Podcast

The top 5 Microsoft Teams features every business user should know

20200713_155334454_iOSIn this week’s episode of the Microsoft 365 Voice, we were asked to share the top 5 Microsoft Teams features every business user should know. We couldn’t stop at 5, so welcome to our top 19 Teams features! A quick list of features discussed is provided below. Watch the episode for more details.

  1. Adding apps (e.g. Yammer) to your Teams navigation rail
  2. Live captioning
  3. Integrating key documents into Teams tabs
  4. Using two Teams instances (Teams application and Teams in your browser) when sharing your screen in meetings
  5. Blurred background
  6. Raise your hand
  7. Teams mobile app
  8. Automated permission enablement of files shared in a private chat
  9. Teams command bar
  10. Ability to share conversation history when you add someone to a chat
  11. Meeting notes & whiteboarding
  12. Transcription of recorded Teams meetings (just let everyone know they’re being recorded!)
  13. Creating a well-designed Team (using tabs, adding quick links to key documents, etc.)
  14. Ability to email a Teams channel
  15. Quickly notify team members of a key channel post by typing @team in your post
  16. Using tags in Microsoft Teams to notify key team members
  17. Using the Files tab in your Teams navigation rail to see recently-edited Microsoft 365 files
  18. Teams camera switching (useful if you have multiple webcams)
  19. Pinning a video during a Teams meeting so you can zoom in on a speaker

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.

How quickly can you deploy Microsoft 365 during COVID?

In this week’s episode of the Microsoft 365 Voice, we discuss how quickly you can onboard an organization to the Microsoft 365 cloud. This is particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, when organizations are accelerating their M365 deployments.

We share our experiences working with organizations to deploy Microsoft Teams, Exchange, OneDrive, etc., including typical migration timelines and how orgs are condensing those timelines to enable a huge remote workforce. From accelerating migration timelines to disabling cloud throttling limits, we outline what we’ve seen work (and not work) during an abbreviated deployment schedule.

Moving an organization to M365 within weeks instead of months is a huge lift. It requires a willingness to accept/embrace change, a strong executive and IT support system, and additional funding. Listen in to learn how organizations are managing it.

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.

Overcoming SharePoint adoption hurdles

In this week’s Microsoft 365 Voice episode, Mike, Antonio, and I share ideas on overcoming SharePoint user adoption hurdles. Key topics discussed include:

Enjoy the episode!

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.

What’s your favorite Surface device?

20200727_144913246_iOSThis week’s Microsoft 365 Voice episode is all about Surface devices! Antonio, Mike, and I discuss which Surface devices we own and how we use each device. Listen in to hear our thoughts on the Surface Laptop, Surface Pro, Surface Go, and Surface Book.

Key topics discussed include:

  • Use cases (which devices we prefer using for presentations, demos, entertainment, travel, etc.)
  • Preferences in choosing Surface devices (screen size, weight, storage capacity, etc.)
  • How and when we chose to upgrade our Surface devices (e.g. going from the Surface Pro 3 to the Surface Pro 6)
  • What types of files we store locally on our devices

Enjoy the episode!

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.

 

Choosing when to use a Teams private channel, a Yammer community, or a SharePoint site

This “what to use when” episode of the Microsoft 365 Voice explores when to use Teams private channels versus Yammer communities or SharePoint Online sites. Key topics discussed include:

  • Prerequisites for creating Teams private channels
  • Use cases for Teams private channels
  • Overview of how Teams private channels are secured
  • Types of Yammer communities you can create (public, private, and secret)
  • Use cases for private and secret Yammer communities
  • Discoverability of Teams private channels and Yammer communities
  • Granular access controls for SharePoint
  • How to choose the right solution for your collaboration needs (e.g. ease of use, accessibility of files, and desired audience).

Enjoy the episode!

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.

 

What is the difference between SharePoint home sites and hubs?

This episode of the Microsoft 365 Voice is all about SharePoint home sites and hubs. Key topics discussed include:

  • What are home sites and hubs? And how do they differ?
  • How many home sites and hubs can you have in your Microsoft 365 tenant?
  • How do you get started with home sites and hubs?
  • How are home sites and hubs created?
  • Can a hub be a home site?
  • Will hubs be included in SharePoint Server 2019?
  • Tips for using hubs, including “sticky” hub site branding.

Correction: During the episode, we said we weren’t sure whether admins could remove a home site once it was defined in their tenant. A huge thank you to Microsoft for clarifying – you can use the Remove-SPOHomeSite PowerShell command to remove a home site.

Enjoy the episode!

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.

 

How much control do you enforce on your Microsoft 365 services?

In this episode of the Microsoft 365 Voice, we discuss controls you should enforce on your Microsoft 365 services. This is a broad topic, and the approach taken needs to reflect your organization’s use cases, risk acceptance stance, industry, and regulatory needs.

Key topics discussed:

  • Should you enable all your M365 services (e.g. email, OneDrive, SharePoint Online, Teams, etc.) at once? We discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a holistic “big bang” rollout versus enabling services individually or in small groups.
  • How do you manage and secure M365 mobile apps? Do you enable mobile app access at the same time you enable browser or desktop applications (e.g. do you roll out Teams for desktop, browser, and mobile simultaneously)? And how will you manage your mobile security?
  • The importance of planning. Understand your organization’s needs, your appetite for control and risk, and how the Microsoft 365 services work together before you build your rollout and enforcement plans.

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.

 

Managing a Microsoft Teams deployment with effective governance

In this episode of the Microsoft 365 Voice, we address a listener question about how to quickly (and safely) deploy Microsoft Teams. COVID-19 has driven a massive increase in Microsoft Teams deployments to support staff that are now working exclusively from home. In many cases, these Teams deployments are being done quickly and without the normal governance rigor.

Listen in to hear our recommendations for planning a quick deployment of Microsoft Teams. We highlight key governance decisions that need to be made prior to your rollout, as well as governance follow-ups that can be done after Teams is deployed. Enjoy!

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.

 

Protecting your data in Microsoft 365: A quick walkthrough of the M365 security settings

In this episode of the Microsoft 365 Voice, we outline Microsoft 365 security settings for protecting your data. We cover authentication options and identity protection, data security policies, Microsoft Cloud App Security (MCAS), Data Loss Prevention (DLP), limiting third-party connectors in Power Automate, and how to protect content being shared from SharePoint and OneDrive. It’s a whirlwind tour of Microsoft 365 security settings in less than 25 minutes. Enjoy!

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.

 

How do you manage your content lifecycle from Microsoft Teams to your Intranet?

In this episode of the Microsoft 365 Voice podcast, we answered a listener question about how files authored in Microsoft Teams could be shared organization-wide quickly and easily. The listener is leveraging Microsoft Teams and SharePoint in a mid to large-sized organization. They have content that is created in a departmental Microsoft Teams team, but later needs to be published to the intranet or a SharePoint Communications site so all employees can see it. During this episode, we provide best-practice recommendations for publishing content from Microsoft Teams to SharePoint. Enjoy!

Have a Microsoft 365 question? Submit it online! Your question may be featured in a future podcast episode.