Benefits of Microsoft Teams For Small Business & Enterprise

Do you know about the benefits of Microsoft Teams in your workplace? Microsoft Teams has become the fastest-growing app in Microsoft’s history with over 320 million users around the world as of 2024, with 91% of Fortune 100 companies using Microsoft Teams for communication.

In addition, the new Microsoft Teams app benefits from a faster, simpler, and more flexible experience.

As you may know, Microsoft Teams is a leading unified communication and collaboration platform, that represents a powerful solution for small and mid-sized businesses and enterprises seeking to elevate their communication and teamwork, both in person and remotely.

This feature-rich tool enables businesses to integrate messaging, calls, video conferencing, file-sharing, file storage, virtual meetings and project management into a single, user-friendly platform, streamlining workflows and driving business productivity.

In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of Microsoft Teams and some of the latest features you can use in your workplace.

Benefits of Using Microsoft Teams

Here are some key advantages of Microsoft Teams for businesses and employees:

1. Simplified User Experience

Streamlined actions

Being a unified platform, the new Teams has tidied up notifications, searches, and messages, reducing clutter so you can focus on what matters most.

With fewer distractions, you can navigate your tasks seamlessly, saving time and effort.

Personalised experiences

With MS Teams you get threaded conversations and interactive emojis for engaging and expressive communication.

Now, you can communicate with all your teams and clients in a more dynamic and fun way, promoting better collaboration and understanding.

Simplified Teams meeting

Microsoft Teams displays the ability of a simplified Meet app interface, the meeting stage layout, and screen sharing with presenter views for productive meetings.

With a clearer layout and intuitive navigation in video calls, you can concentrate on the agenda and discussions, making meetings more effective and enjoyable for everyone involved.

2. Smarter with AI

Copilot in MS Teams

You can elevate your game with Microsoft Copilot, an intelligent assistant that helps you manage your chats, meetings, and video calls seamlessly.

By utilising AI, Copilot ensures you stay organised and on top of your communications, allowing your teams' users to focus on what matters most.

Intelligent Recap

Now say goodbye to manual note-taking and tedious meeting summaries. With Intelligent Recap, Microsoft Teams leverages AI to provide a personalised and comprehensive overview of your virtual meetings.

From capturing meeting notes to identifying action items, highlights, and key moments with timeline markers, Intelligent Recap ensures you always stay productive.

Microsoft 365 Chat Integration

With Teams, you can experience the power of cross-app data intelligence. With Microsoft 365 Chat integration, you can leverage suggested prompts and insights seamlessly integrated into your chat experience.

Whether collaborating on documents, scheduling tasks, or sharing updates, Teams empowers you with intelligent suggestions tailored to enhance productivity and team collaboration across the Microsoft 365 suite and Power Apps.

3. Enhanced Flexibility

Seamless Communication Across Organisations

You can enjoy improved flexibility in communication and collaboration across organisations that utilise multiple accounts.

Whether you are working with partners, clients, or different teams within your organisation, this enhanced flexibility allows for seamless interaction.

Effortless Cross-Tenant Collaboration

With Teams, you can easily engage in conversations and meetings with users from various organisations within the same platform.

This feature provides seamless collaboration regardless of whether the participants are from your organisation or external partners.

Streamlined People Search

Team owners can more efficiently find the right person within the organisation or across different tenants.

With enhanced search functionality, locating colleagues for projects, discussions, or support becomes quicker and more accurate, ultimately saving time and boosting productivity.

Enhanced Collaboration Across Organisational Boundaries

By staying logged in to multiple accounts simultaneously, users can maintain constant connectivity and receive real-time notifications from each account.

This capability enhances collaboration across remote workers or distributed teams, different departments or teams, or external partners, ensuring that important messages and updates are never missed.

4. Seamless Business Collaboration

Instant messaging and Teams chat

Microsoft Teams enables instant messaging communication and allows you to create group chats.

This helps promote real-time discussions and encourages connection between remote work team members.

Video conferencing and screen sharing

High-quality video calls and conferencing are one of the many benefits of Microsoft Teams. This allows the team member to interact face-to-face or present their screens during meetings.

This feature is valuable for remote teams and businesses that collaborate with clients and partners worldwide.

Collaboration and file-sharing

Microsoft Teams can integrate with other Microsoft 365 productivity tools, such as Word and Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations, enabling users to co-edit and share files directly within the teams' environment.

Customisable workspaces

The Microsoft Teams chat app makes you to create dedicated spaces or "channels" for specific projects, departments, or topics, providing a centralised location for team members to access relevant information and collaborate more effectively.

Benefits of Microsoft Teams for Small and Medium Businesses

As of 2024, only 21% of small businesses and 47% of mid-sized businesses use Microsoft Teams for communication and collaboration at the workplace.

For those who are not using it yet, here are some of the key benefits of Microsoft Teams:

1. Simplified Communication

Enhanced Connectivity: Microsoft offers a seamless teams platform to effortlessly connect with customers and employees, promoting smoother communication channels.

Unified File Management: Businesses can share, create, and securely store files within a single, cloud-based platform, streamlining collaboration and ensuring data integrity.

2. Flexible Meeting Options

Location-independent Meetings: With Teams integration, small teams can conduct meetings from any location, enabling remote work collaboration and flexibility in scheduling.

Engaging Features: One of the many benefits of the platform is that it enhances engagement through features like virtual backgrounds, recordings, transcriptions, and AI-powered recaps of a video chat, making meetings more interactive and productive.

3. Seamless Chat Functionality

Effortless Collaboration: MS Teams makes collaboration with the internal and external contacts through meeting chat functionality, enabling real-time communication and users can share ideas even with their computer screen or mobile devices.

Feature-rich Interface: With Teams meeting, users can leverage features like messaging, emojis, team creation, and event coordination within a single app, simplifying communication and boosting efficiency.

4. Centralised Task Management

Real-time Collaboration: Microsoft Teams enables you to collaborate on documents in real-time, enhancing productivity and streamlining workflows.

Reduced Distractions: Providing access to Microsoft 365 apps directly within Teams, helps to reduce distractions and keeps teams focused on their tasks.

5. Enhanced Security Measures

Proactive Risk Mitigation: Microsoft Teams incorporates robust security measures to proactively mitigate risks while maintaining productivity, ensuring data integrity and compliance.

Encrypted Communications: Businesses can rest assured knowing that all communications and files within Teams are encrypted, providing an added layer of security against unauthorised access and data breaches.

Benefits of Microsoft Teams for Enterprise

As of 2024, only 32% of large businesses or enterprises are using Teams.

For those who are still not leveraging the benefits, here are some of the key advantages of Microsoft Teams:

1. AI-Powered Efficiency

Enterprise can boost productivity by focusing on important tasks with the assistance of AI-powered features that streamline collaboration in an intuitive interface.

• Tailored Experience: Adjust notifications and organise your schedule with Viva Insights, and personalise accessibility settings like high-contrast mode and sign-language view.
• Streamline Collaboration: Effortlessly locate necessary information and individuals with features like intelligent recap and Viva Topics.
• Boost Productivity: Speed up responses with one-click suggestions and simplify repetitive tasks with Power Automate workflows.

2. Seamless Integration

Teams seamlessly connect people and information, making it easier for everyone to work together efficiently and move projects forward.

• Simplify Alignment: Collaborate on files and documents, create teams or assign tasks and share ideas and important messages with remote working or in-house team members.
• Connect Teams: Set up Teams channels for teams, use collaborative apps like Microsoft Whiteboard for sharing ideas, Planner to track tasks, and keep everyone on the same page and informed with Microsoft Loop components.
• Encourage Expression: Share emojis, react during meetings, personalise your video background, and have fun with together mode.
• Increase Impact: Prepare meeting agendas, collaborate in real-time on documents with Excel spreadsheets, conduct polls, and use Games for Work to break the ice.

3. Cost Savings and Growth

Enterprises can save associated costs, enhance customer relationships, and stay ahead by leveraging Teams to optimise business operations.

• Boost Productivity and Security: Teams Premium offers a range of benefits, including improved productivity, advanced security measures, and enhanced collaboration experiences.
• Connect and Empower Your Teams: Enterprise can empower their frontline workers with features like shift and task management. Also, they can break down organisational barriers by utilising multiple accounts and tenants within Teams for employees working remotely.
• Seamless Communication Beyond Boundaries: Enterprise can conduct webinars for large audiences of up to 10,000 individuals. They can also utilise advanced calling features such as auto attendants and call queues through Microsoft Teams Phone. Additionally, businesses can streamline appointment scheduling with Virtual Appointments in Teams.
• Tailor Teams to Your Requirements: Enterprise can customise Teams to align with your specific needs by integrating enterprise apps and personalising your virtual meeting lobby experience with Teams Premium.

Microsoft Teams Features

Here are some of the latest features added to Microsoft Teams in the last few months:

1. Shared Call History

Teams enhance communication efficiency by allowing delegates and delegators to access call history records.

It streamlines collaboration and ensures all parties involved have visibility into the communication logs, fostering better coordination and follow-up actions.

2. Stay Updated with Calendar Notifications

Employees can stay informed about any changes or updates to their schedules by receiving notifications in the Teams activity feed for calendar events.

This features help teams with remote work and conference room attendees to manage their time effectively by providing timely reminders for new meetings, event updates, cancellations, and forwarded meetings.

3. Branded Teams Meetings

Organisations with Teams Premium can now personalise their meeting experiences by customising new meeting invites, pre-join screens, and backgrounds with branded colours and imagery.

This reinforces the organisation's identity and enhances professionalism during virtual meetings, leaving a lasting impression on participants.

4. Seamless Meeting Joining

Microsoft Teams simplifies the meeting experience by allowing users to seamlessly join personal and professional meetings without switching between the Teams interface and different apps.

Also, it eliminates unnecessary disruptions, ensuring a smooth transition between meetings.

5. Share Links to Channels

Facilitating collaboration, this feature enables users to invite others to join channel discussions by sharing direct links to specific channels, posts, or replies.

It streamlines communication channels, making it easier for team members to engage in relevant discussions and share information efficiently.

6. Frosted Glass Background Effect

Enhancing privacy and professionalism, the frosted glass background effect allows users to customise their meeting backgrounds with transparent PNG images.

This feature ensures a distraction-free environment during virtual meetings while maintaining a polished appearance, contributing to a more engaging and professional meeting atmosphere.

7. Improved Meeting Invite Design

With a redesigned meeting invite interface, users can quickly access essential meeting details and join meetings with ease.

The enhanced design improves user experience by providing clearer information and smoother navigation, ultimately optimising meeting participation and efficiency.

8. Content Camera Support

This feature enriches meeting presentations by allowing participants to share physical objects such as whiteboards or documents via a content camera.

It enhances visual communication and collaboration, keeping participants engaged and facilitating more interactive discussions during meetings.

9. Simplified Meeting Transcripts

By excluding details about attendees joining or leaving meetings from transcripts, this feature ensures a cleaner and more focused record of meeting discussions.

Teams streamline transcript review processes, making it easier for participants to extract relevant information and insights from past meetings.

10. Watermark Support for PowerPoint Live and Whiteboard

Teams Premium users can now add watermarks to PowerPoint Live and Whiteboard content during meetings, providing an added layer of security and ownership protection.

In addition, this feature helps organisations safeguard their intellectual property and maintain control over sensitive information shared during presentations.

11. Recap Tab

Accessing meeting recordings and transcripts in the Recap tab simplifies the process of reviewing past meetings.

It provides a centralised location for accessing meeting summaries, recordings, and transcripts, facilitating efficient post-meeting follow-up and collaboration.

12. Archive Inactive Channels

Channel owners and admins can archive unused channels without losing valuable messages, files, or tabs.

This feature helps declutter the workspace and maintain organisational clarity, ensuring that relevant information remains accessible while inactive channels are effectively managed.

13. Customise Channel Tags

Creating tags within channels enables users to quickly reach specific members across different channels, enhancing communication efficiency and collaboration.

This feature streamlines information dissemination and facilitates targeted communication within internal teams, improving overall productivity and teamwork.

The new Teams has full feature parity for almost all features, including custom line-of-business (LOB) apps, third-party apps, breakout rooms, 7×7 video, call queues, PSTN calling, contextual search in chats and channels, cross-post a channel conversation and more.

Additionally, many new features and enhancements will be available exclusively in the new Teams experience, such as support for multi-tenant organisations (MTO) and multi-tenant, multi-account (MTMA), which enable seamless cross-tenant communication and collaboration beyond organisational boundaries across multiple tenants and accounts.

Expanding Microsoft Teams Functionality with Third-Party Integrations

One of the most powerful aspects of Microsoft Teams is its ability to integrate with a vast array of third-party applications, further enhancing its capabilities and customising the platform to suit your business's unique needs.

Examples of third-party tools that can extend the functionality of Microsoft Teams include:

• Project management tools, such as Asana, Trello, and Monday.com, can be integrated into Teams to provide a centralised workspace for task and project management and promote seamless collaboration across existing teams.
• CRM and business software communication tools, like Salesforce, HubSpot or Google Analytics, can be connected to Microsoft Teams to generate scheduled reports and to provide up-to-date customer insights and streamline communication with clients and stakeholders.

Enhancing Microsoft Teams Adoption and Usage with Aztech

Successfully implementing Microsoft Teams and maximising its potential requires technical expertise and a solid understanding of your business's unique needs and goals.

This is where partnering with a trusted IT support provider like Aztech can prove invaluable.

Some of the benefits of collaborating with Aztech include:

• Customised implementation and integration: Aztech's team of experts can work with your business to understand your specific requirements and tailor the implementation of Microsoft Teams to match. By ensuring seamless integration with your existing systems and processes, Aztech sets the stage for a smooth and successful adoption of the platform.
• Training and support: To fully leverage the capabilities of Microsoft Teams, your employees need to understand how to use the platform effectively. Aztech can provide comprehensive training and ongoing support, ensuring your team members have the skills and knowledge necessary to maximise productivity and collaboration.
• Security and compliance: Microsoft Teams, along with the other tools in Office 365, comply with the standards of HIPAA BAA, ISO 27001, ISO 27018, and SSAE 16 SOC 1 and 2 reports. Users can log in using Multi-Factor Authentication and secure guest access, just as with Office 365. Aztech can help your business navigate the complexities of maintaining security and compliance when adopting Microsoft Teams and implementing robust data protection policies and access controls to safeguard sensitive information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why would anyone use Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams offers a comprehensive suite of communication and collaboration tools, making it an ideal solution for businesses seeking to streamline their workflows and enhance teamwork.

Why is Microsoft Teams important in the workplace?

Microsoft Teams facilitates seamless communication and collaboration among team members, regardless of location or device, thereby improving productivity and providing a more connected workforce.

What is the main purpose of Microsoft Teams?

The main purpose of Microsoft Teams is to provide a centralised platform for team communication, collaboration, and project management, ultimately enabling organisations to work more efficiently and effectively.

How can Microsoft Teams help employees to improve collaboration?

Microsoft Teams provides various features such as chat, video conferencing, file sharing, and integrated applications that enable employees to collaborate more effectively on projects and tasks, leading to improved teamwork and productivity.

Why is Microsoft Teams good for businesses?

Microsoft Teams offers a wide range of benefits for businesses, including enhanced communication, improved collaboration, seamless integration with Microsoft 365, robust security features, scalability, and flexibility, making it a productivity tool for modern organisations.

Summing Up

In conclusion, Microsoft Teams offers a comprehensive solution for workplace collaboration, empowering teams to communicate, collaborate, and innovate more effectively than ever before.

With its centralised communication, integrated Office 365 apps, flexible meeting options, and robust security features, Teams provides a powerful platform for driving productivity and success in the modern workplace.

Microsoft Teams offers an exceptional one platform for enhancing communication and collaboration within your business, powering productivity, and providing a connected, agile workforce.

By partnering with an experienced IT support provider like Aztech, your organisation can confidently implement and harness the full potential of this powerful tool.

If you are looking to enhance your business communication and collaboration, Aztech can provide comprehensive IT support services and expert guidance on adopting and integrating Microsoft Teams.

With their industry-leading expertise, you can transform your business and achieve new heights of success with the benefits of Microsoft Teams.

To learn more, get in touch with Aztech today.