Microsoft has announced a couple of new features and capabilities for its Microsoft 365 apps. The company says that these updates are designed to help organizations better support their frontline workers in hybrid environments.
“We know those on the frontline need the right digital tools and purpose-built hardware for the specific ways they work,” explained Emma Williams, CVP for Modern Work Transformations at Microsoft. “In fact, we’ve seen more than a 150 percent increase in Microsoft Teams usage among frontline workers over the past year in industries such as retail, financial services, healthcare, and government.”
First of all, Microsoft is bringing its Approvals app to Word, which should help to make the approval process efficient and faster than ever before. This release facilitates the creation of approval requests for specific sections or entire Microsoft Word documents. The Approvals app is getting a new capability that lets users select DocuSign (a third-party provider) to create electronic signature approval requests natively.
Furthermore, the Viva Connections mobile app in Microsoft Teams is finally getting ready to drop its preview tag next month. The iOS and Android apps have been available for public testing since September, and they give frontline workers quick access to relevant news, conversations, and other resources.
In addition, there are a few new features for the Microsoft Teams Electronic Health Record (EHR) connector. The new additions announced today include the ability to schedule and launch virtual visits, waiting room, and SMS notifications for virtual visits. This update brings the ability for attendees to join a virtual visit in a browser directly from their mobile devices without downloading Teams.
Last but not least, Microsoft is also unveiling new AI-based privacy management solutions for Microsoft apps and services, and we invite you to check out this blog post for more details.
