Microsoft Teams is a tool for communication and project management. It comes as a free service with limited features. However, the available features of the free version should be enough for most users. And for now, due to Covid-19, Microsoft lifted some of the restrictions. This means that you can, for example, schedule meetings (video conferences) that can last up to 24 hours. Honestly, I don’t know who would want to meet that long, but the restricted time of 60 minutes could be a bit short. And instead of 100 participants for a meeting, which is already a lot, you can invite up to 300 people.
You don’t have to worry if you need to chat with someone. This feature is entirely unrestricted, and you can create as many chats and channel conversations as you need.
And for the documents you need for yourself or your team to work on, you get up to 10 GB of cloud storage. This includes secure storage of and access to important documents with 10 GB of shared and 2 GB of personal free cloud storage. (Dropbox Paper is another application for collaboration but with fewer features and less storage).
By the way, if you own Microsoft Office 365, you already have Microsoft Teams. It is part of the package.
Details
Here is a list of the most important features of Microsoft Teams (taken from the Microsoft Teams webpage):
Scheduled meetings
Plan your meetings and invite participants in advance.
Screen sharing
Choose what you show in a chat or meeting: your desktop, a specific app, a presentation, or a file.
Up to 500K internal and external users
Communicate and collaborate with large and small teams, including people outside of your organization.
File sharing
Securely store, access, and co-author files with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for the web.
Security and compliance
Help keep information secure with Microsoft Teams data encryption, at rest and in transit.
Whiteboard
Draw, sketch, and write on a shared digital canvas during meetings.
Custom backgrounds
Create the perfect virtual setting—blur your background, choose from available images, or upload your own.
Together mode
Digitally sit in a shared background, making it feel like you’re all in the same room.
More than 650 integrated apps and services
Bring the apps and services you love into Microsoft Teams to create your organization’s hub for teamwork.
Market availability
Connect across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Available in 53 languages and 181 markets.
