Microsoft Teams - A Quick Start Guide
The world of Microsoft has endless possibilities and functions throughout its 365 software, so it’s important to know exactly how each platform can benefit you and your business. Since its launch in 2017 Microsoft Teams has become the leading video conferencing workspace, overtaking the likes of Skype and Zoom. And with the pandemic increasing the worldwide usage of remote working chat platforms, the time has never been better to get a complete understanding of the ins and outs of Microsoft Teams.
What is Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams is a video and audio conferencing service that helps employees and businesses communicate easily and effectively with one another across a variety of different platforms. The software allows individuals to conference call one on one, or in groups of up to 10,000 with the paid packages with additional web chat and file sharing functions. Teams was originally set up in competition to the likes of zoom as a business only service, but in recent years there has been a push in personal usage hence the creation of a more basic free version of the application. Microsoft Teams works on all operating systems and is highly popular on the mobile app as well as the traditional desktop software.
Meetings
Once you have successfully logged into Teams you will need to build your network by adding your colleagues, friends, or other businesses to allow you to communicate with each other. This is where you create your ‘team’! You should create teams systematically with a sense of organisation, especially if you have a lot of contacts to add. To do this you can create teams based on different departments in the business, different projects you are working on, or just with the few colleagues you communicate with the most.
Once you have that set up, you are ready to join your first meeting. Everybody is able to either initiate a call or join a call via an invitation sent out by the host. You can then turn your mic and camera on also. You will see all participants of the call in the sidebar, and this design can be changed to smaller or larger thumbnails depending on your personal preference. Whilst on the call, you can utilise the chat function at the bottom of the screen to add any notes or send private messages simultaneous to the conference call.
Common features used by businesses within video meetings are the record button, and screen sharing features. These are both only available via the paid version of Teams.
Other Features
Of course, the video meetings are the hallmark feature for Teams, but the software boasts many other successful features also. Some of these additional features include:
- Integration with other Microsoft 365 platforms
- Manage calendars and send and receive calendar invitations for meetings
- Instant chat function (1:1 and group chat)
- Create to-do lists and planners for the day/week/month
- Send and receive documents through OneDrive
- Share notes from OneNote
- Collaborate with third party applications and users outside of Teams
Comparison with Zoom & Skype
Microsoft Teams works in very similar ways to Zoom and Skype in that they all serve the same purpose to connect business users via video chat. All 3 services allow you to record, schedule and share documents in a meeting, but arguably Teams is the most enhanced service with the best integration features. Whilst the competition in its basic form works the same way, they lack the wider software that Microsoft 365 provides where you can connect other applications to ensure organisation and the smooth running of your business. It is also worth mentioning that these other video conferencing providers have had security issues in the past with hackers taking advantage of personal users of the platform, hence Team’s push for enhanced data security and privacy to be the best in the field.
Price
As mentioned above, Teams was originally created for the business world, allowing colleagues to collaborate remotely and for businesses to easily conference with other businesses. With the impact of the pandemic however, there has been a push in personal usage of the software and the number of users on the free plan has soared.
The free version of Microsoft Teams has all the basic functions that an individual or small business would need to communicate with others but with some limitations that can be unlocked by upgrading to the paid plans. For example, there is a limit of the number of participants and a time limit for meetings on the free version of the software, as well as only a small amount (2GB) of cloud storage for each member. Again, this can be increased by paying a fee.
If you are not planning to use Teams for personal use however, you will need to invest into one of their 3 paid plans: Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, or Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
The Business Basic package currently retails at £4.50 per user per month, and this allows you to increase the number of participants in a single meeting and get rid of the time limitations on calls. By upgrading you also unlock the recording functions as well as gaining the ability to schedule meetings by sending email invitations. The cloud storage capacity also increases from 2GB per person to 1TB per person.
The Business Standard package includes everything from the Basic plan with additional integration functions and higher security. Currently priced at £9.40 per user per month, this plan allows you to work even closer to other Microsoft applications and sync to other files, notes, PowerPoints and so much more. As a result of having more documentation on the software, there is a higher level of security and two-face authentication to keep your business safe.
The final Business Premium package is the most secure and desirable software for most large businesses as it allows you to communicate with up to 10,000 participants in a single call as well as adding an even higher level of security and privacy settings. This package is currently on sale for £16.60 per user per month.
