Microsoft Teams rolls out to Office 365 users globally

Microsoft Teams, the company's alternative to Slack, is now rolling out to Office 365 customers globally, Microsoft has announced. This means the software is now available in 19 languages across 181 markets, giving Office 365 users a new option for holding team and office chats. According to the company, Microsoft Teams already has more than 50,000 organizations using the platform, including big-name companies like Alaska Airlines and Expedia.Microsoft Teams: 5 things you need to know

Microsoft launched the Teams preview back in November 2016, giving a large number of individuals access to it. The software is described as a 'chat-based' workspace specifically for teams of people; anyone who has used Slack will see the similarities.

The software presents a 'threaded, persistent chat' feed between all users, and it now boasts new features launched following its preview debut. This includes the ability to make audio calls on Teams using a mobile device, to send emails to a specific team channel, use markdown formatting, and get notifications for all posts made in a channel.

Microsoft says that it has thus far added video calling features for Android, and that it will be bringing the same feature to iOS and Windows Phone soon. Any emails sent to a channel will be presented with rich-text formatting and can include attachments for downloading. There's also now support for public teams.

The new features continue on from there, including the ability to schedule things in Teams, set busy-and-free calendar availability for individual members, make something recurring, and more. Microsoft says that there are 150+ integrations available and in the pipeline; teams will get access to various bots from services to expand and customize their teams' abilities.

The serivce is also now more inclusive via the addition of accessibility features like high-contrast colors, keyboard-only navigating, and screen readers. Of course, Microsoft says that more features will be added in the future, one of which will be deeper Outlook integration this summer.

SOURCE: Office Blogs