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Microsoft Teams on Monday announced a new set of communication tools to deliver online meetings to a larger audience.
“We understand that every customer is in a different stage of your digital transformation journey, and with this new set of communications tools, we are here to make the adoption of the tools your organization needs as simple as possible,” Nicole Herskowitz, Teams General Manager at Microsoft said in a blog post.
The new tools will make it possible to reach up to 20,000 participants using the Teams platform. For now, to provide more control and ease the way large scale meetings are managed, Microsoft has limited interactive meetings to 1,000 participants. Upon reaching the limit, a view only mode is triggered.
Also, Teams will offer an option for companies to add a custom brand background to promote their products or services. ‘Branded’ meeting lobby will be available in the next few months.
Microsoft 365 or Office 365 paid subscribers can add these new tools to their Teams platform with the new Advanced Communications plan, starting this week.
On the hardware front, Microsoft is offering device, such as Microsoft Teams displays, Microsoft Teams phones, and new USB peripherals, with a modern Teams user interface.
The Lenovo ThinkSmart View and Yealink will be delivering the first Microsoft Teams displays in the U. S. later this year.
Microsoft Teams displays were introduced in July. These are dedicated Teams devices, featuring an ambient touch screen, audio and video calling, and a hands-free experience powered by Cortana.
In addition, the company is planning to expand its new line of Microsoft Teams phones that will have physical buttons, high-quality audio, and core calling features. These devices will be available from early 2021.
