Transforming Meeting Experiences with Microsoft's Collaborative Meeting Notes

A Comprehensive Overview of Microsoft's Integrated Meeting Solutions

Introduction

Microsoft is revolutionizing the way teams collaborate during meetings by introducing a new feature: Collaborative Meeting Notes. Integrated with Microsoft Teams, Loop, Planner, To Do, Office.com, and OneDrive for Business, this innovative tool aims to enhance meeting efficiency and productivity by streamlining agenda creation, note-taking, and task assignment. In this blog post, we will discuss the rollout timeline, how this feature will impact your organization, and the necessary steps to prepare for its implementation.

Rollout Timeline

Microsoft has scheduled the rollout of Collaborative Meeting Notes in two phases:

1. Preview Release: Starting in late April, with completion expected by mid-May.
2. Standard Release: Commencing in late May, with completion anticipated by late June.

Collaborative Meeting Notes: A Game Changer for Organizations

Once implemented, users within your tenant will see a Notes button during meetings that unlocks the new capabilities. The meeting notes will be displayed on the right pane of the meeting window, with the option to open them in the browser for more space or on a second monitor. Participants can collaborate in real-time, create agendas, take notes, and add tasks.

When assigned a task during the meeting, participants will receive an email notification, and the task will be synced with Planner and To Do apps. Meeting organizers will also have the ability to add Collaborative notes before meetings, centralizing agendas or other materials in one location.

After the meeting, Collaborative notes will remain accessible to all participants on the Teams calendar meeting details page. As a Loop component, they can be easily copied out of the meeting and into chats, group chats, emails, and other documents, ensuring seamless preparation and follow-up.

Preparing for Collaborative Meeting Notes

No preparation is required, as this feature will be enabled by default upon rollout. However, the new Collaborative notes file will generate a Company Shareable Link (CSL) by default.

To manage this feature, use SharePoint PowerShell with the following command:

Set-SPOTenant -IsCollabMeetingNotesFluidEnabled (boolean)

For Loop functionality settings management in Teams, ensure you have the latest version of the SharePoint PowerShell module. Loop components are enabled by default for all organizations.

Managing Loop Components and Permissions

To check your tenant's default file permissions, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
2. Under Admin centers, select SharePoint.
3. Select Policies > Sharing, and under File and folder links, view your organization's default file permissions.

To verify if Loop components are enabled, run Get-SPOTenant without any arguments. Ensure the value of IsLoopEnabled is true. To enable or disable Loop components in Teams, use the Set-SPOTenant -IsLoopEnabled (boolean) command.

The feature will be available on Teams Windows Desktop, Mac, iOS, Android, and web, and users will see a new option for inserting Loop components in the message compose experience.

eDiscovery for Loop Components

Loop components created in Teams or Outlook are discoverable and have eDiscovery workflow support using the Microsoft Purview tool. Currently, these files are stored in the creator’s OneDrive and are available for search and collection, rendering in review for both eDiscovery (Standard) and eDiscovery (Premium). Microsoft is actively working on a third-party export API solution for Loop components.

Conclusion

Microsoft's Collaborative Meeting Notes feature promises to revolutionize meeting experiences, fostering enhanced collaboration and productivity. Keep an eye on the rollout timeline, and be prepared to embrace this innovative tool to transform your organization's meeting culture.