What’s new for Microsoft Teams – January 2025

Welcome to the first post of my new series dedicated to keeping you up-to-date with the latest developments in Microsoft Teams. As Teams continues to evolve, it can be challenging to stay informed about all the new features and updates. This month, we’re kicking off the year with some exciting announcements that are set to enhance your Teams experience.

In January 2025, Microsoft Teams introduced several noteworthy updates. One of the key highlights is the occupancy status on Teams panels, which now utilize signals from Teams Rooms devices or occupancy sensors to indicate when a room is in use, helping to avoid surprises when an available room is actually occupied. Additionally, there are required updates coming to Android-based Microsoft Teams devices. All certified Microsoft Teams Android devices will receive mandatory updates in February 2025, and admins must download the latest app updates from the Teams admin center. Devices not updated within five months will cease functioning.

Stay tuned for more updates about the latest features and enhancements for Microsoft Teams throughout the year.

What is new for SharePoint as a platform

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – January 2025

The start of 2025 brings exciting new updates for Microsoft Viva, enhancing the platform’s capabilities and functionalities. One notable update is the Viva Engage: Multi-pin Conversations Carousel, which allows up to six posts to be pinned with a carousel feature for two or more pins.

Another significant feature is the Viva Engage: Leadership feed available in SharePoint web part, which adds a “leaders” feed to the Viva Engage conversations web part in SharePoint, displaying content based on user license status1. Each month, Microsoft Viva continues to receive more updates, making it an indispensable tool for users. Continue reading to explore all the exciting new features and innovations.

What is new for Microsoft Viva

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – December 2024

As we step into 2025, it’s time to reflect on the latest developments in Microsoft Viva from December 2024. Unfortunately, December brought a sad announcement for Viva Suite fans: the deprecation of Viva Goals. Following the earlier discontinuation of Viva Topics, this raises the question—could this be the beginning of the end for Microsoft’s Employee Experience suite of products?

Despite this setback, other Viva applications continued to receive exciting updates. Viva Connections, for instance, introduced new ACE (Adaptive Card Extensions) cards and will soon allow users to add their own cards to the dashboard, offering a new level of customization and personalization.

Stay informed and make the most of these updates by reading more about all the announcements and see how these changes can benefit you and your organization.

Microsoft Viva updtes

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – November 2024

While it might seem that the Microsoft Viva suite has taken a backseat to Copilot for Microsoft 365, it continues to receive monthly updates aimed at improving user experience. This month, the spotlight is on communication applications, with Viva Engage, Viva Connections, and Viva Amplify receiving the majority of new features.

As I publish this post a week later than usual in December, we’ve already received the unfortunate news that Microsoft Viva will lose its second application, with Viva Goals being deprecated and removed from the suite next year. To stay updated on all the latest developments, be sure to check out the full blog post.

Microsoft Viva updtes

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How to Enable the Developer Tools in the New Microsoft Teams on Windows

Enabling developer tools in Microsoft Teams can be incredibly handy for debugging your custom build applications. While it was fairly easy to do this in the original version of Microsoft Teams, and it remains straightforward on macOS, the process on Windows requires a bit more effort. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you enable developer tools in the new Microsoft Teams on Windows.

Microsoft Teams Developer Tools Windows

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Microsoft Teams Combines Chats and Channels!

Big news from the Microsoft Teams world! If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by juggling separate chats and team channels, you’re going to love this. Microsoft Teams has just rolled out a fantastic new feature that brings all your chats and channels into one unified location. This means no more hopping back and forth trying to keep track of conversations – everything is now centralized, making it super easy to stay on top of your messages.

Microsoft Teams Combines Chats and Channels!

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – October 2024

October was particularly busy for Viva Insights, which received quite a few updates to enhance your productivity and well-being. On the communication front, Viva Engage, Viva Connections, and Viva Amplify also received interesting updates that will significantly improve your interaction with these applications.

To ensure you stay updated and make the most out of your Viva suite, be sure to check out the complete blog post.

Microsoft Viva updates

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How to Rename the General Channel in Microsoft Teams

For a long time, the General channel has been a default feature in any team created in Microsoft Teams. However, its generic name often led to it being underutilized or even completely ignored. To address this, Microsoft has introduced a new feature that allows users to rename the General channel in existing teams and assign a specific name when creating a new team.

Rename Microsoft Teams General Channel

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Microsoft Teams Has Changed During Summer: Here’s What You Missed

While many of us took a break over the summer, the evolution of Microsoft Teams did not. As you return to work, you might notice new options available, features that have been renamed, or even struggle to find the usual general channel. In this article, I’m compiling some of the updates Teams has received during the summer that may require some adjustments by end users.

Microsoft Teams new Summer features

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What is new for Microsoft Viva – July 2024

This month, Microsoft Viva brings a range of exciting updates designed to enhance productivity and user experience. The spotlight is on Viva Amplify and Viva Pulse, two powerful tools that are set to transform the way organizations communicate and gather feedback.

In addition to these highlights, there are numerous other updates across the Viva suite, including personalized resource icons in Viva Connections, community muting in Viva Engage, and more. These enhancements are rolling out from July to August 2024, promising to make Microsoft Viva an even more indispensable tool for organizations.

Microsoft Viva updtes

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I've been working with Microsoft Technologies over the last ten years, mainly focused on creating collaboration and productivity solutions that drive the adoption of Microsoft Modern Workplace.