Microsoft is set to bring some of its most successful software offerings much closer together in a new update to its video conferencing platform.
The company has announced it is working on a new feature that will allow LinkedIn profiles to be displayed in Microsoft Teams.
The information will be displayed in personal chats, meaning colleagues can find out more about their co-workers, say when planning for a project or looking to help with onboarding.
Microsoft Teams LinkedIn
The official entry in the Microsoft 365 roadmap notes that the change will allow users to see LinkedIn profiles of their colleagues in 1:1 chats only to begin with. Users will be able to view information on a person's profile via the LinkedIn tab in the 1:1 chat panel.
The update is still currently in development, with Microsoft projecting a March 2022 release date at the moment. The tool is also noted as being generally available to all global users across Microsoft Teams web and desktop versions.
Microsoft bought LinkedIn back in 2016 for around $26.2 billion as it looked to get a foothold in the social media space. The move has so far proved successful, with Microsoft's most recent financial results showing that Productivity and Businesses Processes, which includes Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn, was up 19% YoY to $15.9 billion.
However, the site has struggled to break into the potentially-lucrative Chinese market, with Microsoft forced to launch InCareer, a completely new app solely for Chinese users after being forced to withdraw its standard offering.
Elsewhere, however, LinkedIn appears to be enjoying strong growth in other markets, with Microsoft recently announcing the launch of its worldwide Services Marketplace for freelancers and adding a Hindi option, opening the service up to over 600 million speakers globally.
Microsoft Teams continues to go from strength to strength, with the latest figures from the company showing that the service now boasts over 270 million monthly active users (MAUs).
Recent data collected by software firm StarLeaf found almost all (97%) businesses say that tools such as Zoom, Webex and Teams are now essential to their operations.
More than half (57%) of the 2,000 UK-based respondents claim their company would not be able to operate for more than an hour without access to their communications tools, while 27% admitted they would struggle to function for even 30 minutes.
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