7 most exciting app announcements at Microsoft Ignite 2022

If you follow Microsoft products, you may know about Microsoft Ignite. Held annually, it generates many exciting updates and announcements in the Microsoft world.

One thing you’ll notice is that Microsoft Teams got a lot of love at the event. Microsoft now describes Teams as “the app at the center of Microsoft 365. We can see why the company continues to improve this virtual workspace. Teams now has more than 280 million users. Not surprisingly, Microsoft has introduced more than 450 new Teams features. And that’s just in the last year.

We discuss some Teams features below, along with other Microsoft app announcements from Ignite. These may give you some ideas for your next digital workflow upgrade.

Teams Premium

There is a new Teams Premium offering from Microsoft that adds a whole new AI component to the platform. This service includes several AI-powered features. They make it seem like you have your own meeting assistant.

Some of the cool features include automatically generating chapters from a Teams meeting. The app also generates personalized highlights for you. This avoids having to revisit the meeting later.

If you have international meetings, you can enjoy real-time translations for captions. Meeting guides is another new feature. It sets your meeting options based on your needs.

360-degree intelligent camera for team meetings

SmartVision 60 is the first intelligent mid-room 360-degree camera. It has the ability to track the speaker as they move. The camera will also soon have a function for recognizing people.

Virtual meetings can feel much more like real meetings with SmartVision 60. Instead of seeing only a small video feed of one person, the movement of the camera can capture an entire team.

Cisco is now a Certified Devices Partner for Teams Rooms

Those who are fans of Cisco meeting products will be pleased to know that they now have more options. Microsoft has announced that Cisco is now a Teams Room Certified Devices partner. You can now start Teams meetings on all certified Cisco meeting devices.

Microsoft Places

One of the virtual workspace apps that supports the new hybrid movement is Microsoft Places. This is a team management app that can be integrated with the rest of the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

The office still exists, but for how long? Much of the world had to do things virtually during the pandemic. Many companies and employees thought it was better that way. Seventy-four percent of U.S. companies have or plan to adopt a permanent hybrid work model.

Microsoft Places is yet another way Microsoft is leading the hybrid office revolution. Some of the app’s features include:

• Manage and track where employees work (home or office)
• Keeping track of whether colleagues are away or available
• Track the use of physical space to make strategic decisions

Hours & Location feature in Outlook & Teams

Another feature announcement related to the hybrid work world is hours and location. This is a new feature added to Teams and Outlook to make it easier to schedule face-to-face meetings.

It can become difficult to schedule face-to-face meetings if you don’t know who is working in the office and who is remote. If you plan without checking, you will definitely alienate someone. They will not be happy if they planned to work from home that day.

The new hours and location feature allows people to specify where they work. They can adjust this from hour to hour. It takes the guesswork out of planning.

Loop App Private preview

Another exciting app announcement Microsoft made was about its Loop app. It stated that Loop entered a private example. This gives some organizations a chance to check it out.

Loop is a collaborative workspace app that helps teams generate ideas in a virtual space. All data retrieved from Microsoft 365 apps is automatically synced to stay up-to-date.

Microsoft Clipchamp Video Editor

You may have noticed an unfamiliar app that dives into Windows. Microsoft Clipchamp was formally announced at the Ignite event. It is a fast and simple video editor for Windows PCs.

Have you ever felt frustrated trying to fix a video and not having the right tool to do it? Then you may want to take a closer look at what Clipchamp has to offer. It seems to have a fairly low learning curve.

Help navigating the Microsoft 365 universe

Microsoft 365 has come a long way in a short time. There are many different app integrations you can use to power your workflow. But it can get a little complicated without an expert to help. Call us today to schedule a Microsoft consultation.

Source: gopher