The Microsoft Build annual event took place recently, held entirely online for the first time ever. In the last three months, COVID-19 has forced an all-encompassing shift to remote working across the world, in which technology has been the major cog.

Microsoft’s renowned cloud solution ‘Microsoft 365’ has been integral in the effort to maintain productivity whilst working from home, and Microsoft have been working hard on some valuable new features that were unveiled at the online event.

Here’s our list of the best new updates:

Outlook is used across the world to help people manage their schedules and stay connected. The latest capabilities include:

• Text predictions for faster email: The web version will enjoy text predictions via advanced AI to help in producing faster and more polished emails.
• Yammer through Outlook: Conversations, polls, questions and praise can now we viewed without leaving Outlook. Yammer is now also an app in Teams.

Microsoft Teams is the hub for remote team collaboration; combining meetings, calls, files and chat in one powerful solution. Here are the latest improvements:

• Customisable templates: You can create a new team quickly with customisable templates to suit specific business orientations and industries. All templates come with pre-defined channels, apps and guidance to save you time and hassle.
• Custom apps & automated workflows: Developers and admin users can add custom apps to Teams with a single click. Teams-specific automation triggers will also enable custom message extensions and automated @mentioning and posting to channels.
• Power BI reporting: Power BI users can share reports to Teams in one click, and direct single or multiple recipients’ attention to a specific report. Simply click ‘Send to Teams’ in Power BI to get started.
• Virtual appointments: Easily schedule and manage virtual appointments using the Booking app integration within Teams; an efficient and scalable way to control schedules and appointments in the era of remote working.
• Broadcast events: Presentations and interviews can be a challenge when working remotely, but with a new function called Network Device Interface (NDI), more advanced broadcasting options are available to improve the experience.

This new technology was announced last year, designed to enhance the user experience by removing barriers between apps to enable seamless collaboration. The new developments are:

• Fluid workspaces in Outlook and M365: The first integration with Microsoft 365 with affect Outlook and Office.com, enabling collaboration on dynamic content. You’ll be able to insert tables, charts and tasks lists into Outlook and manage fluid workspaces in Office.com with a fast and fluid framework.
• Open source Fluid Framework: Developers will now be able to help enhance the technology, with Fluid Framework becoming open source! Microsoft has enabled this on the understanding that Fluid Framework with only reach its full potential with input from its diverse and vibrant development community.

A smart information tracking app, Microsoft Lists enables you to easily track data and information within Microsoft 365. Lists is about to integrate with Teams, enabling even greater collaboration between productivity tools!

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing people in all industries to adjust to a new way of working. These features and enhancements announced for Microsoft 365 are another step in helping keep everyone connected and productive. Get in touch with us today to understand how Microsoft 365 and the suite of productivity tools could work for your business.

For more information speak with our experts by calling 0333 344 2204 or emailing us on hello@itsb.co.uk