Video conferencing could be about to get a lot more interactive after Microsoft Teams announced a number of new upgrades.
At its virtual Build 2020 developers conference, the software giant announced a number of new features and integrations that are coming to Teams soon.
The new Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code Teams extensions will allow developers to quickly build scaffolding, configure features, create and validate app package manifests and start the app publishing process either by themselves, in their organization's catalog or directly to the Teams app store. The Visual Studio Code extension is available now in public preview and the Visual Studio extension is coming soon.
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Microsoft also unveiled Power Platform integrations with Teams that allow developers to build custom low-code apps, workflows, chatbots and dashboards for their teams and customers. Soon PowerApps makers will be able to add their apps to Teams with a single click. At the same time, adding low-code bots from Power Virtual Agents will also be simplified.
Managing apps and creating new teams
IT admins will have a much easier time managing apps thanks to a new streamlined process to manage, review, approve and publish custom apps directly from the Teams Admin Center. A new 3rd-party subscription experience will also enable them to view and purchase subscriptions for 3rd-party Teams apps. IT admins will be able to purchase licenses and even pin the app to targeted employees directly from within the Teams Admin Center.
Handling app permissions will be easier as well as IT admins can grant consent to Graph API permissions on behalf of their entire organization. They will be able to see granular permissions and provide resource-specific consent with the ability to install an app to a specific team.
Microsoft is also helping organizations create new teams more quickly with templates. Each template comes with pre-defined channels, apps, and guidance on how to utilize and customize it. IT professionals can even create new custom templates for their organizations which allows them to standardize team structures, surface relevant apps and scale best practices.
Microsoft Teams is adding new features at a steady pace and the updates announced by Microsoft at this year's Build conference will help attract more developers who will create new apps for the service.
Microsoft Teams has seen extensive growth during the pandemic, with the video conferencing tool recently surpassing 75m daily active users.
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