In a recent announcement, Microsoft revealed that the monthly active users of its collaborative platform, Microsoft Teams, have surpassed an impressive 320 million. The Teams app store now boasts an extensive collection of over 2,000 applications, empowering enterprises to create more than 145,000 custom line-of-business (LOB) applications.
This update builds upon the information shared in October when Microsoft initially disclosed reaching 320 million monthly active users for Teams. To further enhance user experience and productivity, Microsoft integrated ChatGPT into Teams earlier this year, allowing enterprise users to leverage Teams to call Copilot through plug-ins, streamlining various tasks.
In October, Microsoft introduced a new version of Teams for Windows and macOS. The new Teams app offers 3x faster installation, 2x faster startup times, 1.7x faster switching between chats and channels, and a 2x faster meeting join experience. Additionally, Microsoft has reduced memory resource usage by 50% and disk space by 70%.
While users still have access to the classic version of the app, Microsoft plans to transition them to the new app in the coming months, as the classic app is set to be retired by the end of June 2024. The new Teams app now encompasses almost all the capabilities of the classic version.
Anupam Pattnaik, Product Lead for Microsoft Teams emphasized, “New Teams now has full feature parity for almost all features including custom line-of-business apps, third-party apps, breakout rooms, 7×7 video, call queues, PSTN calling, contextual search in chats and channels, cross-post a channel conversation, and more. We have focused on providing high-quality performance and enhancing the basics in areas such as reliability, security, and IT management to make sure that new Teams meets the evolving requirements of your organization.”
In addition to performance improvements, the latest version of Teams introduces refined operational logic, reducing the presence of unnecessary clutter in notifications and messages. Microsoft’s continuous efforts to refine and optimize Teams underscore its commitment to providing a seamless and efficient collaborative environment for users worldwide.
In a related development, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates highlighted that 2023 marked the first year he relied on AI for work rather than just using it for entertainment purposes. Gates expressed optimism about AI’s potential to act as a “force of good” in the future, addressing socio-economic discrepancies and inequalities, potentially leading to positive societal changes.
Furthermore, Microsoft terminated the “mixed reality” feature for Windows, eliminating the functionality that allowed certain hardware devices and software to access augmented and virtual reality technologies.
Read next: 10 features in the new ChatGPT-powered Microsoft Teams Premium that you should know of
