Here’s a small new feature that might fly under the radar, but it’s sure to appeal to anyone who uses Teams as their primary communication platform.
A very concrete example
Imagine you’re in the workshop with a customer and a very specific technical question comes up regarding a telephone line or a contract with a service provider.
You need to contact an outside expert.
You dial the number from Teams, but the call goes to an automated switchboard:
“For technical support, press 1. For professional services, press 2…”
Until now, this kind of scenario could quickly become frustrating.
With this new feature, you can navigate the voice menu directly from Teams, speak with the expert privately to provide context, and then bring them into the meeting once they’re ready to participate.
Who is this useful for?
This improvement is particularly valuable for organizations that regularly collaborate with:
- suppliers
- partners
- support centers
- external experts
- services accessible only via a PSTN number.
It’s the kind of feature you might not use every day, but when you need it, it saves you a lot of steps and makes the experience much smoother.
Limitations
- This feature is not supported for calls made on shared lines in delegation scenarios between a manager and their delegates.
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To use ” Consult and Merge During a Meeting,” the organizer must have an Audio Conferencing license or a PSTN license. Please also note that this feature is not supported in events, webinars, or Town Halls.
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The DTMF keypad is available only during the consultation call. Once the call is merged into the meeting, the keypad disappears and is no longer accessible.
My Opinion
I especially like this kind of new feature.
Microsoft continues to reduce friction between the Teams ecosystem and traditional telephony, further strengthening Teams’ position as a unified communications platform.
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