Direct from Microsoft
Microsoft published their monthly What’s New in Microsoft Teams for December 2020. The recap includes summaries of virtual breakout rooms, new meeting pre-join experience, new device capabilities, and multiple number dialing options.
Community Contributions
On Twitter, Bob German (@Bob1German) shared a link to a new Microsoft Teams app sample for adding a custom app to a meeting. Check out the code here in the PNP Teams Dev Sample repository.
Shawn Harry has a great article outlining the changes to AudioCodes OVOC device management. AudioCodes OVOC management solution now supports native Microsoft Teams phone devices.
Graham Walsh posted an outline of Microsoft Teams Room devices roadmap items. Check it out to see when your favorite feature is being released. He also continues with another Microsoft Teams Room device themed post about troubleshooting log files for the devices.
Tony Redmond dives into how the new Stream handles storage quotas. Microsoft is moving Stream video recording away from a dedicated repository to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business.
Chris Hoard gives an insightful post on 12 features he would like to see land in Microsoft Teams in 2021. Suggestions include better tenant switching and collaboration, customizing a Teams’ landing tab, and replying to specific messages in the desktop client.
On YouTube, Mike Tholfsen has a great video outlining 11 new features in Microsoft Teams for 2021. He gives demos of the 5-minute meeting warning, new Together modes, and new Power BI integrations.
Devices News
Dell is releasing a line of monitors designed to support video conferencing. The first monitors are Teams certified devices and include a webcam, sound, noise-canceling microphone, and a dedicated Teams button.
Upcoming Events
On February 10, 2020, Commsverse is hosting a free online conference on Collaborating in a Universal Workplace.
Road Map and Message Center Updates
Road Map: Microsoft 365 admin center: Global Usage report for Microsoft Teams
Microsoft will release a new report with tenant-level aggregation and per-team level details on how the organization uses teams within Microsoft Teams. Microsoft is scheduling the release of this report for January 2021.
Road Map: Microsoft Teams: Revised in-meeting Share experience
Microsoft is updating the in-meeting Share feature so presenters can find their content faster. Microsoft is scheduling the release of this feature for February 2021.
Road Map: Microsoft Teams: Teams casting from Android Teams App
Meeting participants can use Teams casting to wirelessly connect to a Teams Room from their mobile to display content. Users can share their screen or cast content from their device or accessible via Office 365. Microsoft is scheduling the release of this feature for May 2021.
Customers using Direct Routing for Teams voice capabilities can now configure branch office survivability. This scenario occurs when a site’s session border controllers cannot connect to the Microsoft cloud but still maintained WAN connectivity. Users in the branch office will be able to make PSTN calls. Follow your vendor’s guidance on how to configure this functionality. Microsoft is making this feature generally available in January 2021.
Message Center: Block Download Permissions for Teams Meeting Recordings on OneDrive and SharePoint
Microsoft is moving Teams meeting recording storage into OneDrive and SharePoint and out of Stream. As part of this change, Microsoft is blocking the download of recording files as the default behavior for users with view-only permissions. Users with edit recording permissions will continue to have download capabilities. Microsoft is scheduling this feature release starting in February 2021 and expects to be completed by the end of April.
Message Center: New meeting options for managing large Teams meetings in Outlook for Windows
Users using Outlook on Windows will see a prompt to set meeting options when the invite has 40 or more participants or 10 or more distribution lists. When hosting a meeting with many participants, it is best to configure meeting options such as lobby settings, presenters, attendee mute options, and meeting chat. With a large number of participants in a meeting, not configuring some of these options can make the meeting very disruptive. Microsoft is scheduling the release of this feature starting in late January 2021.
Message Center: Teams auto attendant Island mode transfer behavior change
In anticipation of the Skype for Business Online retirement later this year, Microsoft is changing the transfer behavior for users in Islands mode. Previously, Teams routed auto attendant transfers to the Skype for Business client for users in Islands mode. Moving forward, Teams will route these calls to the Teams client. If you wish to continue transferring to the Skype for Business client, you need to change the user’s coexistence mode to one of the Skype for Business ones. Microsoft is scheduling the release of this change for early February 2021.
Message Center: New Teams meeting lobby setting—only invited users to join directly
Meeting organizers can configure meeting options to only allow directly invited users to bypass the lobby. Any non-invited users will have to wait in the lobby. Microsoft is scheduling the release of this feature for early February 2021.
Message Center: Microsoft Teams introduces meeting recap in the calendar event details tab
The meeting recap provides the recording, transcript, and chat in the meeting’s Chat and Details tab. This information allows meeting attendees to view meeting content after it has finished. Microsoft is scheduling the release of this feature for late January 2021.
Training Resources
Peter Rising and Nate Chamberlain have a new Microsoft Teams MS-700 Exam Guide being published by Packt. The book contains over 400 pages of exam prep material. The full release of the materials is planned for February 2021.
Tip of the Week
St. Kevin’s Community College shared these eight tips for managing remote learning in Microsoft Teams.
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