Microsoft Teams to gain Walkie Talkie feature and more in coming months

What you need to know

• Microsoft announced several new features that are on the way to Microsoft 365.
• One of the features announced is Walkie Talkie functionality in Microsoft Teams.
• Walkie Talkie support will be in private preview in the first half of 2020.

Microsoft announced several new features (opens in new tab) that are on the way for Microsoft 365, including Walkie Talkie within Microsoft Teams. Walkie Talkie support will be in private preview in the first half of 2020. Microsoft also announced new management features such as tasks targeting, workforce management integrations, and delegated user management.

Walkie Talkie support is the feature that will likely get the most buzz from end-users. As The Verge points out, Walkie Talkie functionality is surprisingly scarce in the mobile phone space. Microsoft built the Walkie Talkie functionality natively into Microsoft Teams, and it works over Wi-Fi or cellular connections.

Microsoft points out that this implementation of Walkie Talkie technology is more secure than analog solutions, stating, "Unlike analog devices with unsecure networks, customers no longer have to worry about crosstalk or eavesdropping from outsiders."

Microsoft announced several other tools and features for Microsoft 365. Here's a brief list of what's on the way:

• Tasks targeting, publishing, and reporting
• Workforce management integrations
• SMS sign-in
• Shared device sign-out
• Off-shift access controls for Teams app
• Delegated user management
• Inbound provisioning from SAP SuccessFactors to Azure AD

Most of these new features should roll out in the first half of 2020. They're all designed to make management, IT management, and communication easier for workers. In the blog post (opens in new tab) announcing the new features, Microsoft highlights how they're useful for firstline workers.