Microsoft teams is a communication platform in the 365 family of products, offering chat, videoconferencing, file storage, and application integration.

So what’s new?

The ability to create ad hoc breakout rooms will be available starting next month.

Microsoft says this is one of the most requested Teams features.

Meeting organizers will be able to split up participants into smaller groups to facilitate brainstorming sessions or workgroup discussions.

Presenters can then hop between breakout rooms, make announcements to all breakout rooms, and close the rooms to return everyone to the main meeting.

New Jive Communications integration, streamlining your phone calls.

Teams now allows people to start calls for the Jive platform from inside of Teams.

Microsoft is partnering with meditation app Headspace on a customizable “virtual commute” feature.

It uses automation technology to help users close out tasks and designate work for the following day, log their sentiment about the work day, and then directs them into a guided meditation process.

The company cites a 2017 study by Microsoft researchers that demonstrated the improvement in productivity that came from winding down from work at the end of the day.

Its more recent research finds that the blurred lines between work and home are hurting their feelings of well-being.

Teams is getting new “Together Mode” backdrops, and custom layouts for presentations.

The new backdrops show participants in shared virtual spaces including conference rooms and a coffee shop.

Custom layouts will let presenters determine how their content appears to meeting participants, including the ability to superimpose their own video feed on top of the slide they’re showing.

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