businessinfomag.uk
magazine
26
Communications
We have
designed
this product
very, very
carefully to
give teachers
exactly what
they want
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams enhances the
collaboration capabilities of Microsoft
Office 365 by providing a chat-based
workspace where team members can
have real-time conversations and work
on content together. It has four main
elements:
n
Chat.
Threaded chat helps ideas
flow freely and ensures team members
stay engaged and informed. Team
conversations are visible to the entire
team by default, but there is also the
option of private chat.
A library of emojis, GIFs, custom
stickers and memes enables users to
express their personality.
n
A hub for teamwork.
In addition to
collaboration by chat, people can start
voice and video meetings and work on
Microsoft Office documents from within
the Microsoft Teams workspace.
n
Easy customisation.
Each team
can personalise the Microsoft Teams
experience to suit its specific needs.
Users can create channels to organise
conversations by topic, with Tabs
to frequently used documents and
applications, such as OneNote,
SharePoint or third-party solutions like
Zendesk.
n
Security.
As part of Office 365,
Microsoft Teams has the all the security
and compliance capabilities of the
Microsoft Cloud. Data is encrypted at
all times and covered by a transparent
operational model with no standing
access to customer data. Multi-factor
authentication provides enhanced
identity protection to help ensure data
stays safe within the team.
The preview of Microsoft Teams is
available to Office 365 commercial
customers with Office 365 Enterprise
or Business plans. Office 365 IT
administrators can enable Microsoft
Teams for their organisation from the
Office 365 admin center.
Surface Studio & Surface Dial
The latest addition to the Surface
family, Surface Studio provides a more
natural and immersive way to create and
interact with digital content.
Featuring the thinnest ever LCD
monitor and a 28-inch ultra HD 4.5K
screen, Surface Studio delivers 63% more
pixels than a 4K TV. A Zero Gravity Hinge
lets you quickly and easily switch from
Desktop Mode to Studio Mode angled
at 20 degrees – the same as a standard
drafting board – for comfortable
sketching, writing and designing.
Users can create and interact with
content using a pen, touch and Surface
Dial, a new input device that lets you
use two hands on the screen. Specially
designed for the creative process,
Surface Dial integrated withWindows 10
provides a faster and more intuitive way
to scroll, zoom and navigate, as well as
unique experiences exclusive to Surface
Studio. For example, an artist using
Surface Dial could change the colour
or size of their brush tip as they paint,
without moving the pen from the screen.
HoloLens
Microsoft has announced the UK
availability of Microsoft
HoloLens, the world’s first
self-contained holographic
computer to bring together the
virtual and physical worlds. Microsoft
says this will enable UK businesses and
developers to explore the possibilities of
mixed reality computing.
In 2017, Microsoft is updatingWindows
10 to includeWindows Holographic,
the platform that powers mixed-reality
experiences. IDC expects revenues from
the worldwide augmented reality and
virtual reality markets to grow from $5.2
billion in 2016 to more than $162 billion
in 2020.
Microsoft is introducing
new software and hardware
designed to improve
collaboration and creativity
Teamwork and creativity
transformed
Spitfire partners with
Virgin Media Business
Spitfire, the multi-award winning
Internet telephony service provider
and ISP, is partnering with Virgin
Media Business to offer customers
even greater choice of network and
pricing options, including access to
the latter’s nationwide fibre optic
network.
Virgin Media Business has the largest
privately built fibre-optic network in the
UK, supporting real-time IP services such
as VoIP telephony and HD-quality video
conferencing.
The partnership with Virgin Media
Business enables Spitfire to give
customers a choice of carrier and pricing
for its Ethernet solutions and services,
including delivery by Fibre, EFM and GEA.
Justin Orde, Joint Managing Director
of Spitfire Technology Group, said:
“Our new partner agreement with
Virgin Media Business is great news
for our customers, because we aim to
provide them with the right network
connectivity solution for their business
needs and not a ‘one size fits all’ product.
Increasing demand for high speed
bandwidth means we need to offer
customers prompt implementation and
flexible pricing options. Our partnership
with Virgin Media Business gives our
customers access to a substantial fibre-
optic network.”
Spitfire says greater customer
demand for high-speed Ethernet
connectivity is being driven by the
migration of applications and data
storage to the cloud. This accelerating
trend is being powered by Google Apps,
Microsoft Office 365 and other cloud-
based services.
Spitfire Technology Group, established
in 1988, is now one of the largest
independent voice and data solution
suppliers in the South East. It provides
carrier network services and Internet
connections, as well as voice and data
networks and phone systems from
leading manufacturers.
Justin Orde,
Joint Managing
Director,
Spitfire
