Teams applications are now available outside of Teams

Microsoft has announced that Teams applications are now available outside the collaboration platform for the first time.

In a blog post, the company revealed that members of the Targeted Release early access program can now use a small number of Microsoft Teams apps from email services Outlook and Office.com.

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“With this improvement, apps built for Teams will run not only wherever Teams runs, but also in more of the places where users spend their time in Microsoft 365,” explains Microsoft.

Microsoft Teams apps

Since the start of the pandemic, Microsoft has been fighting to establish Teams as the central hub for work. The goal was to give employees access to all the tools they need in one place, by integrating a variety of first- and third-party services into the platform.

And the strategy seems to be paying off. The latest data suggests Teams has accumulated more than 270 million monthly active users (MAUs), up from less than 50 million daily active users before the pandemic started.

Illustration labeled: "Same wonderful experience available everywhere you work." Displays the Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Outlook icons, and below them are screenshots of Power BI in Office, Microsoft Teams, and Outlook. Source: Microsoft — Illustration labeled: “Same delightful experience available everywhere you work.” Displays the Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Outlook icons, and below them are screenshots of Power BI in Office, Microsoft Teams, and Outlook. Source: Microsoft

However, Microsoft has now shifted its approach to focus more on creating fluid experiences that streamline the transition between different Microsoft 365 services. The introduction of Teams applications on other Microsoft platforms can be seen as part of this process.

Initially, only a handful of Microsoft Teams apps will be available outside of the regular client; some from Microsoft itself (e.g. Power BI) and some from third-party vendors such as Zoho and Mural. And these apps will also only be available to a small number of users in preview.

However, the company has promised to double down on the program, with a suite of Teams apps migrating to other Microsoft spaces in the coming months.

Microsoft says IT admins can control which “enhanced Teams apps” are available to employees from the regular Teams admin center.

Source: tech radar