Introducing… Microsoft Teams

A team of professional cyber sportmen

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Microsoft Teams achieved more than 320 million monthly active users. The collaboration platform has had an interesting history. It evolved from within the original cloud-based productivity products released by Microsoft in 2009 and has now become one of the premier applications for collaboration, information sharing and AI-powered productivity. No longer just a simple chat interface, Teams is now an essential part of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. 

 

Since it first stumbled out the blocks, awkwardly connecting people within the Microsoft environment with a chat feature that offered only the most basic capabilities, Teams has become something of a business collaboration phenomenon.  

 

Some standout Teams stats that will make you pause: 

  • There were only two million people using Microsoft Teams in 2017 
  • The number of users exploded in 2020 to 75 million from 20 million in 2019 
  • The Forrester 2023 Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Teams study found it delivered a 291% return on investment and a net value of $35 million over a three-year period 
  • Teams reduces the number and length of meetings which can potentially save a company as much as $6.9 million over three years and save employees up to four hours a week 
  • 17.7% – this is the improvement in decision-making time felt by decision makers thanks to improved collaboration with the platform 

 

Capturing the benefits of Microsoft Teams 

 

Microsoft Teams offers the business quite a few features designed to improve productivity, manage collaboration, share information, and streamline day-to-day working. The platform genuinely reimagines collaboration for the business and is constantly evolving its features and tools to address issues, introduce new ways of working and optimise its functionality. 

 

If you have ever spent time wondering how to improve teamwork or connect with global teams more efficiently or how to make information sharing more accessible, then Teams is the way forward. And this is how: 

 

01: Microsoft Copilot [Copilot for Microsoft 365 | Empower Your Teams | Mint Group] 

 

Almost every corner of the Microsoft ecosystem has been filled with the company’s artificial intelligence interface – Copilot. In some applications, the AI is useful but not life-changing but in others it is absolutely transformative. Nowhere is this truer than in Teams. Copilot in teams is exceptional. It automatically summarises key discussion points, making it really easy for participants (and people who have missed the meeting) to catch up on notes or prepare an action list; it transcribes the meeting so anyone can catch salient facts and points; it sends a prompt with clear next steps once the meeting is concluded; and you can use the summaries to collate insights you can use to centralise information about a specific project. 

 

02: Microsoft 365 

 

Teams is smoothly wrapped around the Microsoft 365 ecosystem which means that, alongside the capabilities of Copilot, you can instantly access information, share information and build teams. You can create a work team, save information in SharePoint and OneNote, and even send emails with just a few clicks. The platform becomes almost a dashboard entry point into Microsoft 365 and makes it easy to centralise your data and your people. 

 

03: Channels and chats 

 

Reducing the email load is often a priority for employees. A stacked inbox can be overwhelming. Teams helps cut this load with accessible, instant chats and conversation channels that can be used to prioritise specific topics and projects. You can, for example, dedicate a chat channel to a particular problem which makes it easy for people to find information or share insights without having to hunt through emails or channels. This can save a lot of time while minimising the risk of errors and delays. 

 

Microsoft Teams serves teamwork, collaboration, speed and convenience to your business in one, easy-to-use package that’s constantly being updated to provide companies with next-generation capabilities. It helps you empower your teams and increase efficiencies. Mint, with our Microsoft expertise and partner status, can help you transform your operations with Teams and 365. We understand what companies mean when they say productivity – and we know how to ensure Microsoft’s products get you there.