If you've always wanted to host a webinar in Microsoft Teams, you'll soon be able to---but you'll have to pay up first. The software company has revealed its plans for Teams Pro, a subscription service that will allow members to host webinars with Teams.
What's Coming to Microsoft Teams With Teams Pro?
The news of this feature broke over on Petri. Microsoft is planning to release a new subscription-based service called Teams Pro, which is designed to enhance how you use Teams. The service is currently scheduled for a mid-March 2021 release.
It's unclear as to how much Teams Pro will be, but what we do know is that Pro subscribers will gain the ability to create webinars. This makes a lot of sense, as Microsoft is making a huge profit in a pandemic-struck world, and Teams has the potential to be a potent money-maker for the company.
Teams Pro will also bring in "meeting intelligence." It's unsure as to what this means exactly, but Brad Sams of Petri has some thoughts on what this mysterious feature may entail:
...I suspect that this will be closely linked to webinar functionality—the two fit together like OneDrive and SharePoint. If you host a webinar with Teams, you will want additional insights like time in a session, if they asked a question, etc.
As such, there's a good chance that "meeting intelligence" will be another example of Microsoft experimenting with automating the meeting feedback process. We saw the company try this out earlier with a system that detects who looks bored in a meeting.
As far as further details go, however, there isn't a great deal more to go on. As such, we'll have to bide our time to see what Microsoft has planned for Teams Pro, including how much it'll cost and how the webinars will work exactly.
Microsoft Teams Pro: A Must-Have for the Professional?
Details are, unfortunately, very sparse as to what Microsoft is planning for Teams Pro. However, we do know that webinars are part of the subscription plan, so we'll just have to wait to see how this news piece develops over time.
If you're working from home and entertaining the thought of starting your own business, a webinar is a great way to get your name out there. Before you hop into making one, it's a good idea to study up on what makes a good webinar so you can give a professional first impression.
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