26 Feb Transitioning to New Microsoft Teams After March 31, 2024

Auto Transitioning to New Microsoft Teams After March 31, 2024

The Dawn of a New Era in Collaboration

As we approach the key date of March 31, 2024, the landscape of Microsoft Teams is set to undergo a significant transformation. In line with Microsoft’s announcement (MC686187, October ’23), classic Teams users who have not yet made the switch will be automatically updated to the new Teams. This change indicates a new era of enhanced collaboration, with new Teams already boasting over 90M monthly active users and growing daily.

Why Update Now?

The transition to new Teams is not just a change; it’s an upgrade. With a single click, users can seamlessly migrate to new Teams, carrying over chat messages, teams and channels, and apps without missing a beat. The new Teams is designed to be up to 2x faster and use 50% less memory, all without a major impact on the user experience. This means the transition will be smooth, requiring no additional training for users. Below figure shows New Teams icon.

What Changes Can You Expect?

• Informational Banner: Starting February 2024, classic Teams users will see a banner reminding them of the upcoming auto-update and encouraging the transition to new Teams.
• Policy Updates: Post-March 31, existing values for new Teams client policies will become obsolete. Users still on classic Teams will find themselves automatically upgraded to new Teams, with no option to revert as classic Teams will cease to function.
• Exclusive Features: New Teams is the exclusive home for all new feature developments, enhancements, and capabilities. Prioritizing this update ensures your organization remains at the cutting edge of collaboration technology.

Preparing for a Seamless Update

To facilitate a smooth transition, administrators are encouraged to leverage the Teams Admin Center or deployment options such as bulk deployment. For those with the Teams update policy currently set to ‘Not enabled’ or ‘User Choice’, it’s recommended to adjust the setting to ‘New Teams as default’ or ‘New Teams only’ by the end of February 2024. Alternatively, setting the policy to ‘Microsoft Controlled’ allows Microsoft to manage the updates on your behalf.

Special Considerations

• VDI Users: After June 30, 2024, classic Teams will be unavailable for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) users, necessitating an update to new Teams to avoid disruptions.
• MTR and Surface Hub Devices: The auto-update timeline will not affect Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) and Surface Hub devices.
• Teams Live Event (TLE) Support: To prevent disruptions for TLE producers due to the auto-update, support for TLE in new Teams will be available from the beginning of March.
• Scheduling a Teams Live Event redirects to the classic Teams web experience. This feature will continue to work even after the deprecation of classic Teams.
• Producing a Teams Live Event will be available in the new Microsoft Teams Desktop client in March. Until then, you need to switch back to classic Teams to produce a Teams Live Event.

The automatic update to new Teams marks a significant milestone in Microsoft’s commitment to delivering a superior collaboration platform. By embracing this change, organizations can leverage enhanced performance, exclusive features, and a streamlined user experience. As we move closer to the transition deadline, now is the time to prepare your organization for the future of collaboration with new Microsoft Teams.

For more information on this transition and how it may affect your organization, please visit Microsoft’s official announcement page. Should you have any questions or require further assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to Bloguc or your Microsoft customer success manager (CSM) or customer executive (CE).

We appreciate your continued support and look forward to embarking on this exciting journey to new Microsoft Teams together.