Microsoft 365 New Features

In the ever-evolving world of technology, staying up-to-date is crucial for businesses and individuals alike. That's why it's time to dive into the latest innovations of Microsoft 365, the powerhouse suite that's been making waves in the digital realm.

With its constant commitment to improvement and enhancement, Microsoft has recently introduced an array of exciting new features for Outlook, Teams, Viva, and more, designed to boost productivity, streamline collaboration, and ultimately, make your life easier.

Microsoft Outlook

The upcoming Bookings With Me function in Microsoft Outlook aims to minimise the hassle of coordinating meetings and grant you better management of your calendar. By generating personalised bookable time slots for sharing, others can effortlessly arrange a one-on-one appointment with you based on your available times and preferences.

This feature is set to be activated by default between early and late May 2023.

Microsoft Teams Premium

The most recent updates to Teams Premium aim to simplify the process of catching up on and tailoring meetings. The integration of AI-powered intelligent recap into Teams Premium allows users to quickly access crucial information from meetings, while utilisng OpenAI's GPT-3.5 produces AI-generated notes for essential meeting takeaways, which can be conveniently followed up with AI-created tasks that propose actions, and personal timeline markers will assist in identifying pertinent sections of meeting recordings.

Microsoft has also introduced a feature to view your entry and exit times for meetings. Soon, timeline markers will also indicate when your name was mentioned, when a screen was shared, and provide a list of speaker names and times.

Additionally, meeting templates allow IT administrators to customise settings and templates according to various meeting formats, while advanced meeting protections can be deployed to provide restrictions, watermarks, and more to keep these sensitive discussions secure.

Microsoft Whiteboard

Whiteboard's Loop components now allow employees to stay coordinated on projects by copying existing Loop elements from Word for the web, Outlook, and Teams, and pasting them into Teams. As usual, any changes made to a copied Loop component will synchronise for all users with access.

The Timer feature in Whiteboard assists users in achieving their goals within the allotted time frame. Additionally, the timer can be utilised to emphasise the remaining time for workers to finish their tasks.

PowerPoint Live

Closed captions in PowerPoint Live will offer assistance to individuals who have difficulty comprehending auditory data, such as those who are deaf, hard of hearing, face language barriers, or are in a loud setting. Participants can now enable closed captions for videos with accompanying caption files.

Once activated, closed captions will display at the slide's bottom for users who chose to enable them. There's no requirement for a collective agreement on the use of closed captions, and users who employ them won't have to be concerned about possibly distracting others.

Microsoft Viva Engage

The updated Viva Engage AI now includes features like Leadership Corner, Ask Me Anything (AMA), and Answers in Viva. Leadership Corner fosters connections between leaders and staff members, facilitating direct communication. Each worker receives a tailored experience based on their followed connections and the company hierarchy. Relevant posts and news are distributed to the appropriate staff, giving them a platform to express their thoughts to employers.

Ask Me Anything enables personnel to bring up queries and issues during occasions like All Hands gatherings. Microsoft describes Ask Me Anything as “a contemporary version of the live town hall,” which can extend from hours to days, incorporating employees from different time zones.

Lastly – mainly aimed at newcomers – Answers in Viva gathers data from within companies to enhance employee knowledge. Through a Q&A-based platform, users can pose queries and access a collection of responses to related questions.

Viva Goals

Viva Goals makes it simple to guarantee that your team's Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are in sync with the most crucial business objectives. Now, users can effortlessly generate, modify, update, and distribute OKRs among team members and throughout the broader company, straight into a Teams chat. As a result, your team can ensure that the OKRs accurately represent their progress without disrupting the work process.

Additionally, the new analytics in Viva Goals enable business administrators to view OKR adoption metrics throughout the entire organisation. Admins can monitor active and overall user numbers, as well as assess a team's progress in achieving their objectives.

When establishing a new objective or forming a new team, the Phased Target feature provides the flexibility to modify and customise goals as new information becomes easily accessible.

Find the right Microsoft 365 tools and features for your business

A glimpse into modern business technology doesn't have to be scary. With the right tools, you can even take advantage of these cutting-edge developments to boost your productivity and make your life easier.

Certified Microsoft Partner Essential Tech will recommend the Microsoft tools that will enhance your business’s workflows, efficiency, and productivity, deploy them across your environment, and fully manage the platform for optimal performance and security. Talk to them today and find out more.