Microsoft Teams has released a series of updates in December 2023, focusing on user interface enhancements, security features, and solutions for frontline workers. These updates aim to refine collaboration tools and streamline functionalities for users.
New Features and Enhancements
Several core functions in Microsoft Teams can now be popped out into separate windows, including chats, calls, and calendar events. This change enhances multitasking capabilities for users. Additionally, joining a private team by code now requires approval from the team owner, increasing security and oversight.
The meetings and webinar experience also sees improvements, notably with automatic spoken language detection across Interpreter, live captions, and transcription features. A 'preparing' status now informs users of Interpreter initialization.
Security and Compliance Upgrades
The introduction of Tenant-Owned Domain Impersonation Protection aims to reduce phishing threats by detecting impersonating domains in Teams Messaging. This is a significant stride in enhancing the security of Teams communications.
Moreover, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat becomes generally available, allowing users to generate summaries and suggest follow-up tasks from calls. Compliance Recording ISV support has expanded to include call queues, simplifying management of recording policies.
New Devices and Frontline Focus
New certified devices expand the ecosystem, including headsets from EPOS and Lenovo webcams. A notable addition is the Lenovo Dual-mode Wireless ANC Headset 6550, offering both USB-A and USB-C compatibility.
The launch of the Frontline Hub in the Teams Admin Center provides a centralized platform for deploying and managing Teams experiences for frontline workers, enhancing workflow efficiency.
While not groundbreaking, these updates underline Microsoft's commitment to continuous improvement of the Teams platform.
