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Microsoft has announced that a premium service for its Teams collaboration platform is underway as part of a phased rollout that will end in 2023.
At this year’s Microsoft Ignite event, the company explained that the optional premium add-on features are for video conferencing software make meetings more personal, intelligent and secure.
The Teams Premium preview will be available in December 2022. General availability will come in February 2023, with the most impressive features leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) rolling out in the first half of next year.
Microsoft Teams Premium Features
“Intelligent Summary” allows AI to transcribe meetings, use recordings to tag important moments, as well as chapters in meeting recordings for easy playback of relevant sections.
AI also provides real-time meeting transcripts in 40 languages. Microsoft has stated that this will make meetings more inclusive. This is no doubt true, but it’s a shame the feature is locked behind a paid subscription after it’s been previously announced for general release.
Advanced security features, such as document watermarking and recording rights restriction, protect companies from leaks. Microsoft 365 E5 customers can also apply their existing Microsoft Purview information security labels to meetings and apply appropriate restrictions.
Setting up meetings also becomes easier, as users can choose from a range of meeting types that can be customized by IT teams, so they can join meetings much faster with the right settings.
Webinars, which can already be hosted in Microsoft 365, will also be upgraded in Teams Premium. Users have access to a registration waiting list with manual approval, automated email reminders, a virtual green space, and control over what participants see.
But it is not just the internal company meetings that will be overhauled thanks to the new service. Business-to-consumer (B2C) engagements can also deliver benefits, thanks to an “advanced” personal appointment system that allows SMS meeting reminders to be sent, a “branded lobbying experience” and organizing both scheduled and unscheduled events. demand agreements.
Microsoft has clearly worked to make Teams Premium affordable for businesses of all shapes and sizes. How much value remains to be seen, as Microsoft hasn’t announced pricing yet.