Microsoft Teams was launched in 2017, but has already become a market-leading communications- and collaboration platform with over 145 million daily users as of January 2022. Teams is a service in Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) and replaces Skype for Business (formerly Lync) as a platform for instant messaging and online meetings.
Teams is far more than Skype. The solution is built on top of SharePoint, and document collaboration in Teams occurs in associated SharePoint sites, supporting OneDrive. This means that file areas can synchronize with OneDrive and can be seamlessly available both in the cloud and on local storage.
Teams is also designed to integrate with a variety of other services, with support for both Microsoft’s own solutions, third-party providers and internal business applications.
Collaboration in Teams is generally done in various “rooms” also called Team(s). A Team can be divided into different channels. A typical scenario might be that one Team is created for a larger internal project, while different phases/audiences in the project each have their own channel for their own interaction and document storage. Teams can be used by both internal and external users (if the company’s security policy allows it), and the platform is therefore widely used for interaction with people who are not necessarily employees of the business.
Overall, Teams can be seen as a solution that covers several areas:
The Teams platform is evolving, with new capabilities and possibilities. Teams offers great opportunities, but also presents a challenge if one does not take into account that this is something far more than a replacement for Skype and other messaging services.
A key point is that one often ends up with storing important business documents in Teams, and this fact necessitates information management of such content. Content management can be a challenge with uncontrolled creation of Teams and channels without a clear lifecycle strategy, roles and responsibilities, division of applications and lack of links to business data and business processes. Teams use can also be significantly more efficient if templates are used, so that users have access to predefined and suitable work areas for specific tasks.
Skyvekraft has not only worked with Teams as a communication platform: we have extensive experience in key areas for successful usage of Teams: Strong expertise in SharePoint and information management, integration with enterprise processes and other IT solutions, and interaction with the Dynamics 365 / Power Platform.
In addition, Skyvekraft has developed Collaboration Control, a solution that allows the organization to orchestrate the creation, management, and lifecycle management of Teams, with automatic linking to business data and business processes.
We can assist with advisory services related to Teams, from the technology area (architecture, integration, security etc), to process support and implementation, including lifecycle management, as well as development of roadmaps and plans.
We can assist with the implementation of Teams in the organization. We have experienced advisors, developers and consultants who together cover the necessary disciplines. We can undertake both standalone projects, deliveries as part of a complete IT solution or ongoing assistance agreements.
We can assist with support and transfer of expertise to the company's own IT resources. This can be as part of an implementation project, or as an ongoing support role / sparring partner.
We can assist with application management services related to Teams. This can be in the form of monitoring capacity, usage and performance, in addition to providing support and assistance.