MS Teams Adoption Campaign

The goal is to have the VPFO fully adopt MS Teams by the end of the calendar year (December 31, 2023). Many groups are already using MS Teams for chat, but it will take some time to transition over to MS Teams video meetings. There are also groups who have already fully embraced MS Teams for both chat and virtual meetings. Simply put, if you are trying to reach someone in the VPFO, you should aim to, and be able to, reach them on MS Teams.

The VPFO Communications & Engagement team will be working with the VPFO administrative team to brainstorm a solution for meeting room spaces that may not be properly equipped to run MS Teams. The VPFO Communications & Engagement team is also working with UBC IT to provide training to the portfolio.

There may be some time required to learn how to use MS Teams and there may be a learning curve. The VPFO’s decision to standardize communication platforms by moving internal chats and video meetings to MS Teams is gradual and will take place over the remainder of the year.

Sometimes MS Teams may not fit your project needs, so it’s okay to use Zoom or other platforms when interacting with external parties or even in meeting room spaces not currently equipped for MS Teams. However, it is expected that MS Teams be used for internal VPFO chats and video meetings as much as possible.

MS Teams has a wide set of tools and functionality and many of its features are similar to Zoom. Although it may not have every exact feature that Zoom has, there are comparable features that can be used to create a similar result.

Yes! The VPFO Communications & Engagement team is working with UBC IT to confirm training dates. Stay tuned for more information.

MS Teams is not replacing any current collaboration tools, such as Zoom. We are adopting MS Teams to make it easier to contact staff from across the VPFO and to standardize communication platforms.

Zoom will still be available and can be used for situations where MS Teams may not fit your needs. However, the expectation is for all VPFO staff to be accessible via MS Teams chat.

The VPFO Communications & Engagement team will be working with the VPFO Administrative team to brainstorm solutions for meeting room spaces that may not be equipped to run MS Teams. We hope to have a viable solution available by the end of the calendar year.

For now, if your meeting is on MS Teams and you are using a meeting room that is not set up for Teams, you may work around this issue by connecting a computer to the screen and using the computer’s webcam as the conference camera by placing it at the end of the table. Please note that the computer will be used for its camera and the computer’s interface will be pointed to the audience. This may not be the best solution for your meeting and in this case, using Zoom for your meeting may be a good option until the meeting spaces are better equipped.

At this time, the adoption is only for chat and video meetings in MS Teams. File storage is unique from department to department, and strategies must be developed based on a department’s needs. We ask that you use MS Teams for chat and internal video meetings as much as possible going forward.