PART 4 OF A 5-PART SERIES

In part two of this series, my colleague Rodolfo Castro covered key topics for a basic network review  and provided general best practices to ensure that your company’s network is ready for Microsoft Teams.  Assessing your network is essential for a successful Teams deployment and overall positive end-user experience.  Then, we announced Poly’s four Professional Services to help our customers on their transformational journey to Microsoft Teams.

In this blog, I’ll focus on what to expect around the end-user experiences in communication and collaboration, interoperability with other users and devices, and native Poly Microsoft Teams device options.

End-User Experiences

When I talk about end-user experiences with Microsoft Teams it typically falls into two categories: communication and collaboration.  Both categories start with the Microsoft Teams desktop or web client (one stop shop) and continues with end-user devices (more on that later).

Communication

For communication features, we have instant messaging, internal or external audio calls, and joining and scheduling video meetings which should be familiar for most of you.  Instant messaging or chat takes on new capabilities like threaded conversations, the ability to like and save messages, team member mentions, and my favorite ­– emojis and GIFs for some added flare to your messages.

Collaboration

For collaboration, it’s all about the new concept of teams, channels, tabs, file sharing, and quick access to Office 365 applications like Outlook, SharePoint, and Planner to name a few.  Teams, channels, tabs… oh my!  To simply put it, ‘teams’ within the Teams app are a collection or group of people, content, and tools for a project or business purpose. Meanwhile, ‘channels’ are dedicated sub-sections for specific tasks or topics within the team.

Here’s a nice illustrative representation of teams and channels:

overview-of-teams-and-channels-Poly blog

Source: “Overview of teams and channels in Microsoft Teams”

Interoperability: How do I connect to Microsoft Teams?

A few of the questions I’m often asked with Microsoft Teams deployments are around video interoperability sound something like this:

“How do I connect my existing video conference systems to Microsoft Teams meetings?”

“How do external video conference participants connect to my Microsoft Teams meeting?”

As your organization plans or deploys Microsoft Teams it is important to document and validate existing or future workflows.

The Solution:

Poly’s RealConnect video interop solves the interoperability workflow by enabling users to connect from personal clients, Microsoft Teams Rooms, as well as traditional video conferencing systems to join Microsoft Teams meetings.  Poly’s RealConnect is available as a Microsoft Azure-hosted cloud video interoperability service or as an add-on feature of on-premise Poly collaboration infrastructure.

For more information check out the RealConnect data sheet.

Additionally, you can connect your organization to Microsoft Teams today at no charge with Poly RealConnect Service for Teams via Poly endpoints ­– new and existing.  If you own a qualifying Poly Eligible Endpoint or purchase one before June 30, 2020, you’ll receive our RealConnect Service for Microsoft Teams video interop service at no charge. More information on this offer is available here.

Microsoft Teams Device Options

Earlier, I mentioned devices as part of the Microsoft Teams end-user experience and then I talked about the interoperability of existing video conference systems to Microsoft Teams meetings. But what about Microsoft Teams certified devices?

Poly has a solution!

Poly is a certified Microsoft partner with Microsoft Teams device solutions for Teams rooms, video conferencing, desktop phones, speakerphones, headsets, and professional services.

A certified Microsoft Teams device ensures that your users will experience high quality audio calls and meeting experiences.  Some of the benefits include:

  • Native Teams experience
  • Calendar integration
  • One-touch meeting join

Here is a list of current Poly certified Microsoft Teams devices with more coming soon:

Cameras/Room Systems

Phones/ Speakerphones

Headsets

How Can Poly Help?

Whether you are just starting your journey or are completing your migration/ deployment to Microsoft Teams, Poly has the Microsoft experts and experience to help you along the way.

From certified Microsoft Teams devices to Microsoft Teams professional services, Poly can help!  We would love to hear from you.

For more information about Poly Services for Microsoft Solutions including our Network Readiness Service for Microsoft Teams, email us at  TeamMicrosoft@poly.com or visit  https://www.poly.com/us/en/products/services/professional.