Given the tremendous level of importance that Office 365 still has for Microsoft, and due to its status as a key part of its ‘mobile first, cloud first’ approach to the development of productivity solutions, it is not surprising that it was heavily featured at the recent developers’ conference organised by the software giant – Build 2017.
The company’s corporate vice president for Office, Kirk Koenigsbauer, used the Washington conference to draw attention to three areas where there are fresh opportunities for developers when it comes to the creation of solutions based on Office 365. Microsoft Graph, the developer platform Microsoft Teams, and Office 365 partner integrations were all part of the focus during the three-day event, with the conversation mostly being about new ways in which developers can seek to leverage subscribers to Office 365, who are numbered at over 100 million.
Teams represents Microsoft’s answer to cloud collaboration tool Slack, and it provides groups with a set of tools for collaborative working that are constructed around a chat-oriented workspace. Among the most powerful functions this solution offers is a strong platform for developers containing connectors, bots and tabs, which enable developers to add built-in Teams functions that will tie into solutions created by third parties.
Now, Microsoft has confirmed that this product will be opened up to developers from all over the world, so that they can use the Office Store for publishing apps. Those apps will then show up within a brand new discovery experience for apps, making the adding and utilisation of them from inside Microsoft Teams simpler for the user. Furthermore, Microsoft has also added another two features to Developer Preview, the first of which sees app or service information pulled into chats by compose extensions, so that context switches do not distract users. The second sees notifications from third parties able to populate activity feeds, so that the user is kept aware of important updates and information.
Microsoft has also added new APIs for Graph, as well as new features that will make the integration of data and intelligence simpler for developers, such as the widespread availability of data APIs for Planner, OneNote and SharePoint sites. Microsoft also showed off a new Presentation add-in that deploys its translation APIs to allow business presentations to feature subtitles, and has made its Actionable Messages solution accessible through Teams, for users of Office 365.
Finally, the company announced new Microsoft Flow features that will enable integration with the likes of SharePoint, as well as the creation of business processes that are customised and focused. There are likely to be further announcements from Microsoft concerning Office 365 still to come. Here at WM Reply, we have developed a long-standing reputation for providing tools that allow our clients to enhance their processes of communication and collaboration.
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