Microsoft is preparing an update for the Teams collaboration platform that will allow administrators to change the way meetings are displayed to all participants.
As explained in a new entry in the company's product roadmap, meeting hosts will soon have the option to enable Together mode for all participants. The update is still in development, but should be available by the end of May.
Released in the summer of 2020, Together Mode for Microsoft Teams brings all participants into a shared virtual background, with the goal of "making you feel like you're sitting in the same room with everyone else."
Together mode in Microsoft Teams
While the ambition behind Together Mode is high, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. In this writer's opinion, the virtual background full of floating heads only serves to emphasize the fact that a meeting is not, in fact, taking place in person.
While Microsoft's AI system does a pretty decent job of removing everyone's desktop background, and some people will do better than others, the end result is welcome.
The idea that meeting hosts should be able to dictate that everyone use the feature is particularly strange. While there is something to be said for operating on a level playing field, some users will find the feature more useful (or useless) than others, making a blanket policy counterproductive.
However, not all of Microsoft's attempts to introduce variety into the way Teams meetings are displayed have been so divisive.
Last year, the company launched a series of new presentation modes designed to help Teams users tailor their presentation style to the occasion. Spotlight mode, for example, places the presenter's video feed in front of the slide deck, while Reporter mode places content over the shoulder in the style of a news broadcast.
The features were an example of how virtual backgrounds and smart content positioning can legitimately improve the quality of video conferences, fulfilling Microsoft's stated ambition to "help presenters deliver content more professionally" and giving attendees to the meeting dynamic experiences.