Microsoft Teams adds PowerPoint Live, E2EE 1:1 VoIP calls and more features

Additionally, Teams can seamlessly scale to accommodate 10,000-person view-only broadcasts and through the end of this year, it will expand to even larger 20,000-person broadcasts.

At Microsoft Ignite 2021 event, the tech giant announced a host of new chat and collaboration, calling, security and privacy, webinars and meetings features for Microsoft Teams.

The new innovations in Microsft Team aim to help people connect, collaborate, and accomplish more together.

Here are all the features/tools that are already available or will soon be available on Microsoft Teams:

Meetings

• Microsoft Teams will soon get a 'Dynamic view' feature that auto-adjusts the elements of a meeting and personalizes the layout for an optimal viewing experience.
• Next is the 'view switcher' option that will soon be available in the top left corner of the Microsoft Teams meeting screen. It will allow you to control how you see the meeting content - interact naturally without visual distractions using Together mode or hide all video feed with Focus or use Full Screen to remove other desktop distractions
• The Presenter mode will soon let you customize how your video feed and content appear to your audience. It includes three options - Standout, Reporter and Side-by-side
• With the Powerpoint Live feature, you as a presenter can now lead meetings with a single view of your notes, slides, meeting chat. It benefits both presenters and audience members
• Live reactions: Microsoft Teams meeting attendees can now use emojis to react during a meeting

Webinars

• Soon Microsft Teams will let you add a custom attendee registration page to your meeting/webinar to manage attendance, following which attendees will automatically receive an email confirmation for a simple join experience.
• Teams now supports interactive meetings/webinars for up to 1,000 attendees. They will be able to use rich presentation options, live reactions, and moderation controls to disable chat, audio, and video.
• Additionally, Teams can seamlessly scale to accommodate 10,000-person view-only broadcasts and through the end of this year, it will expand to even larger 20,000-person broadcasts.
• Attending reporting: This tool will let you understand attendee participation such as who attended and how long they participated.
• Soon, customers will be able to connect to Dynamics 365 Marketing to deliver a range of marketing activities, following a Teams webinar.

All these new capabilities in webinars will be available in Microsoft 365 E3/E5, Microsoft 365 A3/A5 and Microsoft 365 Government G3/G5 plans.

Chat and Collaboration 

• With Microsoft Teams Connect, you will be able to share channels with anyone, internal or external to your organization. Currently available in private preview, the new feature will roll out broadly later this year.
• Starting later this month, corporate teams can add a checklist to the tasks they publish and also edit published tasks without recalling the entire task list
• The approvals app has been updated with templates, attachment capabilities, and markdown support
• Microsft Teams mobile app will have an updated visual look along with the ability to automatically switch to a dark theme. The enhanced mobile experience will initially come to iOS and then Android.

Security and privacy

• In H1 2021, commercial customers will be able to use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for ad hoc 1:1 Teams VoIP calls, an additional option for conducting sensitive online conversations
• Microsoft 365 Multi-Geo has been extended to include Microsoft Teams with the roll-out commencing in April
• Later this year, the meeting organizer will have the ability to disable the video of an individual or all attendees
• Invite only meeting options: Later this month, a new lobby setting will be available in Teams meeting options. When enabled, only meeting participants who were explicitly invited to the meeting will be able to join directly
• Later this month, Microsoft will roll out Safe Links for Teams to protect your business against malicious sites when clicking links in Office apps

Besides, Microsoft has announced a number of calling features, intelligent speakers for Microsoft Teams Rooms, Teams panels, new functionality for Teams display, new peripherals certified for Teams, among others.