Celebrating 10 Years as a Microsoft MVP!

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Back from my vacation, I am thrilled to share that I have been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for the 10th consecutive year. In addition to being recognized as an expert within Teams, I am have also been recognized as an expert with Microsoft Copilot. This means a lot to me.  Being an MVP has been an incredibly rewarding journey, both personally and professionally. It has provided me with countless opportunities to grow, learn, and connect with like-minded professionals who share a passion for technology and innovation.  The award is not just a title; it's a testament to the hard work, dedication, and contributions to the tech community. It's a privilege to be part of such an esteemed group of individuals who share the same love for technology, and sharing their knowledge about it.  As I reflect on the past decade, I am thankful for the experiences and knowledge I've gained. This recognition motivates me to continue sharing my expertise, mentor

Teams to Skype for Consumer federation is coming

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Here is a feature many of my customers have asked for ever since switching from Skype for Business Online to Teams: Teams/Skype Consumer chat and calling interop. 
The feature is listed as Roadmap ID: 53935

According to the message center, the feature will be rolling out in a disabled state, and admins will have to log into the Teams Admin Center to configure it under "external access":


Once configured, users can search the external directory, the same way they can search for internal chat users:

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Once set up, users can chat, call by audio or video, just as they can with other Skype for Business or Teams users. There are a couple of limitations in this initial release, such as no rich formatting, no mentions or emojis. It also looks like you can't search for a Skype ID or phone number, but it is all documented in the interop description found at docks.

And just like that, the world became a little smaller.....