Microsoft Teams Communities: Platform for Enhanced Collaboration

The Evolution of Microsoft Teams: Introducing Communities

In the face of a shifting work landscape, the way we connect with one another has too, shifted. Technology has now equipped us with the ability to work almost anywhere, transforming nonessential physical meetings into virtual gatherings. However, our human inclination towards connection hasn't changed. Microsoft's latest offering, the communities in Teams, caters to this need.

The company is excited to announce communities in Teams—a novel experience designed to promote connection, sharing, and collaboration. Independently of the group type - from a recreational sports team to a small business, everyone can now benefit from a digital space aiming to keep groups connected before, during, and after meetings. This functionality is currently underway in the free version of Teams.

Beyond the existing features of Teams, such as chats, calls, and file sharing, you can now construct community groups to meet, organize and share ideas. The shared platform for your communities can facilitate group messages, community calendaring, group-specific document sharing and filtering of content for a more straightforward access to photos, videos, events, and links.

Starting your community is easy. You can create a community with various types suggested on the home screen. Then, you can invite group members through various mediums such as email or QR code. As a community owner, you possess the power to manage settings, set community guidelines, and moderate content to ensure a safer and hospitable environment for community members.

The community feature includes options for organizing virtual, hybrid, or in-person events. From scheduling events to the follow-up with attendees, everything is streamlined. Event-specific features like adding a cover image, together mode, and screen sharing help to foster unity and engagement during meetings, regardless of the participants' location.

Microsoft has taken steps to partner with diverse organizations like the American Youth Soccer Organization, California School for the Deaf and AISECT, demonstrating use-cases where Communities can enhance their processes. These partnerships highlight Teams' potential to bridge gaps, centralize communications, and help organizations improve workforce participation.

In the not too distant 2023, be prepared for access to SignUpGenius within Teams, a leading solution within the Lumaverse Technologies platform. This advancement will simplify scheduling and event planning, enabling meaningful changes. This signals Teams' commitment to enhance experiences for organizations and communities alike in the coming years.

Communities can be an asset for small businesses as well. It can foster stronger customer relationships and even create unique spaces, like virtual groups for announcing sales or carpools for coworkers. Essentially, it's all about keeping everyone connected.

The experience of Communities in Teams, currently available for all iOS and Android customers using the free version, will soon be coming to desktop as well. Microsoft account holders can access communities via the Home tab in the mobile app. To create a community, simply click on Home.

With these recent developments, it's evident the tech giant is making strides to leverage technology to enhance human connection in the face of changing work landscapes.

Read the full article Microsoft Teams Communities: A Platform for Connection, Collaboration, & Sharing

Learn about Microsoft Teams Communities: A Platform for Connection, Collaboration, & Sharing

In recent times, a key shift can be observed in how we interact with each other. The power of technology has enabled us to operate from almost any location, minimizing unnecessary in-person appointments. However, our innate need for human interaction and community remains the same in a hybrid world.

We are thrilled to unveil the communities feature in a well-known collaborative platform, thereby offering a fresh perspective that empowers people to congregate, establish connections, share information, and cooperate effectively. So, whether your squad comprises enthusiastic sports enthusiasts, event planning teams, parent-teacher organizations, or a small business, this updated feature provides a virtual space for groups of all kinds to stay interlinked before, during, and after events. We are gradually rolling out this functionality in the freely accessible version of the collaborative platform.

In addition to existing features – like chatting, calling, and file sharing – you can now create a dedicated zone for community groups to come together, organizer events, and exchange ideas. This new experience brings your communities under one umbrella. You will be able to:

• Effortlessly broadcast messages to everyone involved in the group
• Arrange gatherings and schedule them on the shared community calendar
• Share and store records tied to group activities
• Filter content to swiftly access photos, videos, events, and links

Getting started is a breeze. Simply take a swift path by creating a community with our suggested types visible on the home screen. Infuse a bit of personal touch by adding branding elements such as a group picture. Then, extend an invitation to potential members through their email or phone number, or by sharing a direct link or QR code.

You will enjoy the convenience of efficient management of the online community. Community owners can manage settings, define community guidelines, and moderate content as required to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for the members.

The community feature also encompasses a fresh event-organizing ability for planning virtual, hybrid, or in-person happenings. For instance, you can easily add new meetings to your community calendar, invite guests, monitor attendance, and communicate with attendees through direct private chats. Online gatherings just got better – you can effortlessly add details for dial-in and a link for frictionless joining of events by your attendees. Furthermore, a location can be added for physically-attended events, providing attendees with accurate directions via a visual map. Hybrid and virtual attendees are not left out; they can attend sessions from any device through audio or video.

We are presently teaming up with organizations such as the American Youth Soccer Organization, California School for the Deaf, Riverside, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and AISECT. For instance, the American Youth Soccer Organization is planning to utilize our platform to connect volunteers, centralize communications, and create a one-stop location for its 500,000-member strong community group.

Moreover, in 2023, users can avail SignUpGenius's functionalities within our platform to recruit volunteers, coordinate events, and manage various sign-ups. SignUpGenius is a cutting-edge solution within the Lumaverse Technologies platform, committed to bringing people together for meaningful change via scheduling, volunteer and member management, event planning, and fundraising simplification.

Going forward, we eagerly await the opportunities to join hands with more organizations and communities, as we continue to enrich our offerings. We believe that closely-tied small businesses can function similarly to community groups. One could leverage these tight-knit working relationships by fostering an online environment that encourages team members and customers to connect in shared spaces.

The advent of communities in our platform enables your small business to transition seamlessly from customer calls to team events and everything in between. It permits you to create virtual community groups with customers who are enthusiastic about your product, announce a new sale, furnish real-time updates about upcoming events, and cater to every aspect of your business needs.

Whether you need to meet, chat, share, or plan together, this new communities feature enables you to create distinct places and organize groups effectively. Simply click on 'Home' to get started on creating your very own community. Rest assured, there is no need to install another application, and your personal data will be kept private and secure. Let's build a vibrant and interactive community together.

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