February 2018 Microsoft Update
Microsoft is always updating their online offerings as users test and incorporate them into their daily business. In January 2018, they announced updates to their Teams service offering. Teams is a chat-based workspace similar to the online solution called Slack. It utilizes Active Directory and other Microsoft assets to bring an all-in-one location for content, and communications. Microsoft’s latest update for Teams includes some robust app integrations that continue this mission to help you work smarter.
Application Integration For Teams
Much as users have become accustomed to using .Gifs in place of text or photos, Microsoft Teams now allows them to integrate content from integrated applications like Trello and SurveyMonkey. Now, adding a weather report, images, or tasks is as easy as typing.
In addition, you can add additional applications through the new Command Box, which is a single point of entry for searching across applications. There’s also a personal view of apps, so each user can see the apps that are most important, like Planer, and also see the most recently-used items.
New Search Feature – Who
Who isn’t an old Abbot and Costello joke; rather, it’s a new application powered by Microsoft’s API. However, now you can search across your organization not just on name and department, but additional metadata like topics. For larger businesses with more distributed knowledge, this becomes an invaluable resource to finding knowledge leaders in your business.
Command Box Centralizes Application Actions
With so many applications now integrating with the Microsoft ecosystem, Microsoft is putting some thought into their search features. The new Command box offers the ability to query or command an app without needing to open the app itself. Now, documents may be held in OneDrive or Adobe Creative Cloud, and Microsoft will be able to search across them all. Microsoft has also added the ability to use slash commands that can make changes across apps and data.
Other Updates to MacOs and iOS
Finally, For those who use Mac products or iPhones, Microsoft has provided some new updates that support co-authoring, auto-save, and drag and drop content and files. They’ve also provided an update to the iOS 11 Files app that allows users on iPad and iPhone to upload, access, and save content hosted in OneDrive and SharePoint. They’ve also updated the preview functions in the OneDrive app so users can see more of their stuff.
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