Microsoft Teams took the world of online messengers by storm. Here’s the thing: we used to think that Slack was all the rage. But these days, almost seven times more people prefer Microsoft Teams to Slack as their digital communication hub, while the number of active Microsoft Teams users is now well over 115 million.
Whether your team is planning to transition to Teams or already using Teams in their daily work, you should seriously consider making the most out of the Teams environment from the get-go.
For this reason, we compiled a list of the best Microsoft teams apps to help your team boost their productivity, save time on routine tasks, and get your creative juices flowing. Let’s dive in!
Geekbot
If you are struggling with ineffective meetings or low team performance, there are several things you can do.
- First, make sure your meetings are short and to-the-point. Get rid of all unnecessary meetings at once and replace them with focused asynchronous standups.
- Second, regularly analyze your team members’ well-being with custom polls and surveys. Ideally, do that on autopilot.
- Lastly, store all the meeting notes, team survey responses, and performance graphs in one place and once click away.
You might think that to do all that, you need four different tools, right? In reality, you only need one, and that’s Geekbot.
Here’s what you can do with Geekbot for Microsoft Teams:
- Conduct asynchronous standups and retrospectives directly within Teams
- Activate well-being templates to regularly check on your team members morale and spot any work-related issues beforehand
- Gather high-level team insights with intuitive graphs and analytics on crucial team metrics
- Use custom polls and anonymous surveys to learn what your team thinks about anything
- Use icebreakers to boost team morale and onboard new team members
Note: Geekbot’s preparing For Microsoft Teams. Soon you’ll be able to use Geekbot in MS Teams.Want to know as soon as Geekbot’s ready? Subscribe to our newsletter.
Mindmeister
Mindmeister has been around for ages, and it’s no wonder this popular mind-mapping tool developed its application for Microsoft Apps. The best bit about Minmeister integration for Teams is just how effective your typical brainstorming becomes when you don’t have to switch between your messenger and 3rd party tools frantically.
Have a bright idea that needs some input from your team? Simply create a new mind map and invite your team members on board to collaborate and create in real-time.
Installation guide: support.mindmeister.com
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Here’s what you can do with the Mindmeister app for Teams:
- Create, edit, update, and export mind maps within Teams
- Organize your conversations into actionable, transparent visuals
- Vote on your favorite designs
- Connect random ideas to maps and structures to extend teams’ knowledge
- Collaborate on designs
GitHub
If you’re working on a digital product, you know how important it is to track even the smallest changes in your codebase. This problem becomes even more pressing when you hire several developers who work on their portion of a code.
With the GitHub application for Microsoft Teams, your team will always be aware of any changes to your codebase. You can even share code snippets in Teams to address specific issues or discuss recent updates.
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Install GitHub app for Teams to do the following:
- Collaborate and organize GitHub code within Microsoft Teams
- Receive real-time notifications on GitHub repositories
- Share code snippets with your team whenever someone opens new issues.
Trello
If you are using Trello as your project management tool, then you probably know just how useful it is to integrate Trello with a team messenger. Tracking project and task updates can quickly become messy, but Trello Connector for Teams solves this problem.
Install the app to get real-time notifications on Trello updates and create new items without leaving your Microsoft Teams chats.
Installation guide: help.trello.com
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Some things you can do with Trello Connector for Teams:
- Receive notifications on any activity within Trello directly in Teams
- Manage to-do lists and tasks without leaving the messenger
- Collaborate on Trello items within Teams
Microsoft Stream
Microsoft Stream is an invaluable tool for Teams if your colleagues rely heavily on pre-recorded videos to share ideas.
The tool is especially useful for distributed teams operating in different timezones, as it allows you to recap team meetings in quick videos or share recorded meetings with the rest of your team.
Installation guide: docs.microsoft.com
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Microsoft Stream is a great tool within Teams if you want to:
- View pre-recorded videos from your colleagues in Teams
- Create explainer videos from your Agile meetings
- Share town hall meetings with the rest of the teams
Polly
The easiest way to learn something is to ask, and Polly for Teams allows you do to just that.
Whether you’re trying to pick a perfect time for a meeting, learn about everyone’s favorite snack before the team retreat, or identify project roadblocks, simply create a poll and conduct it with your colleagues directly in Microsoft Teams.
Anonymous polls as a bonus!
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Use Polly to do the following things:
- Conduct team polls directly within Microsoft Teams
- Manage scheduling and voting options
- Conduct anonymous polls
- Visualize survey data as graphs and charts
Karma
One of the quickest ways to improve team culture and form great working habits is to praise your colleagues.
Karma allows you to do just that, but only on a scale. Praise your colleagues, receive praise, and analyze team reports to learn more about your team and its most active members.
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Karma app for Microsoft Teams might be handy when you want:
- Give praise to your colleagues in Teams
- Recognize workplace achievements with scoreboards
- Promote healthy work habits
Planner
Planner is a standard Teams application that is available out of the box, and yet many teams seem to oversee its value due to the tool’s utter simplicity. But you should definitely give Planner a try as the app will help you to effortlessly track personal and group tasks without ever leaving Teams or setting complex integrations.
Use Microsoft Teams Planner to perform the following activities:
- Track personal and group tasks
- Create new taskboards for specific teams
Zoom
Ah, Zoom, the king of online meetings. Surely it has integration for every major messenger out there, Team included.
Install Zoom app for Teams and enjoy integrated meetings, real-time notifications, and organized calendars.
Installation guide: support.zoom.us
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Use Zoom for Microsoft Teams to:
- Launch Zoom meetings without leaving Microsoft Teams
- Set up a team Zoom meeting beforehand
- Get meeting summary reports after the meeting ends
- Access video meeting recordings
Freehand
Freehand is a tool developed by InVision, one of the most popular design software applications in the world. But don’t let that discourage you — Freehand is an intuitive tool that lets your team create quick sketches and visual notes in a shared space.
One of the coolest features that Freehand offers is an infinite whiteboard, meaning that you can create and explore visual ideas until your hands get tired.
Installation guide: support.invisionapp.com
By Invision
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Here are some things you can do with Freehand:
- Sketch, edit, and draw on a shared whiteboard
- Infinite whiteboard scales as much as you need
- Visual wireframing planning
- Co-drawing
Note: you can also check out Mural as an alternative teams app with similar features
Translator
Working in a global, multilingual company can become a real challenge if you fail to communicate your ideas in detail due to the language barrier.
Thankfully, Microsoft Teams built-in Translator will save your day and automatically translate messages into your preferred language. Check out the installation guide below to learn how to use the tool.
Installation guide: microsoft.com
Use Microsoft Teams Translator to:
- Translate messages into multiple languages in real-time
- Read messages in a preferred language
Klaxoon
Klaxoon is quickly gaining traction as an all-around collaborative platform for teams.
Their approach is simple: create a shared team space and let team members fill it with literally anything. This way everyone on your team can choose the most convenient way of communicating ideas for themselves. Some people might share texts while others might create visuals. You can even add polls into the mix!
Such a fluid workspace allows teams to explore ideas and quickly build knowledge hubs without feeling restrained by a tool or their skills.
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A couple of things you can do with Klaxoon in Teams:
- Operate with your team within a collaborative space
- Add images, drawings, media, data into shared space
- Supports polls, word clouds, and visualizations
HealthHero
Physical health is paramount for productive people, and, ultimately, productive teams. That’s why HealthHero should definitely be on your “Check ASAP” list of apps for Teams.
With HealthHero you can invite colleagues to train together, share physical challenges, and even compete with each other using leaderboards — all that to make sure your team members receive a fair amount of physical activity to keep their gears turning.
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Pursue the following activities with HealtHero in Microsoft Teams:
- Create fitness challenges for your teammates
- Compete and support each other via leaderboards
- Capture activities via chat and media uploads
- Integrate HeatthHero with popular fitness apps
SoapBox
If you are tired of pointless meeting, then Soapbox might be of help. In short, the app lets you organize thoughts and messages into meeting notes and even form complete agendas for upcoming meetings.
In addition to that, you can extend the value of your meeting by asking follow-up questions or help your team members to prepare for meeting via editable meeting items lists.
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What you can do with Soapbox in Microsoft Teams:
- Add and edit items for your meetings’ agendas
- Facilitate creating agenda for meetings by asking questions
- Automate follow-up questions after meetings