Microsoft Teams will support up to 49 participants at once, matching Zoom

Microsoft Teams team has been working very hard at catching up with Zoom by increasing the number of people who can join a video conference simultaneously. Last month, Microsoft announced that they are increasing the number to 9 (3X3). Early this month, Microsoft announced that it is working on a 7X7 grid view that will support up to 49 participants. Today, Microsoft announced that 7X7 grid view is coming soon in preview to Teams users this month. General availability of 49 participants support will be delivered this fall.

Microsoft also announced the following new features for Microsoft Teams users in the education market:

• In the fall, educators will be able to create virtual Breakout Rooms so students can meet and collaborate in small groups.
• In Teams for Education, students can Raise Their Hands during class meetings. Educators can also see Attendance Reports and view Class Insights, an intelligent data analytics breakdown showing how students engage with the class, including assignments turned in, activity metrics and grades, with a new trends view coming in time for fall.
• New meeting options in Teams prevent students from starting meetings unattended, let educators determine who can present in a meeting, and give educators the ability to create a Meeting Lobby to ensure only assigned students can join a meeting—adding to Microsoft’s approach to privacy and security, which supports more than 90 regulatory and industry standards, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for the security of students and children.

Source: Microsoft