Microsoft has announced that now Teams users can communicate beyond their organization by allowing them to start a chat with any Teams users, including free personal Teams accounts.
With the new capability, one can now invite any Teams user to chat by entering the full email address or phone number to reach and start a 1:1 or group chat with anyone with a Microsoft personal account, no tenant switching required.
According to Microsoft, allowing connections to personal Teams accounts should help commercial Teams account owners to connect to SMBs, many of which use Teams personal accounts for business.
Microsoft recently announced that it had added 20 million more users to its video collaboration tool Teams to surpass 270 million monthly active users as the Omicron-triggered Covid wave spread across the globe.
The company has surpassed 270 million monthly active Teams users as of its second quarter that ended December 31, up from 250 million monthly active Teams users it announced in July 2021.
According to Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, organizations are using Teams to run their business with collaborative applications that bring business process data right into the flow of work.