Microsoft as we speak (27 March) launched a public preview of the “subsequent chapter” for Microsoft Groups, which it says has been rebuilt from the bottom as much as ship main enhancements together with delivering two occasions sooner efficiency whereas utilizing 50% much less reminiscence.
A darling of the pandemic, Groups is now utilized by 280 million individuals every month. Unveiling the general public preview, Microsoft’s president of collaborative apps and platforms, Jeff Teper, mentioned: “We’ve been listening to your suggestions which has culminated in a reimagining of Groups from the bottom up. The brand new app is constructed on a basis of velocity, efficiency, flexibility, and intelligence—delivering as much as two occasions sooner efficiency whereas utilizing 50 p.c much less reminiscence so it can save you time and collaborate extra effectively. We’ve additionally streamlined the consumer expertise in order that it’s easier to make use of and simpler to search out all the things in a single place. These enhancements additionally present the muse for game-changing new AI-powered experiences, corresponding to Copilot for Microsoft Groups, introduced earlier this month.”
Whereas Microsoft has been making a gradual stream of enhancements within the current Groups app, the most important enhancements will solely be obtainable within the new Groups.
For purchasers utilizing Groups to work with completely different organisations, they are going to now have the ability to simply change between completely different tenants and accounts, with Teper commenting: “We all know that a lot of our clients have organisations that span a number of tenants and accounts. That’s why we now have made a serious funding in our assist for these situations. We’ve improved our authentication mannequin, synchronisation, and notification techniques to supply a seamless and constant expertise. For instance, many shoppers must collaborate with individuals throughout organisational boundaries, which generally means they use Groups throughout a number of tenants or accounts. As an alternative of logging out and in of various tenants and accounts, now you can keep signed in throughout all of them—receiving notifications irrespective of which one you’re at the moment utilizing.”
The brand new Groups will assist a number of the AI developments introduced earlier this month by Microsoft, together with Copilot, which integrates OpenAI’s giant language mannequin throughout the Microsoft 365 suite of apps. Teper mentioned: “The brand new Groups would be the basis for next-generation AI experiences, together with these we’ve beforehand introduced, corresponding to intelligent recap and Copilot for Microsoft Teams. We’ll use AI to take the work out of working collectively by getting you up to the mark on what occurred earlier than you joined a gathering or chat and answering your questions all within the circulation of the dialogue. We’re solely simply starting to see the potential of AI within Groups, and we may have heaps extra to share sooner or later.”
The brand new Groups is predicted to be typically obtainable later this yr. Within the meantime, Microsoft is encouraging industrial Home windows clients to strive the general public preview. For extra info on tips on how to decide in see: https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/new-microsoft-teams/
caroline@legaltechnology.com