Microsoft is introducing desk booking functionality to its Teams communications and collaboration platform.

In a welcome update adjusting to hybrid working as the new normal, users will soon be able to reserve desks as soon as they get into either their company office or a shared workspace and log into the Teams platform. The service will illustrate all available desks for the workday ahead, empowering hybrid workers to take control over their desks and work management without having to rely on management to organise it for them.

Additionally, IT admins will be able to monitor the booked desks within the new capability, enabling them to collect critical insights and develop future structures or systems based on this data. Managers can enjoy valuable information such as which desks are most popular with employees, which employees most enjoy working in more isolated spaces, and which employees prefer working in close proximity to colleagues.

The official 365 Roadmap entry reads:

With the bookable desks feature in Teams, users can reserve desks upon arrival by plugging in to shared desks. IT admins can discover bookable desks in shared spaces in the Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro Management portal and collect utilization data from these desks for proactive management and planning.”

The feature will be generally available in May for desktop users, as well as Teams and Surface devices.

What Other Major Teams News Has Happened Recently?

Last week was a major one in the Teams world, especially with Microsoft confirming that it will sell Teams and Office separately around the world.

The news comes six months after Microsoft first unbundled the products in Europe, intending to avoid an EU antitrust fine. That threat followed a 2020 complaint by collaboration competitor Slack, and the European Commission soon began a formal investigation of possible antitrust practices. While the antitrust ruling is yet to be declared, Microsoft clearly aspires to get ahead of the curve.

After unbundling the products – first brought together in 2017 – in Europe, it cited “feedback” from the European Commission in its decision to make the move global. Microsoft will launch a new lineup of commercial Microsoft 365 and Office 365 packages that don’t include Teams – as well as a new standalone Teams solution for Enterprise customers.

In other Microsoft Teams news, the tech giant looks set to greatly enhance user control over notifications and chats within its Teams platform and across its suite of 365 apps.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, is developing a system outlined in a recent patent to manage notifications and conversations displayed on users’ devices. This system aims to aid workers in prioritising urgent tasks and enhancing productivity. Users will have varying degrees of control over notifications and conversations based on factors such as message category, device category, and message reception time.

The technology is designed to be compatible with a range of portable devices, including laptops, desktops, mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles, and AI-powered digital assistants like Copilot.



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