ManagedIT - issue 54

24 MANAGED.IT 01732 759725 COLLABORATION receipts’ that show when a chat you have sent has been read; n Manage communications across teams, using an Announcements feature to highlight important news and, coming soon, the ability to post a single message in multiple channels simultaneously and a ‘channel moderation’ features that lets a moderator oversee what gets posted in a channel and whether replies are permitted; n Manage staff, with a new time clock feature that lets shift workers clock in and out via the Teams mobile app (with the option of geo- fencing to ensure they are on-site) and a targeted communications feature that lets team leaders message everyone in a specific role. Microsoft has also introduced new administrator capabilities, such as the ability to apply a pre-defined set of policies across Teams based on individuals’ job function. progress, e.g. through information on file activity and a new team activity feed; and n Integration with other applications. Following last year’s announcement of Dropbox Extensions, which lets users start and finish workflows (e.g. signing contracts or annotating videos) in the Dropbox platform, Dropbox now enables users to start Slack and Zoom conversations and share content to Slack and Zoom channels directly from Dropbox. It has also entered into a strategic partnership with Atlassian for simpler project management. In addition to these developments, the new desktop app, which registered Dropbox users can opt into through the Dropbox early access program, provides an improved experience for teams. New features include the ability to: n Pin files to the top of a folder As the number of people using Microsoft Teams on a daily basis exceeds 13 million and the number of active weekly users passes 19 million, Microsoft has introduced a series of improvements to the Microsoft 365 teamworking and conferencing app. These include the ability to: n • Prioritise time-sensitive communications through alerts that ping a recipient every two minutes on their mobile and desktop until a response is received and ‘read Dropbox is responding to growing demand for a simpler way of working by turning Dropbox into a single digital workspace for a user’s files, work tools, apps and team collaboration. Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox, said: “Work has become scattered – files are spread across devices, in the cloud and on our hard drives. We’re working across multiple apps that don’t talk to each other, and teams are struggling to keep up. We’re focused on removing the friction from that experience, pulling everything together in a way that nobody has done before.” Highlights include: n A single place to create, manage and search for all content, whether it’s a local file, a web page, a web short-cut or somewhere in the cloud (e.g. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, which users can now create, access and share within Dropbox); n Visibility into shared work Partner initiatives In addition to enhancements to the Teams feature set, Microsoft is working with partners to integrate teams with other solutions. For example, it is working with Five9, Genesys and NICE inContact to integrate Teams with contact centre solutions; with ASC, NICE and Verint to add call and meeting recording to Teams; and with retail IT solutions provider REPL to integrate Teams and JDA’s workforce management solution so that shift workers can view their schedules and request changes via the Teams app. Finally, Microsoft is enabling Microsoft 365 partners to offer free six-month trials of the full Teams experience to customers that haven’t yet moved to the cloud or have only done so with Exchange Online. www.microsoft.com to give anyone with access to the folder quick access to content; n Add folder descriptions to give context to files; n Create to-dos at the top of a folder; n @mention teammates to draw attention to folder descriptions or to-dos; n Get updates on file activity, including content shared in Slack and Zoom from any device; n See who’s viewed files with the viewer info feature, now available on desktop; and n Comment on shared content across desktop, mobile and web. www.dropbox.com Microsoft and Dropbox promise easier team working and collaboration with enhancements to Teams (below) and Dropbox (bottom) Teams talk Bringing it all together