New features for Microsoft Teams
18 Nov 2020
Enhancing and strengthening external communication and collaboration
Two new features are now available in our instance of Microsoft Teams that allow us to hold meetings with participants from outside our University.
New feature 1 – Anonymous join
External contacts can be invited to participate in meetings via the 'Anonymous join' function in Teams. This is simple to use provided the invited contact receives a link to the meeting.
Schedule your meeting through Teams or Outlook as normal, including details for any external contacts. They will receive a meeting invite by email and can then click on the meeting link, enter their name and join through either the Teams App or Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browsers.
Please note that some browsers, such as Internet Explorer 11, Safari, and Firefox, support the Teams Web App but don't support some of the Teams calling and meeting features.
Most of the usual functions of Teams are available in this feature, such as video, voice calls and chat. For security reasons, sharing or downloading of files and other content is not currently enabled and external contacts cannot be added to a group chat.
New feature 2 – Skype for Business
Teams has also been updated to allow communication with Skype for Business users. Teams users can search for and start a one-on-one text-only conversation or an audio/video call with a Skype user, with Skype users also able to connect with Teams users in the same way.
To use this feature, search for a Skype user by typing their email address in a new chat or in the search bar in Teams and then select the user in the search results to start a chat or call with them.
Discover more about Teams
Visit our Microsoft Teams microsite for access to a full range of guides and resources including FAQs.
Still got questions? Why not ask our Technology Champions via the Microsoft 365 Yammer group:
If you need technical help and support, please contact the IT Support Centre: