Microsoft is adding communities in Microsoft Teams, another way to encourage connection and collaboration among team members via a digital space for before, during and after gatherings.
According to Microsoft, communities allows teams to create a space for community groups to come together. The feature enables teams to organize and share ideas by posting messages to everyone in the group, organizing events that are added to the community calendar for everyone to see, sharing and storing documents dedicated to group activity, and filtering content to quickly access photos, video, events and more.
Users can create communities with suggested community types on the home screen and add branding elements like a group picture for the community. Group members are invited through email addresses, phone numbers, a link or QR code. Community owners can manage settings, set guidelines and moderate content.
Communities can also be used for organizing and hosting events, including virtual, hybrid or in-person. Users can add new events or meetings to the calendar, invite guests, track attendance and follow up with attendees through direct private chats.
The online events feature allows users to add dial-in details and a link for easy joining, and users can add a location and give directions via a visual map for in-person events. Guests–either hybrid or virtual–can join from any device through audio or video.
In a blog, Microsoft says several organizations are already using communities in Teams, such as the American Youth Soccer Organization; USA Hockey; California School for the Deaf, Riverside; Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras); and AISECT.
For small businesses, Microsoft says communities can help nurture and support tight-knit small businesses by helping them move seamlessly from customer calls to team events.
Communities in Teams is available for all iOS and Android customers using the free version of Microsoft Teams. Communities is also coming soon to desktop. When signed in with a Microsoft account, users can access communities in Teams through the home tab in the mobile app.
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