New hybrid work innovations in Microsoft Teams Rooms, Fluid, and Microsoft Viva

Many organizations are planning for a future that involves a hybrid workplace, where employees split their time between the office and remote work.

With an eye on the home office and hybrid work, Microsoft is updating some of its main productivity tools, including Teams and Office 365, which will have their applications more integrated with each other.

The goal, through Fluid components, seems to make it easier for users to share projects with other colleagues and work, as well as seeming to be a response to recent Google Workspace news.

Fluid components bring content and conversations together in a single, portable experience that is always up-to-date. People on a team can work at their own pace and drive great outcomes as a team. Microsoft 365 gets more done faster with fewer meetings while providing a more inclusive, collaborative experience for everyone.

Microsoft Teams gets a new design. Participate on equal footing—at home, onsite, or on the go.

Unlocking better hybrid meeting experiences for everyone begins with designing for the people who aren’t in the room, so that everyone feels like they have a seat at the table, whether they’re joining in the room, at home, or on the go. Today, we’re announcing enhancements to Teams meetings and Microsoft Teams Rooms built to create engaging experiences for every participant.

Now the video gallery can be moved to the bottom of the screen, making meeting chat more visible and adding items like notes and calendars next to the main presentation. According to Microsoft, this should help users feel an integral part of a meeting, whether they are in the office or working remotely.

Whiteboard Updates

To empower remote participants to initiate and facilitate whiteboard sessions, we’ve created a completely new, hybrid work-focused Whiteboard experience where all attendees can visually collaborate across the same digital canvas. Available in summer 2021, new features will enable anyone to bring existing content to Whiteboard to co-author; and new templates will help groups start ideating faster, improving their ability to follow along with contributors, and more.

Effective hybrid meetings require every participant to be able to present, and experience a presentation in a way that’s engaging and inclusive. New PowerPoint Live features help create a shared space for collaboration and contributions from everyone in the meeting. Slide translate allows attendees to see the presentation in their chosen language, for instance. And with our new inking experience, you can annotate your PowerPoint as you present—or use a laser pointer to call attention to key points.

Collaborate in the flow of work

We’re announcing the expansion of Fluid components for Teams meetings, OneNote, Outlook, and Whiteboard that make it easier to collaborate synchronously and asynchronously across Teams and Office apps. We’re also announcing new chat features that further support asynchronous collaboration, so you can keep the work moving forward in between meetings. Pin a message, providing your chat members with quick access to critical content anytime, and reply to a specific chat message maintaining context within the ongoing conversation.

Protect time and prioritize wellbeing

Starting later this month, we’re bringing a curated set of guided meditations and mindfulness exercises from Headspace to the Viva Insights app in Teams to help you start your day grounded, relax your mind before a big presentation, or disconnect from work in the evening.

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