Organizations today are more spread out than ever before, with remote and hybrid work becoming a business staple. But for employee collaboration and communication to remain successful, companies ought to invest in dynamic work platforms, such as Microsoft collaboration tools.
With over 200 million users, Microsoft Teams (aka Teams or MS Teams) is the solution that all businesses should turn to. But after the announcement of Teams’ Premium add-on, it can be confusing to decide whether or not you need Premium, particularly if Teams’ Free version appeals to you.
This blog will demystify both versions of Teams and help you decide if upgrading is right for you.
What is Microsoft Teams?
MS Teams offers users a unified workspace that is powered by Microsoft solutions. It allows teams to collaborate easily by providing them with an environment to meet, chat about projects, share files, organize team meetings, and more.
It is a cloud-based solution, meaning that Teams can be accessed using any device that connects to the Internet. The program can also be used in conjunction with other applications to increase its capabilities.
While Teams can be acquired on its own, it is also a part of Microsoft 365—a suite of integrated productivity tools designed to enhance employee performance and support workplace procedures.
An overview of MS Teams Premium
Teams Premium is an add-on license that enhances the pre-existing Teams platform and its capacity to foster collaboration and communication. Teams Premium licensing offers users additional functions that can customize their platform to their specific needs, ensuring that their Microsoft collaboration tools are in line with their team members and company values.
Some extra features that Premium offers users are:
- Advanced meeting protection: Restrict recordings, leverage end-to-end encryption, apply watermarks to meetings, and more to ensure the highest level of protection.
- Advanced webinars: Create and manage events with new tools, such as virtual green rooms, for less stress and more engagement.
- Live, translated captions: AI translates conversations within virtual meetings. This is done in real time to ensure that all participants are able to communicate and stay engaged. It also supports 40 languages.
- Intelligent recap: Summarise meetings using AI to consolidate the information you and your team must know.
- Branding: Allows users to develop custom meetings that reflect their business’ image. You can also customize together mode scenes.
Similar to how Microsoft Office 365 is available, Premium’s add-on requires users to pay on a per-user/per-month basis (this can be managed by Microsoft Teams consulting services). If your business is scaling up rapidly, or perhaps you run a large company whose staff requires additional solutions for enhanced collaboration and communication, Teams Premium could be the answer to your needs.
What is MS Teams Free?
Teams Free is the most basic version of MS Teams, providing users with standard Microsoft collaboration tools with no costs attached. While Teams Free may not be at the level of Premium (in terms of advanced features), it does provide you with the foundation that defines the Teams platform. It is a great way to begin building your company’s Microsoft-defined IT network.
Teams Free provides the opportunity to make use of:
- Data encryption to protect files, meetings, etc.
- Meetings with a limit of 100 participants.
- One-on-one meetings (unlimited but with a 30-hour limit for each meeting).
- Group meetings (unlimited but with a 60-minute limit for each meeting).
- Cloud storage (5 GB/user).
- Limitless chat functionality.
- Polls, file/document sharing capabilities, etc.
Teams Free is a wise choice for smaller organizations that require robust collaboration and communication tools for a bargain price (that is, no price at all). Whether you need video conferencing solutions, chat capabilities, or your team members need to work on projects together at the same time, Teams Free can set you up for success.
What is Microsoft Teams consulting, and how can it help businesses with Teams adoption?
MS Teams consulting is a cost-effective service offered by Microsoft experts to help companies adopt and launch Microsoft collaboration tools (in this case, Teams) within their systems. Business owners that want to maximize Teams’ features should consider hiring Teams consultants.
Their expertise extends beyond the platform. They can analyze your organization and its processes before considering how Teams can help you overcome operational weaknesses. Specifically, Microsoft Teams consulting can take the form of: Platform procurement and implementation, advisory services covering Premium and Teams Free, general platform support, and more.
Acquire Microsoft Teams consulting to help you leverage Microsoft collaboration tools
Ultimately, the decision of choosing Free or Premium depends on your company’s situation. If your business is just starting out or is at a size that does not (necessarily) require more advanced chat and team collaboration functions, then Teams Free may be the best option for you. But, if your organization is seeking to expand its collaborative capabilities, then Microsoft Teams Premium may be the solution you need.
However, regardless of whether you decide to go with Premium or Free, you can rest assured knowing that your business, employees, and processes will be maintained by a robust collaboration platform that can meet the requirements of your ever-changing organization.
IT Gurus’ Microsoft Teams consulting services can provide you with unprecedented access to MS Teams specialists that can take care of all your Teams needs, allowing you to focus on your business and customers. Reach out to IT Gurus today to strengthen your company’s collaboration tools, have an expert team maintain them, and boost your productivity tenfold.
