12 most useful applications for tuning Microsoft Teams -

12 most useful applications for fine tuning Microsoft Teams

Teams has established itself as Microsoft’s flagship software, with a growing number of compatible applications. Increasingly used by businesses, it is becoming the meeting point for different corporate tools. That’s why many software applications have created a Teams extension, to better integrate their services with the videoconferencing software. What are the most useful applications? And how has Teams made its way onto our computers? Here are the answers.

Teams, Microsoft's star performer

Teams is the new Windows ? Microsoft has succeeded in changing its image, and is no longer perceived as a digital dinosaur, but as an innovative player. For a long time, Windows was seen as THE software suite that everyone worked on, but its image had become outdated. Not open source enough, not innovative enough. New online services and applications developed by Microsoft have given it an old-fashioned look. If the Richmond-based company has managed to turn the corner, it’s thanks in no small part to the move to a cloud-based suite, Microsoft 360, and a solution like Teams.

The young application has established itself in everyday use, and has been strengthened by the development of telecommuting. In March 2020, Microsoft Teams celebrated its 3rd anniversary, reaching 44 million daily users. The collaborative platform, which integrates videoconferencing, file storage and transfer with SharePoint, note-taking with Onenote and meeting planning with Outlook, has established itself as a central service not only for businesses, but also for individuals.

It’s not just in the office that we’ve become accustomed to exchanging messages and videos. The same applies to our private lives, with the restrictions imposed by Covid. So it’s hardly surprising that Microsoft has recently adapted Teams for home users. In particular, with features to make daily life easier, such as to-do lists and event creation, and an interface that lets you know what’s important or urgent, such as taking out the trash or booking a restaurant…

The latest sign of the importance the American firm attaches to its service: it will be compatible with the group’s latest innovation, the Mesh metaverse. At Ignite, its annual conference dedicated to tech professionals, Microsoft unveiled the arrival of its virtual reality universe in Teams. This new feature enables remote meeting participants to interact as personalized avatars in immersive spaces, from any device, without special equipment and regardless of their location. The aim is to offer more interaction during remote exchanges.

Teams has well and truly supplanted Windows and is part of the American giant’s revival. Among the reorientations undertaken by new CEO Satya Nadella, and which are so successful for the company, is the opening up of a previously locked-down ecosystem. As a result, other applications can connect to Teams and further extend the service’s potential. Here’s a selection of the most useful applications for tuning up your Microsoft Teams.

The most useful applications and tools for Microsoft Teams

Here’s a selection of 12 of our most useful apps. There’s something for everyone: from HR to marketing to managers, or simply to improve working conditions for all employees.

1 – The sound

Successful video conferencing isn’t just about the quality of the software or the connection. The conditions in which you capture the sounds and interventions of each person often bring a clear improvement to your conferences, especially when several people are involved. Shure, for example, offers the full audio range from microphone to loudspeaker to make remote meetings more enjoyable.

2 – Project management

A must-have for teamwork, project management software has also been integrated into Teams. Keep track of what needs to be done, in what order and by whom. You can ask questions about a particular part of the project, or find out at a glance when a task is due. These are just some of the solutions offered by task management software. And rest assured, your favorite is probably already compatible. For example, Tello, Asana or Wrike.

3 – Analytics

Of course, Microsoft also offers add-ons for its application. For example, PowerBI, a business intelligence and analysis program, can be integrated into Teams in the form of tabs. The aim is to keep an eye on results in relation to set objectives. In this way, marketing departments can track which keywords bring in the most traffic, which pages are viewed the most or which call-to-actions are the most effective.

4 – Polls

Hosting a remote meeting is never easy. Relying on an instant polling tool is a great way to get your audience active. Poly allows you to conduct polls via Teams, gathering feedback from participants before, during or after the meeting. Was this meeting useful? Do you have an anecdote to share before we start the meeting? Which speaker do you prefer for our next event? Polly makes it easy to ask these questions remotely.

5 – Team Building

Remote working has the major drawback of ruining team spirit. Or giving it a serious knock in the wing. So to encourage exchanges and positive feedback, you can rely on Karma. The app encourages you to praise a successful presentation or answer a question, by awarding points to each. The aim is to recognize each person’s work and keep the pleasure and desire to work together alive.

6 – Q&A

Finding information is often a headache in today’s increasingly centralized world. However, there’s an application that developers have been using for a long time, which allows you to put all your information in one place and structure it into a simple tree. It’s called Wiki. The software is the perfect way to make a practical guide available to all, which everyone can add to. Ideal for collecting processes or FAQs. In short, a real knowledge repository.

7 – The flipchart

If there’s one thing we miss in remote meetings, it’s the post-it note! How can you have a proper brainstorming session, work on a prototype or even map out the competition without a board on which to place colored squares? Fortunately, there are some very good digital versions, such as Miro. And the solution integrates with Teams. Don’t just chat with your colleagues: collaborate live.

8 – Lesson Scrum meetings

Inherited from agile methods, the scrum meeting, widely used by developers, has now been extended to all teams. It involves a daily team meeting to share progress on the current project. During this quick update, everyone explains what they did the day before, what they’re going to do next and any problems they’re encountering. Scrum Genius is a great asset to integrate into Teams, making it easier to keep track of these recurring meetings and the progress being made.

9 – Health

Highly rated on Microsoft App Source, Employee Wellness by Health Hero enables employees, as well as students using Teams at their university or school, to set themselves sporting challenges. Thanks to its gamified interface, the application encourages sporting activities and exchanges.

10 – RH

It’s not easy being HR these days. The world of work is undergoing such upheaval that relying on software to remotely manage days off, expenses, hiring, not to mention monitoring and encouraging teams. Workday has already proved its worth, and is now available directly in Teams.

11 – Graphics

A picture is worth a thousand words. With this in mind, the ability to easily share mockups, wireframes, flowcharts and process models is a huge advantage. Thanks to Lucidchart, all collaborators can modify or comment on the graphics you’ve created without leaving Teams.

12 – The MOBILE

Teams is the perfect tool for working with your colleagues and organizing meetings with your customers. But when they want to get in touch unexpectedly, they have to send an e-mail or make a call.Onoff Business associates a mobile number with your Teams. Customers can reach you on your 07 and you receive the call in Teams. A perfect solution for being reachable from the outside, whether on your mobile or your computer. Onoff Business lets you manage all your team’s business numbers, making it considerably simpler to manage your company’s telephony.

With Teams enhanced in this way, you’re sure to make a splash!