What's in this post...
Last Updated on August 23, 2021 by GrahamWalsh
Microsoft quietly rolled out a latest version of the Microsoft Teams panel application. It can be either downloaded from the OEM vendor or via the Teams Admin Center. This updated version is 1449/1.0.97.2021070601. To update, you simply head the Teams Admin Center and push out an update or schedule an update.
What’s new on the Teams panel app?
- Remote Provisioning
- Option to show/hide meeting name
- Line of Business Applications
- Teams Admin Center policy enhancements
Remote Provisioning
This is the exact same feature that we have on Microsoft Teams phones and Microsoft Teams Room on Android. It allows an administrator to provide an onsite installer just a six-digit PIN code to pair the device. The admin can then sign in the device remotely without having to give the account details of the meeting room. I covered this here before in the video below, so no need to do another one as the process is the exact same. Grab the MAC address and away you go.
Show/Hide Meeting Names
This is a new useful feature if you have some private meetings, and everyone can see the subject. You don’t always remember to check the box in Outlook to say it’s a private meeting, so this will prevent it from showing the name of the meeting. Instead, it will just show who booked the meeting as per below. This setting can only be set from the Teams panel app settings itself. It cannot be set from the Teams Admin Center.
Line of Business Applications
Many people have been waiting for this one as it was talked about and previewed at launch in December 2020. This is the first iteration that allows static web content. The official documentation is here. I’m not going to go through how to set it all up, that’s for another time. This release doesn’t include the Nearby Rooms feature that was also shown at launch.
What could this be used for then? You need to know what else you need to do before you enter a meeting room or after you leave a meeting room. One idea I had was a feedback survey or Report a Problem. That could kick off a workflow to get someone to attend or investigate the room if a report were bad. This was built with Microsoft Power Apps.
The good news is that during Septembers MTDAMA, we will have a guest speaker, Tom Morgan which is a fellow Microsoft MVP and Microsoft Teams developer. He’s going to talk all things Teams Apps, so join us then to learn more about Teams app development.
Teams Admin Center Enhancements
The next update is actually in the Teams Admin Center Configuration Policy. This now allows you to control the colour of the light bar and the wallpaper on each device. For example, each office location might have a preferene of wallpaper. However, the downside is that it is still the stock wallpapers that you can choose from.
Any questions, let me know below.
Also published on Medium.