Microsoft Teams: The Future of Communication

(Estimated reading time: 3 - 6 minutes)
Ralf Riethmuller

Ralf Riethmuller

Heads the service department at KUMAVISION. In this role, the technology expert is also responsible for Cloud, Teams and office 365

 

Microsoft Teams has helped many companies through the pandemic-related lockdowns. But our team expert Ralf Riethmüller sees more in the tool, namely a real game changer for internal and external communication. In this blog post, he explains why there will be no getting around the collaboration platform in the future and what else you can do with the tool apart from taking part in virtual meetings.

During the corona pandemic, many companies discovered Microsoft Teams for themselves. That was obvious because it was at Office 365 this is what most companies use, and because it is great for chatting and video conferences - an emergency solution to remain able to act from the home office during the pandemic. However, if you see the tool as a phone with a built-in messenger service, most of its potential is wasted in the depths of the application. And more and more notice that. It shows bit by bit the almost unlimited possibilities this platform offers. I don't want to lean too far out the window, but I believe that teams will become the central tool in internal collaboration as well as in communication with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. And because the word “revolution” has been used a little inflationarily in the IT environment lately, I limit myself to the prognosis that teams will become a tool like Windows: everyone has it, everyone uses it.

How do I come to this steep thesis?

Almost everything can be integrated into Microsoft Teams: Teams is not a self-contained piece of software, but a platform. This means that the range of functions can be expanded almost at will. Anyone who has ever taken the effort to browse through the apps on offer will know what I'm talking about. There are whiteboards on which several people can develop ideas at the same time during creative meetings. Or task planners, with which tasks can be assigned and processed transparently. There are apps for agile project management, mind mapping, surveys, vacation management and even health management in the office. In this way, every user can put together a functional environment that is optimal for their own way of working. The Microsoft Store knows almost no limits in this regard. That's nice for individual employees. But it becomes really valuable when you do what the name of the platform suggests: work in a team.

microsoft teams business central integration

© Screenshot KUMAVISION / Microsoft

Microsoft Teams provides information from all areas in a targeted manner: Let's assume that the sales department has established its own team in a company. In this group it makes sense to create a dashboard Power BI to integrate. All members now have access to their relevant sales metrics directly from Teams and do not need to open a new program to do so. Doesn't sound very spectacular at first. But the same applies to, for example Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Thanks to seamless integration, data records can be displayed via a link in Microsoft Teams. The sales employees see directly in teams which sales figures they have, what the sales opportunities are with a specific customer and can call up data from a special order - without even having to change the application once. No more tedious searching for information from all possible applications. The flood of e-mails is also contained and communication is more precise: In the teams chats, a defined group of people exchanges messages, distributes tasks via a task planner and integrates data, facts and figures from connected systems into every message. This professional information management makes teams the linchpin of internal communication. And while we're at it: also the external. Because customers, suppliers and other stakeholders can be directly integrated into teams, which also optimizes the mutual exchange of information with these groups.

microsoft teams business central integration

© ScreenshotMicrosoft

And what about documents?

If you have Microsoft Teams, you no longer need a file server: This is nothing new for companies that operate a document management system. You simply integrate your DMS into your ERP system and all documents are available. But even those who have previously worked with file servers can retire them. Every employee can use their 1 terabyte storage space on Microsoft OneDrive for their own data. That should be enough. General company information such as company regulations or product data is much better and more transparent on Sharepoint. All project or department-related data can be stored in appropriately set up teams and are available there to precisely those people who need them.

And what if I lose track of the mass of information available?

Many things in Microsoft Teams are self-explanatory thanks to integrable chatbots: We know chatbots from various websites that are sometimes more or less helpful when answering questions. These intelligent problem solvers can also be integrated into teams. Some are readily available in the Microsoft AppSource, such as the C:AI Adoption Bot, which answers questions about Teams and its functions. But it is also possible to train your own bot. This can support employees with internal questions and guide them. A classic question that comes up again and again in every company: How does travel expense accounting work? The chatbot answers these and other questions according to the information stored - without an employee from the administration having to take extra time. Bots are also helpful and save a lot of time when searching for documents on a specific customer or topic. Basically you can say: Whenever it comes to finding stored information in the question-and-answer game, bots are your friend.

If teams can do so much - how do I manage not to get lost in the jungle of functionalities during the introduction?

Microsoft Teams must always be integrated into a higher-level digitization strategy: As nice as the almost inexhaustible functional potential of teams is - with so many possibilities there is always the risk of wild growth. There is no general recipe for what an optimal team introduction should look like. As well as? The information that is provided and the teams that are structured must be tailored to the company. The focus is on questions such as: What do I need for my business? How can I optimize my processes? How can I offer my customers added value? This then results in the challenge of finding the right tools for implementation and drawing up an IT development plan. If you follow the topics related to the digital transformation at KUMAVISION, this approach may sound familiar to you. Because it is the process that our digitization consultancy recommends on the way to digital transformation. No matter what comes out of these questions in your company, I am sure that teams will play a huge role in solving them.

Do you have questions about digitization and the efficient use of teams? Get in touch with our digitization consultancy.

Contact