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Microsoft has a Standalone Solution for MSMEs at Just $ 4 Per Month

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Almost 70 percent of MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) have intensified their use of digital technologies due to COVID-19, according to a latest study conducted by OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). As technologies became an effective alternative for survival in new world order imposed by the infamous coronavirus. The existence of these businesses matter a lot, since they are collectively responsible for contributing towards the economic growth of a country. Therefore, a lot of these businesses have been welcoming new technologies to survive the new normal, since it is unclear whether this world might turn back to how it worked before. Hence, it’s only reasonable that MSMEs are provided with solutions that cater to the needs of using digital technologies and Microsoft Corp., is doing exactly that in its latest ‘Teams Essentials’ for small businesses.

It’s the company’s first standalone version of Microsoft Teams binding the features of MSMEs serving their customers with unlimited group video calls for up to 30 hours, group chat, file sharing, and calendaring. It's also the most affordable all-in-one solution on the market today, costing only $4 per user per month.

From restaurants, retailers to professional services, with Teams Essentials, MSMEs can meet, collaborate, communicate, and serve customers in creative ways. Since inadequate communication tools, hinders working closely with clients and partners and therefore, Teams Essentials combines established Teams capabilities with features tailored to small businesses and community groups.

Extensive Meeting Limits and Easy-to-Use Features
Extended Meeting Times: There is no need to worry about a meeting that’s about to end when the conversation is still on. Be it one-on-one or in a group, these sessions can now last up to 30 hours.

Large Meeting Capacity: Teams Essentials has the capacity to host up to 300 people at once, allowing users to put everyone into the same virtual room.

Calendar Integration: While there is Outlook Calendar connection, Microsoft Teams now has Google Calendar connectivity, which enables it to utilize existing calendaring applications to stay on top of schedules and manage meetings.

With Teams Essentials, small businesses from restaurants to retailers to professional services can easily meet, collaborate, communicate, and serve customers in new ways, says Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft 365

Easy Invitations: Inviting folks to a meeting is now much simpler, for all that’s required is to use their email address to add them to the Teams meeting invitation. After that, they will receive an invitation to the meeting along with a link to participate. But wait, if they do not happen to have Teams on their systems, no worries, as the meeting will start in their browser. There is no need to sign up, log in, or install the app.

Interactive Meetings: Meeting lobby, virtual backdrops, Together mode, live closed captions, live reactions, and other professional meeting tools and capabilities enable any organization to organize engaging meetings.

Even organizing is made much simpler, as Teams Essentials streamlines communications for small enterprises and community organizations by combining chat and meetings into a single platform, saving time and, most importantly, keeping meetings and conversations in context.

Additional Cloud Storage: Teams Essentials comes with a total of 10 gigabytes (GB) of file storage, which is twice as much as the free Teams edition.

Ongoing Chat: In Teams, all conversations are persistent, allowing keeping the conversation rolling without losing context or continuity. When the meeting is over, the conversation can still continue.

Small Business Group Chat Template: In one platform, rapidly launch a collaborative project and conduct meetings with anybody, assign tasks to peers, and create polls to swiftly gather feedback, all while increasing productivity.

Chat, Meet and Collaborate: Chats and collaboration experience is preserved in one place, whether it’s about working inside or outside the organization, using the Teams app, or calling in. Also, when working on a project with a third party, there's no need to switch between app experiences.

Mobile Chat Dashboard: To access all shared content neatly arranged into categories such as locations, images, files, task lists, future events, weblinks, and more, simply click on the dashboard to view in any one-on-one or group conversation.

The company has also placed costs on priority, and it provides the most value for the least price, with a basic interface that is simple to understand and use, making it simple for employees to become productive rapidly.

Meaning, Teams Essentials delivers great value for small businesses and community groups, with powerful communications features at the lowest cost in the market for $4 per user per month.

Hosted on the Azure cloud and supported by Microsoft, Teams Essential comes with security, dependability, performance, and customer service.

Customers who want to use Microsoft Teams for personal purposes can employ a Microsoft 365 Family or Microsoft 365 Personal subscription to receive access to the same features and meeting restrictions.

“With Teams Essentials, small businesses from restaurants to retailers to professional services can easily meet, collaborate, communicate, and serve customers in new ways”, says Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft 365.

Most recently, Microsoft proposed a program, Microsoft AI Innovate, to nurture and scale starts that specialize in artificial intelligence (AI). The 10-week program will teach businesses in India how to use AI to improve their business operations, promote innovation, and gain industry expertise. Microsoft ensures that entrepreneurs are provided with technology and business possibilities to help them enhance their products, alter their businesses, and build responsibly so that AI is available to everyone through this program.

Startups will be able to reach out to new clients and areas with the support of Microsoft's sales and partner networks. The selected startups in each cohort will have access to industry deep-dive sessions and AI masterclasses from industry experts, mentoring from unicorn founders, skilling and certification possibilities, and other benefits.

"AI is increasingly at the heart of digital transformation, and Microsoft is heavily involved in assisting businesses in this regard. Startups are the future signal generators for all of us”, expresses Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari.

Sangeeta Bavi, director, Startup Ecosystem, Microsoft India says that, “Microsoft's mission is to assist every company, regardless of industry, in translating meaningful innovation into measurable outcomes. Microsoft AI Innovate will offer an engaging platform to equip entrepreneurs with possibilities to build, scale, and change with agility”.

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