Like the Microsoft slide says -- today, a preview is available now for Business Essentials, Business Premium, E1, E3, and E5 customers. It can be turned on in the Office 365 admin center.
See where Microsoft is positioning Teams relative to its give other team communication tools -- somewhere between email (which can lead to a productivity backlog) and Skype (with the quality of quick, efficient verbal communication and chat).
One of the key messages conveyed in the November 2 presentation was how Teams would be hooked right into the applications people use in Microsoft Office 365. The ability to work within different applications without having to give those apps permissions or install something was a selling point.
Microsoft
Note how you can link files within a conversation, put a meeting request on someone's Outlook calendar, or set up a Skype meeting. Microsoft's really bearing down on ways to integrate its products so the end user experience feels seamless.
Microsoft
Users can see lists of files -- these are from Zendesk, so check out how it works within Teams -- and they can also start related conversations around those files. It's handy for those questions that float up when you're in the middle of a related task.
Users can easily find files (that they have permission to view or edit) and open them in appropriate applications, all without leaving Teams.
In another life, this would be a note in OneNote -- and it is in this one too. Users have the option to create or share notes and the material gets synched up as needed. Information capture is a huge priority for Teams.
Microsoft's rundown of all the personality-expressing features in Teams.
As you can see from this screen, the red alert color shows up in a few areas -- in conversations where a message demands attention and in specific messages where a person is being asked to reply.
The red tab alerts a user as to when she's been namechecked by another person.
Look, the ability to make and post reaction gifs! Who's looking forward to a lot of TPS reports images?
You can see how conversations can have threaded replies, but users can just continue chatting around these specific sidebars. Note also how everyone in a channel gets notified with a red alert flag.
Microsoft
Users will have the ability to conduct and respond to polls during conversations -- a feature that's generally used in Twitter conversations.
Customizing and personalizing the user experience -- a big priority for Microsoft.
Microsoft representatives say more than 150 different apps and services will be integrated into Teams by the time it's available for GA in Q1 2017.
Here's an example of a Twitter feed being pulled in to a conversation. This way, users can see what customer- or audience-facing social media is going out that's related to their work.
Microsoft
Here's an example of how a team is able to use Asana to track their to-dos while also maintaining a conversation in Teams. Layering multiple applications' functionality in one shared space is a big selling feature that was referenced a lot in the presentation.
Microsoft's ability to maintain secure communications and meet all sorts of compliance requirements was a big selling point in the November 2 presentation.