At the beginning of October 2023, Microsoft started a phased rollout of the new Teams application. From that moment on, end users could independently switch between 'Teams Classic' and the new Teams. Microsoft announced some time ago that the new Teams would eventually be forcibly rolled out to all users.

This will happen at the end of March. From that moment on, all users will switch to the new version and the 'Classic' version will be deleted, unless the update is deliberately postponed by the administrator of the Teams environment*. The rollout of the new version is a decision that Microsoft has made centrally. As an organization, you must therefore prepare for the switch in time.

*Users always have the option to use the new team version by changing the slider at the top left.

Issues with the new Teams

Especially at the beginning of the launch, there were some issues with the new Teams client. For example, not all functionalities were available compared to the Classic version and there were also sometimes problems with webcams, headsets and certain plug-ins. Microsoft is working to resolve these issues. We therefore recommend that you start with testing to determine the impact on your organization.

What has changed and/or is new?

Good to know: these are a number of minor changes – especially with regard to the interface – and not a revolutionary change. Basically, Teams will continue to work as you are used to. So what's new? First of all, the look has been refreshed and it all looks a bit sleeker. In addition, Microsoft indicates that the speed has increased significantly: the application starts up to 2 times faster and attending meetings is a lot faster. Furthermore, the user experience of Teams channels and Teams meetings has been improved.

• Teams in a new look: The biggest visible change is in the fresher look.
• To manage all contacts in one place: Within the new Teams, you can manage all your contacts in one central place.
• To manage notification settings in Teams: Teams notifications can now be set up directly in the Teams app.
• Display of messages in channels You can now choose whether new posts appear at the top of a channel or at the bottom
• Search in specific chat or channel. Searching in the entire Teams environment could sometimes be confusing. That's why you can now perform searches for a specific chat or channel you're in.
• New Presentation Toolbar: In the new Teams, the presentation toolbar has been improved to make it easier to manage a presentation during video meetings.
• Better microphone settings for even voice and noise cancellation: The user experience related to the microphone has been improved in several areas. The Teams app now automatically adjusts the sensitivity of the microphone.
• Presence information is better updated: With the new Teams, your attendance will be updated instantly and consistently as your availability changes.

The above is just a small selection of all the other new features and improvements. For a complete overview, click here.

Limited impact of forced rollout

Because these are minor changes, and that many users are already using the new client (on their own initiative), we expect that the impact of the forced rollout will be limited. In the reports at our customers, we see that many users have already switched on their own initiative. Still, our advice remains to test well with the new Teams before releasing the update. Discuss with the administrator of your Teams and/or IT environment how you want to deal with this, so that you limit any negative impact of the update and make optimal use of the improvements and new functionality within the new Teams.