Microsoft Teams usage jumped more than threefold since March this year, reaching over 115 million daily active users during the final quarter of 2020 as more workplaces and new users decided to shift online throughout the ongoing pandemic.
In this period, Microsoft analysed thousands of datapoints to enhance the Teams experience for users and rolled out new solutions designed for a global wave of remote working. The accelerated tendency towards distance working is unlikely to reverse after the pandemic and research by Microsoft observes that people are increasingly embracing a more flexible schedule that suits their personal productivity styles.
Adapting to a new work scenario away from the traditional nine-to-five model is, however, mentally challenging and Microsoft Teams developed new features such as smart quite-time functionalities to help colleagues respect the workday behaviours of one another while making it easy to allocate the best time for collaboration and team productivity.
The Together Mode in the software uses AI to place meeting participants in a shared background, as opposed to the traditional grid view, thus generating a richer and more immersive experience for everyone. Brain activity monitoring conducted in the Microsoft studies indicates that the Together Mode in Teams contributes to lower levels of meeting fatigue.
Another technological breakthrough in Microsoft Teams is the Dynamic View that automatically optimises the screen layout for each device and allows users to customise the content displayed, such as shared presentations and live videos of other participants.
Known for its powerful video conferencing capabilities, Microsoft Teams is a comprehensive office collaboration tool, and the company announced that two-thirds of users interact with co-workers through file-sharing as well as third-party app integration.
