Microsoft Teams and Zoom are now two of the biggest competitors on the market when it comes to cloud communications, both offering an excellent solution to the demand for collaboration within a work environment. Zoom is a leader in the video communications industry, having steady growth since it’s IPO in April 2019.

What transpired me to write this article is the privilege I had of writing a client report that looked at the differences between the top 5 online meeting solutions – Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex, GoToMeeting, BlueJeans – I say a privilege because rarely do I really get a chance to have a deep dive into truly comparing these UCaaS products. With the remote environments that have been developed against COVID-19 I thought it would be a great time to put my findings between my two favorites (Teams/Zoom) into an article.

Before I get to the breakdown between Zoom and Microsoft Teams, during my report writing I found this comparison chart from Gartner done on September 2019 detailing the top 5 Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions based on the Gartner Magic Quadrant below:

Winners:
– Microsoft Teams
– Zoom
– Cisco Webex
– GoToMeeting      
– BlueJeans

My Summary

Out of the time that I took to put together a report detailing my findings between these tech giants, I found there to be very little difference in the feature sets they offered. Within my research I found that many of the products mentioned addressed most customers’ online meeting requirements however, it was the accessibility and ease of use that I was also assessing. The user interfaces were easy to navigate, and in most cases, felt modern with excellent designs and control.

It really comes down to what you’re really looking for in a long-term solution. Microsoft Teams gets an extra note as it is not just an online meeting platform, it’s pitched as a team-based collaboration workspace that includes Unified Communications (UC) capabilities. Webex (Cisco) and Zoom do also offer collaboration and UC capabilities however, a key difference is that they have a meeting-only client. Microsoft Teams comes with considerable advantaged features and capabilities outside of meetings such as; file-sharing capabilities leveraged through SharePoint and OneDrive for business for streamlined collaboration within your organization. Now I understand that this may add complexity for some, but it could align to the long-term UC objective of your business. There are no rules against using multiple vendors across your UC strategy but from my research, I would say that as an all in one UC solutions, Microsoft Teams win.

Pricing

Are you currently leveraging Microsoft Office 365 or Microsoft 365? Because if you are, a key benefit of choosing Microsoft Teams is that it is already included so there is no additional cost for you to outlay. It is true that Webex and Zoom both offer a free tier however, they limit the meetings that you have on the freemium to 40 minutes and exclude some features such as single sign-on active directory sync.

Feature Overview

Keys:
Yes
No
Road mapped

Both Microsoft Teams and Zoom have a lot of value to offer for those in search of simple and effective collaboration tools. You can use each platform to build a comprehensive environment for communication, complete with integrations, and even telephony too.

Zoom is an excellent video meetings platform however, Microsoft Teams is an all-encompassing workstream collaboration plus unified communications platform – combining meetings, chats, calls, and file sharing with the Office 365 application stack that brings your entire organization together in a shared workspace and because of that, and for what you get from the price point, I recommend Microsoft Teams over Zoom as a true Unified Communications tool for business.

If you’d like more info on either product, feel free to message me. I generally respond within the hour.

Now there is an extension. The Azure Firewall Manager preview to include automatic deployment and central security policy management for Azure Firewall in hub virtual networks. 

Azure Firewall Manager preview is a network security management service that provides central security policy and route management for cloud-based security perimeters. It makes it easy for enterprise IT teams to centrally define network and application-level rules for traffic filtering across multiple Azure Firewall instances that spans different Azure regions and subscriptions in hub-and-spoke architectures for traffic governance and protection. 

Start with a Tech Evaluation 

Migrating to the cloud doesn’t automatically mean changing your business processes but it does mean changing the way you perform them. It’s important to have a thorough overview of your existing processes and technology infrastructure so that you can prioritise certain tasks more effectively and minimise any disruptions to your workflow. 

A tech evaluation will help you build a complete inventory of your existing systems, including hardware, applications, and any data-bearing systems. Once you have a complete assessment of your technology structure, you’ll be in a better position to determine which processes will make a suitable fit for the cloud and which ones may be better off remaining in-house. 

Get internal support 

One reason many digital transformations fail is because they lack accurate onboarding and training. Moving to the cloud requires using new applications and processes that employees may not be familiar with, which is why they should be involved in the migration process early.  Attaining buy-in from your team and training them early will ensure there are no user experience problems when you roll over to your cloud solution. It also helps create a culture that is supportive of new changes. 

Draw Up a Plan 

Technology vendors routinely claim how easy it is to set up in the cloud. There’s certainly some truth in that, especially if you’re starting from scratch. However, when you’re migrating existing data and systems over to a hosted computing environment, there are plenty of things that can go wrong without proper planning. For example, a lot of bandwidth-intensive apps aren’t well-suited to cloud-hosting, while accounting and customer relationship management software are a perfect fit for the cloud. 

What’s important is that you prioritise app migration and implementation while also taking into consideration all the regulatory and security factors that regulate the transfer and storage of your data. 

Ask for Support 

Setting up the cloud doesn’t have to be difficult when you’re armed with a solid plan, but that also depends on your expertise. Chances are that you don’t have the in-house expertise to ensure a smooth migration. There’s a whole lot of complexities involved in the process, such as configuring administration dashboards, setting up databases, and much more. 

Tech Success know what applications are most suitable for the cloud, how to migrate your data seamlessly, secure the data, along with making sure every employee is engaged and understand the processes and direction of the business. Message me to find out more. 

Azure provides a range of cloud services, including compute, analytics, storage and networking. Users can pick and choose from these services to develop and scale new applications, or run existing applications, in the public cloud. 

Azure is a subscription-based service. Once customers subscribe to Azure, they have access to all the services included in the Azure portal. Subscribers can use these services to create cloud-based resources, such as virtual machines (VM) and databases. In addition to the services that Microsoft offers through the Azure portal, several third-party vendors also make software directly available through Azure.  

Microsoft provides five different customer support options for Azure, including: 

• Basic,  
• Developer,  
• Standard,  
• Professional Direct &  
• Premier.  

What is Microsoft Azure used for? 

Because Microsoft Azure consists of numerous service offerings, its use cases are extremely diverse. Running virtual machines or containers in the cloud is one of the most popular uses for Microsoft Azure. These compute resources can host infrastructure components, such as domain name system (DNS) servers; Windows Server services — such as Internet Information Services (IIS); or third-party applications. Microsoft also supports the use of third-party operating systems, such as Linux. 

Microsoft Azure is also commonly used as a platform for hosting databases in the cloud. Microsoft offers serverless relational databases such as Azure SQL and non-relational databases such as NoSQL. 

Microsoft Azure is also a popular platform for backup and disaster recovery. Additionally, many organisations use Azure storage as an archival solution in order to meet their long-term data retention requirements. 

Optimise your infrastructure and save money

Reduce costs – up to 72 per cent compared to pay-as-you-go prices – with term pricing through Azure Reserved Virtual Machine Instances (RIs). Re-use your on-premises licences to run Windows Server VMs on Azure with Azure Hybrid Benefit and combine RIs with Azure Hybrid Benefit to save up to 80 per cent. Take advantage of spot pricing on Azure VMs and VMSS to run fault-tolerant workloads at deep discounts compared to pay-as-you-go rates. Optimise your cloud spend with Azure Cost Management. Get three more years of free extended security updates for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 when you migrate to Azure.

Azure Success Stack Services 

When it comes to hybrid cloud platforms with a true hybrid cloud experience that increases flexibility, efficiency and productivity is the Microsoft Azure Stack. It draws cross-cloud and on-premise data centres with the ability to run autonomous cloud, completely or partially disconnected from the Internet and public cloud whilst having complete control of your entire business data. 

We look to facilitating various industry needs, we can provide a fully managed solution delivered on-premises in your data centre, at remote locations or host in Tech Success’ data centres. We can build, deploy and operate hybrid cloud and edge applications consistently across Azure and the Azure Stack. 

Message me or click HERE to find out more.  

If you would like a full demo on Microsoft Azure contact us by filling out the form below:

Who isn’t Eligible:

• This offer isn’t available for GCC, GCC High, DoD, or EDU customers.
• For GCC, Check out the Office 365 G1 Trial.
• EDU Customers should use the free Office 365 A1 License.

On March 10th, Microsoft says it will also roll out an update to the free version of Teams that will lift restrictions on how many users can be part of a team and allow users to schedule video calls and conferences.

“As our community focuses on public health needs during the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s important that we also rally together to address the unmet economic needs developing around us. That’s why we’re partnering today with the two largest broad-based regional foundations to strengthen the community’s safety net through this crisis. The Seattle Foundation, United Way of King County, Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks, in coordination with King County and the City of Seattle, will launch a regional COVID-19 Response Fund (CRF) to address the emerging community needs of COVID-19. Microsoft is making an initial $1 million anchor donation to help launch this effort immediately,”

 Says Brad Smith, Microsoft President.

Both Google and Microsoft have also responded to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, by canceling conferences taking place in April and May. Google has also halted most international travel for employees, and Microsoft has recommended that employees work remotely to help prevent the spread of the disease.

If you need any assistance in preparing your readiness plan, please contact us via the form below ASAP.

One of the core drivers behind business transformation is the desire to deliver a more unified and efficient environment so customers can have a better experience in interacting with the business.  

With the prevalence and growing demand for software applications, delivering a cohesive experience is going to require a transformed environment, so into 2020 and onwards we will see applications become an even greater focus within transformation exercises. 

When you look at where those applications are being turned, some of the key benefits for digital transformation in 2020 will include: 

Analytics
Companies that still aren’t investing heavily in analytics by 2020 probably won’t be in business by 2021. Collecting data and running better analytics relies on organisations developing data lakes and having a transformed environment so all applications are communicating with, and using, the same sources of data. 

5G
As a major new piece of connectivity infrastructure, 5G will influence how we work, live and play in ways we haven’t yet considered. What it means is the demands for robust connected solutions from customers and within organisations will be greater than ever, and organisations will need to anticipate a new level of demand on their applications and networks. 

AI
Current applications of AI don’t extend too much further than chatbots and basic prediction tools, but their functionality will expand dramatically in the next decade, and this too will mean AI solutions require more nimble applications, developed and updated according to agile principles, to leverage in full. Legacy applications will not be able to capitalise on AI on any level. 

With this futureproofing in mind, Insight has been actively assisting customers in transitioning to new Microsoft Azure platforms, with a view to setting a strong foundation for the IT environment to capitalise on as needs grow and new opportunities arrive.  

For many organisations, the start of a new decade will be the opportunity to take stock of areas of risk and opportunity. Without a successful transformation into a cloud-ready, digital environment, organisations will be at real risk of extreme disruption.  

While the statistics do show transformation is a challenging exercise, much of this risk can be mitigated by finding the right partner and doing the proper groundwork first. 

If you would like a demonstration on Modern Workplace technology fill in below and we will give you a free demo:

Designed for companies with up to 300 users, the phone system is a cloud-based offering that integrates with Microsoft Teams and Office 365. Business Voice by Microsoft will work across all devices, including smartphones, desk phones, and computers, so that users can make crucial calls from anywhere. 

What’s more, the service also uses AI technology from Microsoft to translate chat messages, transcribe voice mails, and offer real-time captioning to users.  

This system works with the following 365 subscriptions:

• Office 365 Business Essentials
• Office 365 Business Premium
• Office 365 E1
• Office 365 E3
• Office 365 F1
• Microsoft 365 A1
• Microsoft 365 A3
• Microsoft 365 E3
• Microsoft 365 Business

In addition to offering customers a range of Skype for Business certified IP phones, as part of the Teams IP phone certification program, we are announcing the availability of new IP phone hardware that will be certified for Microsoft Teams. This certification program ensures a higher quality bar with higher performance targets and audio quality metrics. Phone vendors are actively working to meet this higher bar and will be qualifying against the new requirements this calendar year. Some of our partners are also working to provide support for the Skype for Business service on the same hardware as the Teams IP phones above. Benefits from the Teams certified IP phone include:

• Native Teams experience with hardware button integration and LED notifications
• Calendar integration and one-touch meeting join
• Deployed and managed via the Microsoft Device ManagementSolution with Intuneintegration

If you would like a Demo on Microsoft Teams and the new Phone System just fill out the below form and I will be in touch:

This will allow Teams users to move and share an email and all its attachments into a chat channel. A new “Share to Teams” button will be made available inside Outlook early this year, and it simply moves an email into Microsoft Teams. It will allow employees using Teams to have a private conversation about an email thread or simply bridge the gap between the systems a little easier.  

Outlook integration has been highly requested, alongside the ability to create private channels and pin channels in the Teams client. Private channels have been in beta in recent months, and it’s finally making its way to all Teams users.

Microsoft is also adding some other important productivity-focused improvements to TEams. A new task pane will be available early this year, and it will include a single view of your personal tasks and those assigned within Teams. Tasks across Microsoft To-Do, Teams channels, Planner, and Outlook will all be visible in this single view, which you can customize to show boards, charts, a list, or schedules.

Alongside these features, Microsoft is also planning to bring Yammer integration into Teams. The app will be available on the main left-hand side of the navigation bar in Microsoft Teams, and provide quick access to Yammer communities, events, and conversations. Later this year, Teams will also get new Polls and Surveys features to add to messages or channels. Microsoft is quickly disrupting the tech space and we’re bound to hear more about the future or TEams, Office, and more.

To get a Demo of Teams just fill out the form below and one of our team members will be in touch:

Much has already been written about the ongoing change initiated by Microsoft stating that the Teams application will be replacing Skype for Business (SfB). However, let’s consider a list of key changes and adjustments that organisations need to expect or anticipate as part of the inevitable move to Microsoft Teams. 

IM Becomes Chat
Skype for Business had instant messaging, but Teams has chat. There are three key implications for IT with this switch.  

• First, persistent chat will go away in the upcoming Skype for Business Server 2019.  
• Second, the messaging experience of the end user will become persistent (versus the short-lived SfB IM).  
• Third, chat messages and file sharing will be synchronised across all end-user devices. 

It Takes a Village
Putting aside purchase models, both Skype for Business and Skype for Business Online could be implemented independently from other Office 365 services. By contrast, Microsoft Teams has multiple service inter-dependencies, including SharePoint Online. 

Direct Routing Is the Secret to Cloud PSTN connectivity
The new Direct Routing (DR) approach for supporting third-party PSTN connectivity with Microsoft Teams is a tremendous achievement for organisations. The SBC will no longer be required to be on the customer’s premises. Therefore, the SBC can be relocated into the cloud, more specifically, directly into a voice carrier’s cloud. This implementation approach will allow organisations to fully shift all Office 365-related voice services to the cloud, thus fully eliminating the requirement for any on-premises infrastructure.  

When Microsoft launched DR, more than 40 voice carriers worldwide announced new solutions and this number is likely to continue to grow. This DR approach will encourage competition, drive product differentiation and spawn innovation within the SBC market. 

Here Today, Not Gone Tomorrow
Microsoft Teams has been architected with very tight and strategic integration with other Office 365 services. As a result, Teams will become very “sticky” – thus greatly decreasing the likelihood of a departmental or organisational switch to third-party alternatives. 

Azure vs On-Prem
Microsoft Teams will use an entirely new cloud-based architecture (vs both Skype for Business and Skype for Business Online). While the transition to a full-cloud service approach to all conferencing and telephony may require a bit of a leap of faith for the hardcore telephony veterans, the belief that Azure technologies will be up to the challenge of providing a highly scalable service is the growing sentiment in the market. 

Meet Global…Connect Local
Microsoft has evolved Teams to support improved UC meeting performance using a Regionally Hosted Meetings service integrated with Azure. This capability allows users to host online meetings from their “local” geo as opposed to the organisation’s home-tenant geo.  

The ability to leverage the large footprint and greater density of Azure data centres, enables users to host online meetings that are closer in proximity to their work locations. With Microsoft Teams, users can join meetings from Outlook, or they can access their prescheduled meetings through the “Meetings” section of Teams. 

Microsoft brought attention to a number of new features that it has brought to Teams in recent months, including unified presence, cloud-based meeting recording, direct routing, and many more. “Today, more than 200,000 organisations are using Teams, including nearly 70% of enterprise customers who use Skype for Business Online. We encourage your organisation to join them and move to Teams today,” Microsoft says. 

What do you need to do if you still use skype for business (S4B):

Since September 2018 Microsoft has been automatically scheduling upgrades for some clients in the following way.: 

• You (or your technology partner) will receive (or may have already received) a notice via email or the Office 365 Message Centre that “Teams is Ready” and prompting you to upgrade to Microsoft Teams. 

• Included in the communications there will be a proposed upgrade date. 
• You will receive a number of reminder emails ahead of the upgrade date. 
• Ahead of the scheduled upgrade, S4B users will receive a notice in S4B notifying them that the change is coming. 
• On the scheduled date, you will be upgraded to Teams. 

Many small-to-medium-sized S4B customers will have their upgrade automatically scheduled by Microsoft as outlined above. Larger organisations may need to work with a technology partner to plan and manage their upgrade timeline. 

For a free consultation session, fill your details below:

Over this time period, we have seen a pattern emerge. Carefully planned and targeted initiatives often have broader benefits than even the original masterminds imagined. The biggest rewards, however, grow from reimagining workflows to accommodate continuous change and establishing mechanisms that continuously measure results. Here’s how to Succeed in 2020: 

Collaborate with business leaders to assess IT services and goals
Work to ensure that the IT Department is a business partner, not an order-taker. Schedule meetings with key enterprise leaders to review the business’ IT departments value based on projects completed in 2019 and how IT can support the new year’s business goals. Put all the feedback into a strategy and rough IT plan for the following quarter, half-year, year or 3-5 years depending on your business roadmap schedule.

Aim to control disruption
Business and technology disruption trends will continue to evolve in the new year and beyond. IT has an increased responsibility and opportunity to help organisations stay ready for the future. Create a transformation management office to identify promising new transformative technologies and methods, and to administer enterprise-wide transformation initiatives.  

IT departments should be proactive about issues before they happen by creating a six-to-twelve-month roadmap. A simple way to create a plan is to look at future ideas using a weighting system to determine which initiatives to prioritise. 

Centralise data analytics
IT departments have long been responsible for data collection, storage, and management. Data analysis, meanwhile, is usually handled within individual business units. Yet as more enterprises begin understanding data analytics’ strategic importance, and as analytics are increasingly performed on a much larger scale and in real-time, there’s an emerging trend toward moving to a more centralized data analytics approach. 

Successful analytics requires IT engineers and data scientists to work closely with each other and with business units to develop solutions and generate useful insights. 

Stay on top of security
The start of a new year is a good time to evaluate enterprise security and IT’s role in protecting systems and data. Take time to move from firefighting mode, and work with your team to think about the big picture. Research shows that security topics are still relevant today because IT teams are unable to take the time to get those basics in place. 

Create space for security experts within the IT team, particularly if a dedicated security team isn’t available. Security breaches have become commonplace, and customers and business partners want to know their data is fully protected.  

Given the seriousness of the threat, security risk management should be integral to all business and IT decisions in 2020. Understanding your risk tolerance levels, and how that informs your team’s strategy will help your organisation in the long run in terms of investments and assurance to your clients. 

Reach out to external customers
As 2020 kicks off, IT leaders should devote time to addressing the needs of their enterprise’s external customers, challenging their teams to assess how well they’re supporting business leaders on meeting product and/or service priorities. 

Building empowered, cross-functional teams focused on delivering value to customers is the most effective way to improve the organisation’s ability to deliver value to customers. To create these teams, you must annihilate the barrier between business and IT. Look for ways to create digital products or services that help improve customer experiences. 

IT organizations need to move away from their service provider roots to become an active participant in creating and enhancing business value. As we head into 2020, it’s not enough for IT departments to keep the lights on and the organization safe.  

If you are thinking of Implementing Modern Applications such as Microsoft Teams. Fill out the form below and get a free Demo: