Microsoft Teams gets Skype for Business interoperability with April update

In September, Microsoft announced that it was beginning the process of transitioning Skype for Business users to Microsoft Teams. Since then, the company has made strides in enhancing Teams for incoming Skype for Business users, and it's expanding the experience even further with Teams' latest update.

In a post going over the April update for Teams, Microsoft revealed that the service is now interoperable with Skype for Business. "As companies upgrade from Skype for Business to Teams, we expect users in some companies to use both apps at the same time," Microsoft says. "To ensure continued productivity, we've added the ability for Teams users to communicate with other users who are using Skype for Business (both online or on-prem)."

Additionally, Skype for Business contacts are now in the process of being imported to Teams, and they'll show up under your contact list. Presence states will also now be synced between services so people will be able to see whether your available or not no matter which service they're using.

Teams is also picking up some smaller additions this month. Three new languages – including Indonesian, Romanian, and Vietnamese – are now supported, and you can now create up to 200 channels per team. Out of office messages can also now be set while you're traveling or on vacation, and guest access and account switching are now available in the iOS and Android apps.

For administrators, Microsoft has rolled out a new Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business admin center. And as announced last week, retention policies are now available for Teams via the Office 365 security and compliance center.