Introducing Microsoft Teams Premium 

One of the premier benefits of operating on the Microsoft software platform is the rapid innovation and development that is consistently taking place with its product offerings.  

Have any problem or shortcoming you feel hampers your user experience for any software or Microsoft service? Chances are that Microsoft is already aware and working on a fix for it in a future update. And if not that, then constantly thinking about new features and updates.  

This time around, we look at Microsoft Teams.  

Microsoft Teams is the premier communication and messaging platform for businesses in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem that offers services such as workspace chat, videoconferencing, file storage, and application integration. It was meant to replace pre-existing collaboration platforms that Microsoft offered, such as Skype for Business and Microsoft Classroom, to integrate users on one platform.  

There were several recent updates and additions, but the new one, Microsoft Teams Premium, promises to be the most ambitious and substantial yet.  

What is Microsoft Teams Premium? 

Teams Premium is a substantially more robust offering than the basic software package. Premium has all the existing features of Microsoft Teams and several additional ones to make Team meetings more “personalized, intelligent, and secure.”  It is meant for businesses and organizations that aim to make their meetings more “personalized, intelligent, and secure” and leverage virtual meetings’ full potential and capabilities.  

According to Microsoft, Premium features are set to roll out in December as a part of the Teams Premium public preview and mass commercial release in February. A lot more remains to be seen, but we still have a fairly good idea of the additional capabilities that Teams Premium will offer, so let us look at them.  

Microsoft Teams Premium features

1. All-in-one package

According to Microsoft, one of Premium’s main selling points is the convenience afforded through the all-in-one package.

You need not worry about a disjointed experience now with having to deal with installing or purchasing different sub-products or add-ons for Microsoft Teams, as Premium will offer everything needed for one standard price.

2. Greater personalized customization

Premium recognizes that there are no “one size fits all” meetings. Mass generalization and standardization are fast becoming outdated concepts with greater artificial intelligence capacities allowing for more personalized experiences and customization.

To that end, Premium’s brand-new Meeting guides feature allows users to automatically and intuitively carve out and mold the type of experiences they feel best fit for their meetings and requirements.

The guide is automated to a large extent and easily customizable. All you have to do is select the meeting guide for the type of meeting. That will lead you through most of the process since the options are already set.

This helps to cut down on time and ensure that company meetings meet certain standardized quality practices and policies.

There are also other features for further customization, such as adding custom branding and designs in meeting lobbies or backgrounds. This might seem small, but it goes a long way in ensuring your organization’s visual identity in its services and removing the monotony from factory-setting software programs.

3. The power of AI at your command

As we discussed, artificial intelligence plays a bigger role in software offerings than ever.

The same is the case for Microsoft Teams Premium, which offers a new Intelligent recap feature that harnesses artificial intelligence to ensure your meetings are more productive and impactful than before. It is like your very own virtual assistant in Microsoft Teams since it advises actions to users so meeting follow-ups are not ignored or neglected.

Furthermore, it creates smart recordings where the vast capabilities of AI are used to generate features that would otherwise require professional editing, such as automatic chapter creation from videos and audio with several insights and targets, including name mentions, screen shares, or members leaving. These markers allow users to make sense of long video calls or meetings better and help discover the important parts of a meeting quicker.

AI is also used in Premium to vastly drive accessibility and outreach since the Live translation for captions allows instant AI-powered real-time translations from 40 spoken languages, significantly breaking down communication barriers. This helps ensure effortless productivity in meetings which can now be more easily scaled up to global levels with multiple multilingual participants.

The above is just a taste and sampling of the features and services that Microsoft Teams Premium will offer.