Step 2: Review Microsoft 365 communication tools
Learn more about how Microsoft 365 tools and applications can help you create the right communication channels for the right audiences. Review communication tools and learn more about engagement options, maintenance requirements, analytics, and other details to help you decide which tool is best for your scenario and desired outcome.
| Logo | App name | Description |
|---|---|---|
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Teams | Channels, teams, and live events Communicate and collaborate across the organizations in teams and channels Add intranet resources, pages, and lists as tabs in teams channels Review usage and engagement analytics to measure reach |
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SharePoint | Intelligent intranet and knowledge management Create durable content on sites and pages targeted to specific audiences Use news posts to distribute news across Microsoft 365 apps Integrate web parts like Stream and Viva Engage to create a cohesive experience |
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Viva Engage | Social networking and live events Use Viva Engage communities to create a dialogue with certain groups Post messages, interact, and search for conversations and key words Collect feedback and answer questions during live events |
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Outlook | Mail, calendar, tasks, and contacts Send mail and newsletters to specific audiences Get reply receipts and usage analytics to track correspondence Access engagement analytics to learn about user behavior |
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Stream | Intelligent video services Create groups and channels to target content to specific audiences Use video to create engaging communication experiences Integrate video into SharePoint using the Stream web part |
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Viva | Suite of apps that focus on employee experiences Apps display in Teams and integrate across M365 apps Experiences can be combines and targeted towards distinct roles and regions |
Note
Access to app analytics and usage reports depends on the permission settings and your organization's usage data policies.
Teams: Video conferencing, chat, and live events
Set up, customize, and collaborate in teams and channels. Get work done using channel posts, chats, calls, and online meetings. Teams is a great place to target information to smaller or more specific teams in your organization. Integrate resources from SharePoint like pages, lists, and document libraries as tabs in Microsoft Teams. For example, you might have a team for your sales department with a channel for event announcements that includes resources from your Sales team site in SharePoint.
| Logo | Details |
|---|---|
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Engagement options: - Post news and announcements to specific teams and channels - Use @mentions for names of people or the channel so get attention - Integrate popular SharePoint pages as tabs in Teams channels - Reach broad audiences using Teams live events - Communicate with up for 10,000 people at once in a team or channel - Integrate resources from SharePoint, conversations in Viva Engage, and news from across the organization using Viva Connections Set up and maintenance options: - Help manage channel content and context by adding chat moderators - Create a Teams template to standardize the way Teams are created across the organization - Set up secure collaboration for Teams that will allow guest or external users - Set up Viva Connections for Teams desktop Analytics: - Users can view analytics for teams and channels that they are part of - Access more in-depth analytics and reporting in the Teams admin center |
SharePoint: Engage, learn, and collaborate
SharePoint is the center or your organization’s internal knowledge base, or intranet, and is composed of portals, sites, and pages. Many communication apps can be integrated with SharePoint to create dynamic experiences that can be easily viewed on a mobile or desktop device.
| Logo | Details |
|---|---|
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Engagement options: - Share durable information with dozens or hundreds of people – or your entire organization using SharePoint communication or team sites - Share news in a visually compelling format on a site or email across the organization - Integrate other communication outlets like Viva Engage, Stream, and Twitter using web parts on SharePoint pages - Use SharePoint sites and pages to make recorded events, meetings, resources, and related contacts available to the rest of the organization - Use audience targeting on SharePoint sites, pages, lists, links, and web parts to help users find content - Bring intranet resources into Microsoft Teams desktop and the mobile app to help employees find resources and collaborate in the form of dashboard cards using Viva Connections Set up and maintenance options: - Setting up a home site for your organization is a good starting place since it will be the gateway to the rest of your organization, and enables you to customize global navigation in the SharePoint app bar - Set up Viva Connections for Teams desktop - Over time, manage and maintain SharePoint content and site settings for relevance and ensure users have the right access to content - Consider using SharePoint hub sites to create associations between related sites and content Analytics: - View usage data for your SharePoint site - View usage data for a SharePoint page or news post |
Viva Engage: Social networking and live events
Build communities of interest, gather ideas, request feedback, and keep everyone moving forward with help from Viva Engage. Viva Engage slows you to create social network inside and outside of your organization. Conversations and highlights in Viva Engage can be integrated into SharePoint and Viva Connections.
| Logo | Details |
|---|---|
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Engagement options: - Join and create a community in Viva Engage to bring people together - Create polls, praise, announcements, and questions in Viva Engage - Integrate Viva Engage into Microsoft Teams by adding a Viva Engage page to a Teams channel - Use a Viva Engage web part to integrate conversations and highlights into a relevant SharePoint site - Learn how to organize a live event in Viva Engage - Use the Viva Engage community app in Microsoft Teams Set up and maintenance options: - Enable people at your organization to [report concerns about Viva Engage conversations or replies]/viva/engage/manage-viva-engage-groups/configure-conversation-reporting.md) - Plan to engage new Viva Engage communities until the conversation picks up naturally over time Analytics: - View insights about questions and answers in Viva Engage - View insights about Viva Engage community or group activity - Determine how many people have seen a Viva Engage conversation |
Outlook: Email and calendars
Outlook is a tried-and-true form of communication for many organizations. Email is still a popular form of communication (especially for broad and diverse audiences) and can be viewed on any device. Email is often used in combination with other communication tools to share news, event information, and organizational updates.
| Logo | Details |
|---|---|
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Engagement options: - Reach an unlimited number of recipients - Use @mentions to get the attention of somebody in an email - Get more out of your email by sharing the same message in Microsoft Teams - Choose when the message by be received by scheduling email messages Set up and maintenance options: - Consider setting up Outlook message templates to standardize corporate communications - Create Microsoft 365 groups in Outlook to make reaching specific audiences more easily Analytics: - Add and request read receipts and delivery notifications - Create polls and view results in an email message |
Stream: Securely upload, organize, and share videos
Microsoft Stream is video service where people in your organization can upload, view, and share videos securely. You can share recordings of meetings, presentations, training sessions, or other videos that aid your team's collaboration. Use Stream for live events, or embed Stream content in Microsoft Teams or SharePoint.
| Logo | Details |
|---|---|
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Engagement options: - Share Stream videos in email, Teams channels and chats, or in Viva Engage - Use the Stream web part to embed a video in a SharePoint page or news post - Upload recordings from Teams meetings into Stream to organize and store content - Consider using Stream for live events when you need to reach large audiences and want to record the session to share with others Set up and maintenance options: - You can share a video or audio file and manage its access just like you do with any other files in Microsoft 365 - There are video quotas and limitations depending on your organization’s license. |
Viva: Personalized employee experiences
Microsoft Viva is made up of several apps that focus on specific employee experience areas and can be accessed in Teams. Viva apps are integrated with existing M365 apps like SharePoint, Viva Engage, and Teams. Some Viva apps can help organize, personalize, and amplify organizational communications. Other Viva apps will complement popular business scenarios and can be combined to create more powerful experiences. Learn more about Microsoft Viva.
| Logo | Details |
|---|---|
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Engagement options: - Use Viva Connections to create one central place where organizational news can be viewed - Integrate the Viva Connections experience by using the Dashboard and Feed web parts on the home site - Add cards to the Viva Connections Dashboard that integrate with other communication tools like Viva Engage - Use complimentary Viva apps like Viva Learning to create well-rounded employee experiences Set up and maintenance options: - Learn more about how to set up Microsoft Viva and the different roles involved. - Get more information about Viva Connections and how to meet requirements. |