Your Microsoft Teams meeting notes might actually be useful thanks to this update
Upgrade might mean better Microsoft Teams collaboration, or just chaos
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Making sense of yourMicrosoft Teamscalls could soon be a lot simpler thanks to a new collaboration update.
Thevideo conferencingservice is rolling out an upgrade that will allow all meeting participants to make annotations whilst on a call.
Previously, only a participant sharing their screen on aMicrosoftTeams call could make annotations, which allowed for quick and simple collaboration on thoughts, suggestions or ideas - however this ability will now be expanded to all users.
Microsoft Teams collaborative notes
Firstannouncedin May 2023, Microsoft says that the feature, simply entitled, “Collaborative notes”, will allow meeting attendees to, “co-create and collaborate on their meeting agenda, notes, and action items.”
In itsentryon the official Microsoft 365 roadmap, the feature is noted as rolling out now, and will be available for users across both Mac and Windows Desktop.
The update also means users will be able to make notes on the go, with changes being immediately synced with their contacts, and any assigned tasks made in the collaborative notes will also automatically sync up with the ToDo and Planner apps, meaning users shouldn’t miss out on any vital actions.
Analysis: Maximum collaboration, or chaos?
Although the annotations are meant to be collaborative, and Microsoft undoubtedly has good intentions by expanding the feature, this does seem like it could see some calls or meetings descend into a scrawling mess.
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Expanded collaboration has always been a cornerstone of the appeal for platforms such as Microsoft Teams, and making edits and suggestions in real-time can be an incredibly useful tool, and cut down on wasted time and countless emails - but only if people use the service for good.
Hopefully there are some controls on these new annotating tools that will stop meetings descending into a free-for-all of coloured words and scribbles - making this actually a useful idea for workers everywhere.
Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK’s leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he’s not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.
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