Microsoft Teams Reaches Feature Parity With Skype for Business

It’s finally happening: after announcing Skype for Business will get replaced by Microsoft Teams nearly a year ago, Microsoft is delivering on its promise today. Redmond announced that the company has completed its roadmap for bringing Skype for Business features into Teams.

Companies that still use Skype for Business will be eventually moved to Microsoft Teams, but your company can move to Microsoft Teams right away. It’s not clear when exactly Microsoft will require Skype for Business users to completely move to Teams, though it is letting companies use both Teams and Skype side by side for now, so that’s pretty helpful if you still aren’t quite satisfied with the Teams experience. Microsoft has delivered a bunch of different features for Teams to reach feature parity with Skype for Business over the past few months, and you can find the full roadmap for the transition here.

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Most notably, though, the company has added a ton of calling-related features, including support for Skype Room Systems, cloud-based meeting recording, forwarding calls to groups, etc. Additionally, there’s been multiple improvements to the chat experience itself, including support for unified presence, federated chat, and in-line translation support.

Microsoft Teams already has more than 200,000 organizations, and a lot more organizations should now be moving to the service now that it has feature parity with Skype for Business. Teams has picked up a lot of momentum recently, mainly thanks to the new free version of the service as well as a bunch of new intelligent features. It is yet to overtake Slack when it comes to the “cool” factor, though — and for enterprise customers, that probably is not too big of a deal.

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Conversation 15 comments

  • JerryH

    Premium Member
    24 August, 2018 - 1:40 pm

    <p>Yeah, not quite parity. Skype for business lets you have each conversation in a different window. Teams does not. Teams is a single window monstrosity still.</p>

    • Stokkolm

      24 August, 2018 - 2:23 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#304153">In reply to JerryH:</a></em></blockquote><p>I don't see that ever coming. It goes against how you're supposed to use the app. Slack also doesn't let you pop out conversations as far as I know. </p><p><br></p><p>I would add that you can't start presenting in Teams without being in a call first as well. This is much more annoying to me. </p>

      • Usman

        Premium Member
        25 August, 2018 - 3:04 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#304156">In reply to Stokkolm:</a></em></blockquote><p>I thought sharing screens with out being in a call was a bug :/. when ever we end the meeting call, SFB would keep sharing screens even though we hung up on the call.</p><p><br></p><p>Different paradigms I guess, I would have naturally guessed you had to be in call to use screen share and presentation features.</p>

  • Stooks

    24 August, 2018 - 2:07 pm

    <p>Is there a on prem version like Skype for Business, like my company uses?</p>

    • Patrick Yore

      24 August, 2018 - 5:04 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#304155">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>No, and there wont ever be</p>

      • behindmyscreen

        24 August, 2018 - 7:35 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#304185">In reply to pyore:</a></em></blockquote><p>except that Microsoft supports their entire office stack on prem.</p>

    • paull90

      24 August, 2018 - 7:09 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#304155">In reply to Stooks:</a></em></blockquote><p>MS have said that Teams will be the online version and S4B will remain as the on prem option.</p>

  • pesos

    Premium Member
    24 August, 2018 - 2:48 pm

    <p>Lol more marketing BS. So much still half baked and/or broken and the interop story is a joke. It'll get there, but not this calendar year</p>

  • Skolvikings

    24 August, 2018 - 4:58 pm

    <p>They say it's feature parity but then, where are all these new voice/calling options in Teams?</p>

  • Patrick Yore

    24 August, 2018 - 5:06 pm

    <p>It's a lot of good work done but it is not true to say its feature parity.</p>

    • behindmyscreen

      24 August, 2018 - 7:34 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#304186">In reply to pyore:</a></em></blockquote><p>…..Because…….</p>

  • Ken Kelly

    25 August, 2018 - 10:58 am

    <p>This is fake news. It's far from parity. </p>

  • IanYates82

    Premium Member
    25 August, 2018 - 7:57 pm

    <p>We still use Lync 2013 in the office primarily for phones. We don't use the instant messaging, etc functionality all that much. A single response group and some direct in-dial numbers, but that's about it.</p><p><br></p><p>Is all of *that* in Teams???</p><p><br></p><p>I can run up Skype for Business 2015 – we have the licence – just didn't really see the need to move so didn't. I'd love to get the Slack-like part of Teams in use too. So I'm happy to move to Teams, and along with that Office 365, but the path seems a bit muddled for the on-prem phones bit unfortunately (at least outside the US) :(</p>

  • maglezs

    27 August, 2018 - 3:09 pm

    <p>Microsoft TEAMS Desktop (ELECTRON APP) don't let Windows 10 (1803) go to sleep, still waiting for the Microsoft Store APP.</p>

  • jhuylebroeck

    Premium Member
    28 August, 2018 - 9:14 am

    <p>So, can we communicate with others outside our own organisation that are still on SfB? Federation?</p>

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