Teams is group chat software with videoconferencing capabilities and some interesting features around working with documents and spreadsheets, especially those stored in SharePoint and OneDrive for Business. It’s included with Microsoft 365/Office 365 business and enterprise subscriptions, making it attractive to Microsoft customers who don’t want to pay for additional chat or meeting software.
Teams organizes itself around the concept of teams, which can be small groups you’re working with on specific projects, your whole department or, in some cases, even the entire company. When you launch Teams, you’ll be taken to the Teams view. The first time you launch Microsoft Teams, you’ll likely be enrolled in one or more teams.
To create a new team, which you might need to do when you start a new project, for instance, select Join or create a team at the bottom left of the Teams window. On the screen that appears, hover over the “Create a team” area and click the Create team button.
You need to then choose whether to create a team from scratch or create a team based on a Microsoft 365 Group (if you choose the latter, then you need to specify the group on the next screen), choose whether the team is private (only you and other owners of the team can decide which participants to include) or public (anyone who has access to Microsoft 365 in your organization can join), and then give your team a name and a friendly description so others can make sense of its purpose.
When you create a team, Teams automatically sets up certain elements of Microsoft 365 to support the team. Specifically, it creates a SharePoint team site and grants access to the members of the team you added, a Microsoft 365 Group comprising the team members, a shared OneNote notebook hosted in the cloud, and a shared Plan, something that’s part of the Microsoft Planner tool in Microsoft 365.
To manage your team at any time, click the three-dot icon next to its name in the navigator bar on the left. You’ll see a pop-up menu where you can add or remove members, create channels for the team, change the team name or description, and more.
Once a team is created, you’ll notice a few things in the Teams window:
General channel Channels are where you converse and collaborate. The General channel is meant to be a catch-all place where you go to start conversations when you first begin using the Teams product; usually more specific topic-related channels will spring from there.
You can create multiple channels for any given team. To add a channel, click the Create more channels button. On the screen that appears, type in a name and a description for the channel, pick a privacy option if you want to limit the people who can access the channel, and click the Addbutton. All the channels for a team appear underneath the name of the team in the left pane.
Posts
The Posts tab is a place where you can comment to your teammates in an ongoing conversation. Composing messages is straightforward: Just click the Start a new conversationtext box, or click Replybelow an existing conversation and start typing. You can tag people using “@” before typing their names, or use emoticons, emojis, and GIFs as well. Other activities such as shared calls or shared files appear in a timeline fashion in the Posts tab. And anyone who is currently available on Teams will have a green circle with a white checkmark on their profile picture in the Posts area.
Files
You can upload, open, edit, copy, move, download, and delete files, or get links to those documents to share with others.
If you click on a file name, the online version of Word, Excel, and so on will open right in the Teams window, allowing you to perform lightweight edits or create simple documents from scratch without leaving the Teams client.
Adding more tabs (and apps)
The tab area is basically where all of the exciting integration action happens with Teams. Functionality from other Microsoft 365 services as well as third parties surfaces as new tabs.
For example, you can add Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, OneNote notebooks, Power BI dashboards, Planner plans, and more directly as tabs in the Teams client. Just click the plus button (+) at the far right of the tabs layout to add a new tab. There are also available integrations with third-party cloud services.
Video and audio calls
In Teams’ early days, it was first and foremost a chat platform. Nowadays, one of the most common tasks you’ll carry out with Teams is hosting and participating in calls.
To start an impromptu audio or video call with multiple people, click the Calendar icon on the left navigation bar, then click the Meet now icon at the top of the calendar screen. From the menu that appears, you can either start the meeting immediately and then invite participants once you’re in the meeting, or get a meeting link to share via email, chat, or other means.
To start an impromptu audio or video call with all members of a Teams channel, head over to that channel by clicking Teams on the left navigation bar and selecting the channel in the left selection bar. Then click the camera icon at the top right and choose Meet now from the menu that appears.
To have a one-to-one conversation with a certain contact, go to Chat in the left navigation bar, click the person you want to talk with in the selection bar, and then click either the camera icon (for a video call) or phone icon (for an audio-only call).
To schedule a meeting in advance, click the Calendar icon on the left navigation bar and click the New meeting icon at upper right. (If you’re already in a Teams channel or a chat area, then click the Meet button or camera icon toward the top right of the Teams app window and then select Schedule meeting from the dropdown menu.) A form appears that lets you give the meeting a name, invite people or groups within your organization, select a date and time, and provide some information about the meeting.
Joining a call If you’ve been invited to a meeting or call, you’ll typically receive an email or other notification message with a meeting link or Join button. Click the button or link to join the call. For scheduled meetings, you can also click Calendar in the left navigation bar, click on the meeting, and click Join. If you have been sent a meeting invitation with an ID number, you can use the Join with an ID button at the top of the Calendar screen.
Meeting controls Once you’re in a call, either with a lot of participants or in a one-to-one conversation, you can alter the settings of the call as needed.
If you want to add more people to the call, click People and then search for the person you want to add in the search box.
To chat with meeting participants, click Chat and then type your messages in.
To go off camera on a video call, click the Camera To go back on camera, click it again.
To mute yourself, click the Mic button; click it again to unmute yourself so others can hear you.
To share other content with participants, click the Share You can then elect to share your screen, collaborate on a shared digital whiteboard, present a PowerPoint slide deck, or share individual files to your meeting participants without broadcasting them on the screen.
The navigator bar
On the far left side of the Teams window, you will find a navigation bar with a menu that contains several potential places for things to surface in Teams:
Activity: @ mentions, replies, and other notifications sent specifically to you will be highlighted here. Click the funnel icon to see filtering options.
Chat: To start a private conversation, click a team member’s name and start chatting in the main area of the screen to the right.
Teams: This area lets you see all of the teams of which you are a member, and will let you add more people, create more channels, or start conversations in channels within each of those teams.
Calendar: This part of the client essentially surfaces your calendar from your Microsoft 365 mailbox. As covered above, you can also schedule, start, or join a meeting through this tab.
Calls: In addition to initiating audio and video calls as detailed above, you can add contacts to speed dial, check your voicemail, and look at your call history through this tab.
Files: This tab grabs files from SharePoint, OneDrive, and OneNote, and helpfully surfaces what you’ve used most recently in the Recent view. You can also go right over to your personal OneDrive from within the client to find other files and monitor the progress of larger file downloads to your local computer.
The ‘…’ icon: Here you can add additional applications to the Teams client, including Planner data, OneNote, live streaming, and more. You can also use the search box or click the More apps link within the three-dot icon pop-up — or click the Apps button at the bottom of the nav bar — to add third-party apps like Zoom or RingCentral into all areas of Teams (for instance, in right-click context menus) and not just within added tabs. When you add an app this way, its icon will appear in the navigator bar.
Teams is one of those apps that gets updated frequently — for the latest on new features that might be available to you, check out Microsoft’s “What’s new in Microsoft Teams” page.
A legacy system is a broad term used to describe an information system that uses (Older, perhaps) outdated technology.
Some factors used to determine legacy systems are: • Age. If the software is over 10 years old, it can be considered legacy software. • System support. The system can no longer support multiple software that the organization relies on, or the skills required to support the system have become obsolete. • Maintenance. The software cannot be upgraded or extended, and maintenance is more expensive and takes more time and effort. • User Experience. The software is unable to handle a large number of users. (Or, it requires users to have to go to multiple systems to compile the required info).
While legacy systems may still work despite these factors, the window of opportunity for growth is firmly sealed shut. Missing out on new software capabilities like cloud computing , improved data integration and the effective use of Metadata tools, can hold your business back.
Fortunately, there are many legacy system modernization strategies. Which legacy system modernization strategy works best for your business depends on the skills shortages you have and what enhanced capabilities you would like to add on. Conducting a thorough assessment of your legacy system can help you determine which legacy system modernization strategy will work best for you.
Some legacy system modernization approaches that you can take:
Replacement Legacy replacement modernization is a strategy that involves eliminating the former application component and replacing it with a new system. Legacy replacement modernization may be the right modernization strategy for you if: • You are looking to add on new functions and features • Your system cannot keep up with your business needs • Modernization of your existing legacy system is not possible or cost-effective • Your legacy system is very outdated and not extensible As you can tell, this modernization strategy is multi-faceted and can be applied to many business types to help meet their needs.
Rebuild The rebuilding method essentially takes your legacy system and throws it out the window. This strategy rewrites the application component completely from scratch while still preserving specifications and key factors. While a complete overhaul like this takes a lot of work, it does allow for new functions and features to be integrated into the new system.
Rearchitecting Rearchitecting involves materially altering the application code so it can be transferred to a new application architecture with better capabilities.
Refactor Refactoring involves optimizing and restructuring existing code without changing external behavior. This strategy is used to remove technical debt and to improve the features and structure of the component.
Replatforming This strategy is used to migrate an application to a new run-time platform. Replatforming makes very few changes to the code for adaptation but does not change the code structure nor the functions and features that it provides.
Rehost Rehosting re-deploys an application to a cloud infrastructure, virtual, or physical structure. This is done without recompiling, altering the code, or making any changes to functions and features.
Encapsulate This strategy is used to extend an application’s features and value. Data and functions are encapsulated into the application and made available as services through an application programming interface (API).
Teknita has the expert resources to support all your technology initiatives. We are always happy to hear from you.
A process of implementation involves a variety of different departments and stakeholders. The key to a successful ECM implementation lies in the combination of planning and partnership.
Here are five steps you can take to ensure a smooth ECM implementation.
1. Enlist a team of stakeholders
The success of your ECM program depends only minimally on the technology you choose. A much more important consideration is around your stakeholders – the people and leaders of teams who will use or benefit from the ECM system. You should examine how they feel about the project and whether the ECM system it produces meets their needs.
Input from your stakeholders will help you to understand how an ECM system affects different departments of the business. This understanding will improve your chances of success.
2. Define your ECM goals
You should define the goals of your ECM project with your stakeholder team. Goals will depend on your situation, but some common ECM goals are as follows:
Improve information security.
Support compliance.
Reduce friction in the business.
Implement content tagging.
Integrate automation and AI.
3. Plan for your goals
Once you know what your goals are, you should plan how to reach them. This could be through refinements of the current system or by building a new system. This may require you to consider content migration and user training and adoption.
For each goal, it’s important to balance time-to-market with its effects on the business. Determine whether there are important things you can complete faster than others. During this step is the time to optimize your implementation timeline.
4. Build, test and deploy your ECM
Use the agile/scrum methodology to drive your implementation project and CI/CD to maximize stakeholder engagement and program flexibility. Iterate in bi-weekly or monthly releases that stakeholders will evaluate.
By moving incrementally toward the goals, you will provide opportunities for learning and course correction as the program progresses.
5. Iterate
Despite completing a successful implementation, the work is not over. An ECM must adapt to new realities if it will remain viable and valuable to an organization. You should include in your plan the capability to build, integrate and refine your ECM to deliver future business value.
Power BI is a business analytics tool from Microsoft that helps build various dashboards and reports and can quickly deal with millions of rows of data. In contrast, Excel is also a tool from Microsoft with various built-in tools and functions that we can use for mathematical calculations, iterations, forecasting, and creating graphs and charts.
Key Differences
Data Size: One of the key differences is handling the capacity of data quantity. With Power BI, we can handle millions of rows together with fast speed, but with Excel, it is annoying to handle large amounts of data.
Cloud-Based Features: Once the dashboard building completes in Power BI, we can publish the report to the end-users with Microsoft’s cloud-based services. But, when it comes to Excel, we need to share the large data with the dashboard via email or any online sharing tool.
Visualizations: In Power BI, we have plenty of visualizations to design the dashboard, but with excel, we have only limited visualizations.
Custom Visualizations: Power BI allows us to import visualizations that are not there in the file by going to the marketplace, but Excel does not have that luxury.
Item
Power BI
Excel
Availability
Recent product, so you cannot see this with all Excel users.
Commonly known and available to most people.
Learning
Requires considerable knowledge of Power Query and Power Pivot DAX formulas and techniques to use it.
Universal language spoken in almost all the offices worldwide. Most users find it easy to learn.
Cost to Acquire
Free to download and use for personal use, but it takes $10 per month per user to share reports with others.
Free
Working Flexibility
Not flexible, especially if it just shifted from Excel to Power BI. You cannot do everything, everywhere.
Flexible to use and create summary reports in simple steps and formulas.
Visuals
Wide variety of visualizations.
Only a few built-in charts.
Chart Customization
Possibility work with only one chart.
Possibility to create another set of charts only using built-in charts.
Dashboard Interactivity
Power BI not only has slicers but also has a wide variety of other slicers. Cross filters, visual level filters, report level filters, and drillthrough filters.
Excel has slicers to make the dashboards interactive with the user.
Size of the Data
Can handle large amounts of data with the Power Pivot engine model.
Struggles to handle a large amount of data and often says “Not Responding” error with a large quantity of data.
Accessibility
Cannot be accessible everywhere unless you have licensed software.
Access from everywhere.
Formula Language
DAX language for its formulas and functions.
MDX language for its formulas and functions.
Data Security
Possibility to restrict the data view to individuals by setting rules.
When you share the dashboard with external stakeholders, you need to share it with data, which does not guarantee data security.
Data Source
Can get data from everywhere with Power Query.
Can get data from everywhere with Power Query.
Power BI and Excel have many similarities in terms of functionalities and how the data is presented or how we make the connection with the other data sources. Excel is much easier to use than Power BI, but Power BI has a certain upper hand, like better visualization. We should also remember that Excel is very limited to sharing reports which Power BI overcomes.
You can read more about Power BI vs Excel – Differences here.
Teknita has the expert resources to support all your technology initiatives. We are always happy to hear from you.
Managing paper documents and using an inefficient computer system can be extremely difficult, particularly when you need to share, modify, sign, or transfer important contracts or agreements quickly. If you’re looking for an organizational solution to help manage the large volume of files and documents within your organization, start by making it easier for yourself and your team by switching to cloud storage. With cloud file management, you can transfer your entire organization to a centralized location where your team can efficiently collaborate on content without wasting valuable time searching for files.
Success in using cloud services largely depends on how your teams organize files and content in the cloud. While using a cloud solution can be the answer to many of your organizational problems, it’s important to choose the right one that meets your business’s needs and keeps your content secure. Your company likely needs multiple ways of storing and organizing files, so choosing a cloud platform that doesn’t offer this flexibility could bring you right back where you started — poor organization and more downtime.
It’s important for company to have a solid management system in place. A document management system (DMS) is a strategy businesses use to store, manage, track, and control the flow of files and documents. The purpose of a DMS is to let users modify, recover, and archive documents as necessary. A DMS often uses cloud computing technology and cloud storage to enhance security and reduce the risk of lost files.
Cloud-based document management allows you to:
Digitize your files
Use security controls for verification
Enable e-signatures
Quickly share documents, no matter how large
Restrict access to certain content
Use cloud backup to restore or recover data when necessary
Enhance collaboration and accelerate workflows between on-site and remote teams
Important steps to remember about file storage.
1. Develop a folder naming system
One of the first steps you should take when developing a file system is properly naming your folders so you can organize files and retrieve them quickly when needed. If your organization has many different departments, naming your folders with the department name or relevant keywords can be helpful. While the cloud will show you the date of a file’s or folder’s creation, keeping information organized by name can help you and your team quickly search for a specific document.
2. Move your files
Drag your documents and files to their assigned folders. You can select multiple files at once to make this process easier.
3. Assign tags
Another tip for keeping track of your files within the cloud is assigning relevant metadata tags to each one. By right-clicking on any file, you can generally select the option to add descriptors that will help you properly index your files. Whether you add a subject, category, title, comment, or tag, it will enable you to later search for keywords within your content.
4. Create subfolders
Managing a large number of files and documents can be stressful if you spend half the time trying to find them, so creating subfolders within your folders can eliminate this struggle. Subfolders make it easier to find a document within a folder of the same topic or assignment. Keep in mind, you should use the same naming system for your subfolders as your original folder.
You can read more about Keeping Cloud Organized here.
Teknita has the expert resources to support all your technology initiatives. We are always happy to hear from you.
The term Big Data describes a massive volume of data that cannot be stored and processed by the traditional data storage / processing systems. Lately, data is generated at a rapid pace and in huge volume. It is being used by businesses toprocessandanalyzeto uncover hidden patterns and discover useful insights which add values to the business.
Big Data is commonly classified into three different categories.
Structured Data
Semi-Structured Data
Unstructured Data
Structured Data is characterized by the well-defined structure or schema. It follows a set of rules and constraints. Structured data usually consists of well-defined columns and stored in databases. The popular storage and processing system is called Database Management System (DBMS) or Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) such as MS SQL Server, Oracle, DB2 etc.
Semi-Structured Data is another form of structure data which follows only few characteristics of structured data and it does not comply with the formal structure of RDBMS data model. But the semi-structured data is also popular and useful in data processing such as Extensible Markup Language (XML), Comma Separated Values (CSV) file etc.
Unstructured data is completely undefined which means it does not follow any schema of formal data models. These type of data does not have any consistent format or fixed format. The commonly used unstructured data is image, audio, and video files.
