Microsoft has announced several new features in Microsoft 365 and Teams designed to support frontline workers, including new features in Endpoint Manager for shared devices, a new Onboarding Wizard, Viva Connections and new integrations.
The new features, outlined in a Tech Community blog, will be discussed in more detail during Microsoft’s Ignite event next month.
According to Microsoft, the company is adding new features in Microsoft Endpoint Manager designed to support organizations using shared devices, including the ability to locate a lost device, single sing-on and device-wide sign-out across platforms.
The company also announced that Endpoint Manager can now manage and protect devices running on Android Open Source Project (ASOP) which the company says are frequently used by workers on the frontline. Now, Endpoint Manager can be used to configure, provision and manage tailor-made devices like RealWear, the first AOSP device available, for either shared or single use.
Microsoft also announced a new Onboarding Wizard found in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center that guides users into creating the right team structure and applying it to the correct licenses and policy packages to get frontline workers up and running.
“By aligning the right channels, apps, and settings a superior workforce interaction experience is created across the organization,” Microsoft said in the post.
Microsoft also announced the impending general availability of Viva Connections mobile, which the company says provides a single, company-branded destination for shifts, news, tasks, resources and more. These are all configurable to an organization’s needs and can be deployed directly into Teams.
Viva Connections mobile comes with adaptive cards purpose-built for frontline workers to access core applications like Shifts, Approvals and Tasks in one view.
For medical organizations, Microsoft has announced improvements to virtual visit capabilities, including scheduled queuing (in private preview) that allows users to view all virtual visits in one simplified location. The feature includes real-time information on patient wait times, missed appointments and staffing delays, and users can send SMS messages and email reminders directly from the queue.
Also available in private preview is the ability to schedule and launch virtual visits from the Cerner electronic health record system via the Teams Electronic Health Record connector for Cerner. This allows patients to launch virtual visits from the patient portal for SMS without having to download an app.
Meanwhile, providers can launch visits from the Cerner PowerChart, and system administrators can manage and configure the EHR integration and access downloadable consumption reports. The teams EHR connector is also available for Epic customers, Microsoft says.
Microsoft is also making available in private preview a waiting room for virtual visits that can be branded with logos and other messaging, SMS notifications for virtual visits and a Microsoft Forms integration for virtual visits.
Now generally available, users can also join a virtual visit from their mobile device on a mobile browser, eliminating the need to download Teams.
Lastly, Microsoft also announced a partnership with DocuSign for electronic signature approval requests natively within the Teams Approvals. This allows managers to add their signature without leaving Teams.
In addition, users can now add the Approvals app right within a Word document to create a request for the entire document or just a particular section.
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