The Microsoft Teams tool is an app we’ve mentioned quite a few times throughout our Blog and Insights. We spoke about how to get the most out of Teams (you can find that blog here, in case you missed it). In this blog we’ll discuss how to deploy Teams quickly and efficiently for your organization.

This chat centric collaboration tool that works with Microsoft 365 that offers access to everyone you work with via chat, video conferencing, web calling and even scheduling. In our current work-from-home environment, it’s the perfect tool in maintain or increase productivity while keeping everyone connected.

Currently, Microsoft is offering free trials on most of their licenses for Teams because of COVID-19. These licenses include:

• Office 365 E1 License (Six-month trial) *
• Office 365 G1 License (Six-month trial for government organizations) *
• Teams Exploratory License until January 2021
• Standard 30-day Trial for Microsoft Products

*the asterisk denotes that this is an offering based on the COVID-19 pandemic

Regardless of the license selected, the initial set up will require your organization to select a tenant name, or corporate domain name. This name will carry over if your organization decides to extend or commit past a free trial, therefore it is important to select a domain name that fits the business. The domain name will also be used for other tools offered by Microsoft such as SharePoint Online and OneDrive.

Your license and subscription can be managed all through the Admin Center which acts as the main control hub for all things related to your Microsoft account. There, you can manage all the resources related to your account. This includes different users and user groups. The Admin center is an important piece to the Microsoft licensing puzzle as each individual user will need their own license in order to access Teams. Under the Users tab you will be to control, grant or deny access to all applications for any users.

It’s safe to say that some of your users will be new to Teams and while most settings can be configured by the company administrator it will be continually important to educate users on all things Teams. Through Teams you can find that there is existing help for new users, but if that isn’t enough Teams allows for Learning Pathways to be installed directly onto the Teams App.

Teams is a great tool for any organization that is looking to enable more collaboration and productivity. Teams can be used as an app that is available though both the iOS and Android App Stores as well as online through teams.microsoft.com.

Deploying Teams for your organization can be a challenge, much like any other big change and sometimes it may be best to leave it to the experts, like PCI! If you’re interested in deploying Teams or any other Microsoft 365 tools for your organization, give us a call or contact us online via our chat. We’ll answer any questions you have.