Direct from Microsoft
One year from now, Microsoft is retiring Skype for Business Online, and Microsoft Teams will officially be the de facto collaboration software in Microsoft 365. The Microsoft Teams blog outlines this retirement date along with training, workshops, and technical guidance for organizations still needing to make the switch.
The Microsoft Teams blog also posted their monthly What’s New in Microsoft Teams | July 2020 edition covering the new calling and meeting experience, “Only me” lobby settings, new Microsoft Teams Room app version, and IT admin features like rooms device management, Advisor for Teams, and Information Protection sensitivity labels. More details on new Teams management features can be found in this separate post.
Microsoft’s Education Blog also outlined 25+ Updates for Microsoft Teams for Education for Back to School. Given that more distance learning is on the horizon for this Fall, it seems the Teams product group is rapidly deploying changes to accommodate educators including updated attendance report options, virtual breakout rooms, increasing meeting attendance to 300 (with planned up to 1,000), School Data Sync (SDS) for bulk creation of M365 groups and class teams, and better assignment management.
Microsoft Teams media optimization is now out of preview and officially supported on Windows Virtual Desktop. Check out the documentation to get it set up and configured for this awesome service.
Community Contributions
Ever wonder why there are Teams certified audio devices and why they use USB dongles? Check out this article by Chris Hoffman on How-To Geek about Why Bluetooth Headsets Are Terrible on Windows PCs. And no, you’re Apple Earbuds are not certified for Teams although may they seem to work adequately.
MVP Josh Blalock continues reviewing Teams certified devices with this YouTube video on the Yealink UH36 Headset Overview and Demo.
Graham Walsh outlines What’s New in MTR App version 4.5.35.0 including joining Cisco Webex meetings directly from a Teams Room and Windows 10 1909 version support.
Road Map and Admin Center Updates
Hard Audio Mute
Gives meeting organizers the ability to mute meeting participants while removing the muted participants’ ability to unmute themselves. Expected release is September 2020.
Presenter Mode for Microsoft Whiteboard in a Teams Meeting
Meeting organizers will have the ability present a whiteboard and remove the ability for meeting participants to edit the contents. This is rolling out now.
Speaker Attribution in Live Captions
Starting rollout in mid-August, live captions in meetings will now have a speaker attribution. This will also the caption reader to know who is speaking at the time.
Update to Teams Usage Reports in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and the Teams Admin Center
Microsoft will update usage reports to ensure they are consistent with how Teams “active user” is defined in Microsoft’s financial reporting and public disclosures. The definition for “Daily Active User” will include a more comprehensive set of intentional user actions. Rollout starts at the end of August.
Training
Premier Field Engineer and former MVP Michael Tressler has a fantastic YouTube playlist on Teams Rooms Quick Tips. He and Nate Smyre also have extended training available in a new course titled Microsoft Teams Rooms Foundation for IT & AV Pros.
If you’re looking to take the MS-700 Teams Administrator Associate Exam, Skylines Academy has released The Ultimate MS-700 Managing Microsoft Teams Study Guide.
Tip of the Week
Alright, I’m going to pat myself on the back for this tip of the week. If you need to find out why your port order for phone numbers failed, you can find it using Skype for Business Online PowerShell:
Need to find out why your port order for #MicrosoftTeams was rejected? The answer is in #PowerShell! Run Get-CsOnlineNumberPortInOrder and check out the Errors property. Here are two real life examples: pic.twitter.com/nlaNOHsai0
— Jeff Brown Tech (@JeffWBrown) July 31, 2020
