Episode 3: Managing & Using Microsoft Teams

Post-Ignite there’s been plenty of chatter about Microsoft’s decision to eventually phase out Skype for Business for Office 365 subscribers in favor of Microsoft Teams. The workplace communication app became generally available for Office 365 subscribers in March of 2017 and continues to accrue Skype for Business features.

At Lakeside, we’ve been experiencing this shift first hand as part of Microsoft’s early adoption program for Teams. While our journey to Teams has been relatively smooth (in part thanks to our ability to request features from Microsoft), we know that, for many enterprises, changes in key software often require significant IT effort. The SaaS nature of Office 365 in general has necessitated a new IT approach to monitoring and managing the workplace suite.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Kaushal Mehta, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, who works with developers and customers on the early beta for Teams. Mehta shared his insights on managing Microsoft Teams:

“It’s easy to manage, so IT admins can focus on making sure the software is meeting the organization’s needs while we do the back-end,” he said. “We manage the service (updates, rollbacks) and then IT admins manage the switches and knobs to control the experience for their users.”

If you’re interested in hearing more from our discussion, including how Teams is used at Microsoft and Lakeside, listen to the latest episode of Lifeguard IT, “Managing & Using Microsoft Teams.”

Lifeguard IT is a podcast about the intersection between enterprise IT and the people, business processes, and technologies that define the modern workspace. Grab a towel, slather on some sunscreen, and tune in as hosts Heather and Linda discuss how IT can protect their users while making the computing experience more like a sunny day at the beach.

In this episode, hosts Heather and Linda discuss implementing and using Microsoft Teams with special guests Dan Salinas, VP of Americas Sales and Business Development at Lakeside, and Kaushal Mehta, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft. [Full disclosure: this episode was recorded through Skype for Business. We look forward to seeing that feature arrive in Teams.