The next generation of Microsoft Teams is officially available to try now
We have exciting news for anyone wanting more from Microsoft Teams, after the company revealed that a new “premium” offering is now available to try.
Officially called Microsoft Teams Premium, the new version of the video conferencing platform offers a range of enhanced features as well as more customization and personalization options.
“Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re making Microsoft Teams Premium available for broad preview as a limited trial for our commercial customers through the Microsoft 365 admin center,” Margi Desai, Microsoft Teams product manager, wrote in a blog post. (opens in a new tab). “Features included in this offer began rolling out in December this year and will be available through January.”
Microsoft Teams Premium
First revealed at the company’s Ignite event in October 2022, Microsoft Teams Premium has generated interest across the tech space with promises to make meetings more personal, smart, and secure.
The new launch will allow businesses to add their own branding, customized backgrounds and Together mode scenes to increase their presence in meetings. Setting them up will also be easier, and users will be able to choose from multiple meeting types that will be customized by IT teams to get you up and running with the right settings much faster.
Among other new features is “Smart Summary,” which uses AI to transcribe meetings and can even translate them in real-time into 40 different languages, helping to increase meeting integration. The AI can also mark important moments and add chapters to recorded meetings for easy playback of relevant sections.
Advanced security features such as watermarking sensitive documents and restricting recording permissions protect businesses from leaks. End-to-end meeting encryption is also offered, as well as confidentiality labels to prevent unauthorized duplication of meeting chats.
Webinars are also being overhauled, and Microsoft Teams Premium offers new host and event management controls, including a registration waitlist, manual approval, and custom registration start and end times, as well as virtual green rooms and advanced virtual meetings.
Full directions for signing up for the preview can be found on the Microsoft blog, and general availability is scheduled for February 2023, when customers with existing Microsoft 365 or Office 365 licenses will be able to purchase Teams Premium as an add-on to existing Microsoft 365 services.
