dost select in the navigation bar. Opt for Activity and the second column shall list all mentions, replies, and other notifications. Select one of these activities and the third column doth display the accompanying conversation. Click the filter button in the second column and inscribe a search term.

Similarly, selecting the Chat tab doth prompt the appearance of thy private conversations in the second column sorted by the recipient. Pick a listed recipient, and the third column doth unfurl the entire conversation. Click the three-dot ellipsis icon adjacent to the recipient and thou canst pin, mute, or conceal the conversation, receive a notification upon the individual’s sign-on, and more.

Finally, with a click on the Teams tab, a roster of thy connected teams and their channels shall be unveiled in the second column. Channels resonating with new activity are underscored in bold text. Select a channel and the messages housed within the channel shall manifest in the third column. Any mentions within an unchosen channel art highlighted by an exclamation point neighboring the channel name.

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When composing a missive, thee shall chance upon formatting tools akin to Slack, permitting thee to adjust the font size, forge a bullet list, insert a link, employ a highlight, and more. Thou canst also designate a message as a new conversation or announcement, lock responses only to thyself and moderators, and dispatch the message to multiple channels (if permitted). Other tools embrace the addition of emoji, stickers, GIFs, and files.

To conduct an audio call or video meeting, thou canst simply click the Meet Now drop-down arrow on the message toolbar atop. Scheduling requires a remunerated plan, manifesting as a calendar icon on the message toolbar.

How much does Microsoft Teams cost?

Thou hast the choice of several Microsoft Teams plans for home or business.

The complimentary Home plan enfoldeth the following features:

  • 5GB of storage
  • Group calling for 100 individuals for up to 60 minutes
  • Boundless chat
  • Collaboration
  • Data encryption

For attributes like expanded group calling options, augmented storage, creative tools, and live captions, thou canst inspect paid Home plans commencing at $7 monthly.

For Enterprises, the Microsoft Teams Essentials plan costs $4 and furnisheth the following features:

  • 10GB of storage
  • Infinite group meetings up to 30 hours
  • Microsoft Whiteboard
  • File sharing and tasks
  • Live meeting captions

For features such as user management for employees, greater storage, a bespoke business email, and safeguarding against spam and malware, one may peruse Business Basic for $6 monthly or Business Standard for $12.50 monthly. Should thou require heightened security, access, and data control, and defense against cyber-threats, Business Premium beckons at $22 monthly.

Where can you get Microsoft Teams?

The esteemed Microsoft Teams is accessible on the following platforms:

  • Windows (32-bit) (64-bit)
  • MacOS
  • Linux (DEB 64-bit)(RPM 64-bit)
  • Android
  • iOS
  • Web-only

How to get started with Microsoft Teams for free

Shouldst thou yearn to sample Microsoft’s collaborative platform, thus embark forthwith. For the free version, the sole prerequisite is a Microsoft account, which thou canst engender throughout the setup process. A Microsoft 365 subscription is not needful to partake of Microsoft Teams for free.

Journey to teams.microsoft.com and input a Microsoft account email address and password. Shouldst thou employ a disparate email address, it shall serve to forge a Microsoft account.

Optionally mark the box to synchronize Outlook and Skype contacts, and select Continue.

Thence shalt thou alight upon the Chat tab poised for thy initiation of a new chat or meeting anon.

Are you ready for Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams burgeons as a burgeoning platform for business communications, ever appending new features to its repertoire. Haply art thou prepared to commence utilizing it? If so, take heed to the guidances on how to wield Microsoft Teams for a thorough initiation unto its workings.

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