#1 Guide to Microsoft Teams Apps in 2024

A Teams app is a software application that is integrated with Microsoft Teams, a popular collaboration and communication platform. These apps are designed to enhance the capabilities of Teams by providing additional functionality and features to users. This post will discuss the various benefits and uses of Teams apps and how they can help improve communication and collaboration within your team.

What are Teams apps?

Teams apps are a collection of tools and software that are integrated with Microsoft Teams, a popular collaboration and communication platform. These apps are designed to enhance the capabilities of Teams by providing additional functionality and features to users. They can be used for a wide range of tasks, including file sharing, project management, scheduling, and more.

With Teams apps, users can easily access the tools they need to stay organized, collaborate with their team, and stay connected, all within the familiar interface of Microsoft Teams. Additionally, many Teams apps are available from third-party developers, which means that there is a wide range of options to choose from to suit different teams' needs.

There are thousands of apps available in Teams, including integrations such as Calendly to assist in scheduling meetings or Hubspot to track leads for your business. You can find many different types of apps for analytics, commerce, customer service, marketing, and productivity, but how can you optimize Teams apps for your business?

How to use Teams apps in your business

There are many ways to use Teams apps in your business. As mentioned above, you can use Teams to help streamline your team's communication, marketing, and productivity. Some ways you can do this are:

• Using Teams apps for productivity:  Teams productivity apps can help teams increase their efficiency and effectiveness by providing options for task management, such as task creation and tracking, time-tracking, project collaboration, and more.
• Using Teams apps for marketing: Teams apps can also help teams collaborate on marketing projects. Teams' marketing apps can create content, manage campaigns, track leads, analyze metrics, and more. With teams' marketing apps, teams can easily keep tabs on progress and find insights that will help them in the future.
• Using Teams apps for commerce: Integrate your Shopify or WooCommerce online shops to synchronize orders, stock, and customer information. You can also create packing lists from orders or shipments and book order transportation with FedEx, USPS, DHL, and over 1000 other carriers.
• Using Teams apps for communication: Teams' communication apps can help teams stay connected and informed. From video calls to chatrooms, teams can communicate with each other in real-time, keeping everyone on the same page.
• Using Teams apps for customer service: With teams' customer service apps, you can view customer satisfaction insights. You can view the customer and your agent's Net Promoter Score (NPS) and filter reports by cases, such as priority, location, and product.

What are the benefits of using Teams apps?

Let me tell you why you need Microsoft Teams apps to help your team and business excel. Teams apps provide a variety of benefits for individuals and teams. They allow users to easily access and share information, collaborate on projects, and stay organized.

With the ability to integrate with other tools, such as calendars and task management apps, Teams apps make it simple to keep on top of important tasks and deadlines. Additionally, they offer a range of communication options, including instant messaging, voice and video calls, and screen sharing, which allow teams to stay connected and productive, even when working remotely. Teams apps can help increase efficiency, improve communication, and streamline workflows.

• Save time: Switching between apps to communicate with your team or get work done can get old quickly. With Teams apps, you can save time by scheduling meetings within the chat or integrating with other Microsoft products like OneNote or Office.‍
• Prepare for meetings: Keep your agenda, agreed actions, and meeting notes all in one place. Also, keep track of your meeting participants in one singular place.‍
• Fewer emails: Rely on chats versus a figurative pile of emails sitting in your inbox. Yes, even if you need to send a file, you can do that all in chat.‍
• Improve your teams' collaboration: Teams must collaborate on projects and tasks in real-time as work gets more complex. With teams' collaboration apps, teams can easily do this. Because of Teams' connection to Office 365, you can quickly and easily share with your coworkers and add a co-author quickly and easily. In addition, you can add comments and notes about the document right inside the chat.‍
• Security. Sometimes going the safe route can take too much time in a hurry. So, don't fret; you can send secure documents with Microsoft Teams. Teams have multi-factor authentication, built-in information protectors with eDiscovery and audit, compliance leadership with HIPPA, and more.‍
• Activity Feed. Get a brief overview of what's happened or what's to come in your day. Then, it just takes a glance, and you can know your to-do's, mentions, and messages in one place.

What are the disadvantages of using Teams apps?

Now that we've gone over the benefits let's look at the disadvantages of using Teams apps.

Storage consumption. Anyone in an organization can create a Team. However, this can take up a lot of space over time. Luckily, you can fix this, but you must go through some hoops to do it.

A limited number of channels. There is a limit of 200 public and 30 private channels per team; while this may work for smaller businesses, this could be an issue for more prominent organizations. As a result, you could find yourself needing to delete some channels. Luckily, SharePoint holds shared files as backup storage.

Too many similar apps. Teams are just one of Microsoft's apps they have on the market at the moment. In addition, they have Yammer and Skype, which are other options for communication, OneDrive and Sharepoint for storage, and Dynamic 365 and Microsoft Planner for Business. While it is great to have options, too many apps can need clarification about which app should be used for what.

• Confusing file structure. While sharing in chats is easy, this can lead to a more precise file structure as all files are rooted in the main folder. Any attempt to organize the files can result in broken file links.
• Complicated meeting experience. Integrating other apps into your meeting experience can be tricky unless you're overly comfortable with the experience. For example, it would be difficult for someone to take notes in OneNote while in a skype meeting if they need help with how to use the interface.

How are Teams apps used for productivity?

In today's world, distractions are everywhere and available right in the palm of your hand. Distractions can cause projects to be delayed or incomplete or keep employees from making the most of their time on the clock. As a result, boosting productivity at work is a business's prime focus for its employees. This is where Teams apps come in.

• Time Management. Teams help teams keep track of their tasks and times in real time with the To-Do or Planner app. You can easily assign tasks to your teams and ensure they're completed on time with reminders, progress tracking, and dashboards.‍
• Simplified Meetings. With Teams, teams can easily schedule virtual meetings quickly with Microsoft teams, combining Skype and OneNote for an all-inclusive team meeting experience.‍
• Organized files. Teams make it easy to share your documents and files in one place. You can store and search for any file or document-related information in teams. With Teams, you can easily create folders to store and organize documents, files, and projects all in one place.

Overall, Teams apps offer teams a suite of tools designed to help teams boost productivity with their workflows. From creating teams, chatrooms, and channels with custom access permissions to organizing tasks with the To-Do app, teams together with Teams apps can help teams work more efficiently. With MS Teams apps, teams can easily manage their projects and tasks, store and organize documents in one place, simplify meetings and keep track of their time. Teams apps are the perfect tool to help teams get tasks done promptly.

How to use Teams apps for project management

Despite Teams not being made for project management, you can add apps that integrate with Microsoft Teams apps to provide teams with the necessary tools to work productively and efficiently.

Teams apps can be a powerful tool for project management. Many project management apps available for Teams allow teams to easily create and assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. These apps also often provide features such as calendars, Gantt charts, and timelines, which can help teams stay organized and on track with their projects. Additionally, many project management apps integrate with other tools, such as document sharing and collaboration apps, which allows teams to easily share and collaborate on project-related documents. Overall, Teams apps can help teams stay on top of tasks and deadlines, stay organized, and improve collaboration and communication among team members.

• Chat: Chat is a great way to help your team manage projects. It keeps everyone on the same page about the project or task status.
• Microsoft Teams Meetings: Manage your projects with your team by creating and sharing the agenda in advance, sharing presentations and reports beforehand, asking your team members to prepare updates on your project, and using break-out rooms for discussions and feedback.‍
• Third-Party Teams Apps: Teams can also offer your team the option of integrating other third-party apps into teams. This can help teams customize their workflow and use teams as a central hub for all their project management tasks. The best apps that can help with project management are:‍
• MIPA: My Intelligent Personal Assistant brings your tasks into Microsoft Teams as an app or a tab instead of having to leave the app to access To-Do, Microsoft List, or Planner.‍
• Priority Matrix: helps teams prioritize tasks, focus, and work smarter. You can manage tasks and projects in one place directly from Teams.‍
• Verto 365: is a work collaboration and software. This Teams app seamlessly links teams to their projects, programs, and portfolios. Provide your team with project documents to view right from the Teams platform.

Microsoft Teams is the go-to tool for teams who want to boost productivity and need assistance with project management.

Paid vs. free Teams apps

Microsoft teams offer teams both free and paid apps, depending on the needs of your team.

Paid Teams apps will provide teams with access to more features and capabilities than the basic version of teams, including a suite of tools to manage their workflow ranging from project management, time tracking, document sharing, and more. In addition, paid Teams apps are usually integrated with other third-party Teams apps and will provide teams with more options for how to customize their Teams app.

Free Teams apps come with basic features only and do not offer teams the same capabilities as paid Teams apps. However, free apps can manage projects and tasks if your team doesn't require additional features. Free apps still have access to the basics of Teams, such as calendar, chat, teams, and channels.

The Microsoft Teams app store is constantly growing, so teams can always find new Teams apps to help them be more productive. Whether you're looking for more basic features or advanced capabilities, such as managing projects, storing files, tracking tasks and deadlines, and holding meetings, the Microsoft teams app offers it.

Now that you know more about Microsoft Teams apps, get started with teams to make the most of your project management needs.

Strategies for Teams apps

When you first start using Teams, it can be challenging to learn. Additionally, it can be hard to know whether or not your team is getting the most out of using the App. So, it is essential to have strategies in place to ensure. As a result, teams maximize their productivity and stay organized.

Here are some valuable strategies teams can use when managing Teams apps:

• Set up teams and channels first. When using Microsoft Teams, the first step should be setting up teams and channels for each project that teams will work on. Once teams have teams and channels set up, teams can add members and assign roles to each team member.
• Use Teams templates to simplify tasks. Teams templates help teams create task lists and manage projects with minimal effort. With templates, teams can quickly create a project from scratch or use an existing template to start their project faster. 
• Integrate third-party apps with teams. Microsoft teams can integrate your favorite apps into teams, such as MIPA and Priority Matrix, to further increase productivity while using teams. This allows teams to keep track of tasks, store documents in one place, and even perform video calls without leaving the app.

The Microsoft Teams Apps is a fantastic tool for more efficient team and project management. They offer teams various features such as Teams templates, integration with third-party apps, and adding team members. Whether teams are just starting or have been using Teams for a while, following these strategies will help teams get the most out of their Teams app.

Microsoft Teams apps tips

There are 145 million active users on Teams every day, and if you're new to using Teams, I'm sure you're stuck wondering where to start. So here are some tips to help teams get the most out of using Teams:

Use Sharepoint. Sharepoint Online, an app for securing and sharing files, is already integrated into Teams and ready to use. By sharing a file with a channel, your team members can collaborate using Office Online or a desktop app.

• Microsoft Teams integration with Slack or Cisco Webex: Integrating with other apps has always been challenging. Now, you can chat with users that aren't Teams users. Chat with clients using Slack or Cisco Webex when integrating the two apps. This will save you time from switching between apps or starting the conversation over again. Also, you can avoid using the dreaded email.
• Add a Zoom Integration: Zoom has taken the world by storm since 2020 when remote work became necessary for some employers. Now, Zoom is a staple app in most businesses' back pockets. By integrating Zoom, you can interact with people off of Teams, access video recordings, and integrate the Zoom team chats to Microsoft Teams, so all messages are accounted for no matter where you're chatting.
• Add a translator app: Having teams across different countries can be a challenge when teams need to communicate. But with a translation app, teams can do just that! Microsoft Translator is an App that teams can add to Teams. This app will translate chats into over 60 languages so teams can enjoy clear communication no matter where they are located.
• Add a project management app: As mentioned above, Teams is not designed to manage projects, but you can add a third-party app for productivity and project management. With an app such as MIPA, teams can create tasks, assign deadlines and keep teams organized.

Microsoft Teams is a powerful tool that teams can use to stay organized, track tasks, and collaborate with remote teammates. Following the tips above, employees can get the most out of Teams apps to keep them organized and productive.

Using Teams apps can help teams stay organized and productive. Businesses that use Teams apps can create teams and channels, assign roles to team members, integrate with third-party apps, and assign tasks in one place. Be sure also to integrate an app like Matter to boost morale within your team. In addition, Microsoft Teams offer powerful tools for teams to use for their project.

Businesses may utilize Teams apps to their full potential and work more efficiently by using the tips outlined in this article.

Interested in Teams apps? Make team recognition, celebrations, and rewards fun with Matter — all inside Slack or Microsoft Teams. Get started for free by adding Matter to your workspace.