Microsoft Predicts a Permanent change in the Way We Work Following the COVID-19 Crisis

As the COVID-19 shows no signs of stopping, most people are still stuck in-home quarantine or lockdown. Most of the world’s major nations are still imposing strict travel bans to prevent the spread of the virus. Almost 80% of the world’s colleges, schools and non-essential offices have been shut due to this pandemic, pushing most people to work from home. So, how will this impact the way we work? Microsoft thinks that this COVID-19 pandemic will forever change the way offices function. Here’s a look at their report that tries to make sense of what after-effect this pandemic will have on employer-employee relations.

Usage of Microsoft Teams Surges

Microsoft recently revealed usage statistics regarding its enterprise application, Microsoft Teams. The company explained how companies and employees are using the app and how the coronavirus will change the way the world learns and works. Since last month, worldwide demand for the Team app has increased exponentially. The app which served 32 million users daily, now helps over 44 million, and that shift took place in just one week! As usage rises, Microsoft is releasing work trend reports to showcase how the pandemic is changing work habits and relations.

Due to most people working from home, every day, the Teams app sees 2.7 billion meeting minutes, which is 200% higher than the usual 900 million minutes from mid-March. It was around March that most American companies shut down and went into work from home modes. Furthermore, studies show that people are relying on video conferences two times more than before with rates of video call surging by 1000% since March. Also, employees in the Netherlands and Norway use video calls for 60% of their communication, whereas, in the US and UK, it takes up 38% and 47% respectively.

Making Room for the New Users

Behind the scenes, Microsoft engineers are scrambling to make enough room for all the new users. They have had to expand their infrastructure to respond to all these new responsibilities. Jared Spataro who heads Microsoft 365 said that due to demand skyrocketing, the engineers have really had to work hard to maintain capabilities. Furthermore, the sudden surge in demand led to Teams outage around Europe, catching the company by surprise. All the issues that arose, as per Spataro’s judgment where due to the Microsoft team having to adjust and respond quickly. While they had studied the situation, the pattern that came through in Europe geographically wasn’t what they were expecting at all.

Furthermore, the company has also seen a rise in the usage of Stream, which is its video-streaming service. As more and more companies move to digital spaces to conduct meetings, presentations, and conferences, such moves will keep happening. To help the transition, Microsoft raised the maximum limit from 10,000 to 100,000 participants on Stream.

Further Changes in the Way We Work

This demand has changed the way the company prioritizes features for Teams. They finally realized the custom backgrounds feature, which had been announced a year earlier. Such a feature helps people hide their messy backgrounds while handling office meetings. The feature has also recently found a place in the Zoom app.

Furthermore, Microsoft will add the Raise a Hand feature by the end of this month, and organizers will have the option to end meetings with a single click from today. The opportunity to download participant reports which have join and leave times will also be available. Microsoft has also stated that it is working on improving Team’s video call capabilities. Just like Teams, Zoom has also enjoyed a massive increase in users. Soon enough, Microsoft will make it possible for users to add more participants to their Team meetings.

Worldwide Trend

This lockdown period has seen webcams and laptops sell out in minutes as users are buying equipment to facilitate work from home. Since more and more people realize that they can’t work out of their iPads, they are investing in PCs and desktops. Mobile usage is also on the rise when it comes to applications such as Zoom and Teams, as the education sector tries to get back up and running. So what essentially happens once the pandemic dies down? Will people go back to how they were before or will we see remnants of this? Spataro believes that a new standard will come in place and things will not go back to what they were before.

There will be further restrictions, new patterns and new ways in which people will work and learn. Even after China lifting COVID-19 restrictions, Teams are still enjoying higher usage. Daily, their number of active users is increasing, implying that more people are now comfortable with working from home. Singapore too is implementing a circuit breaker model wherein people work from home and students study from home.

It is safe to say that according to Microsoft, the world will forever change due to the COVID-19. The new normal which this pandemic established will see these new tools be put to use regularly. With communication companies such as Google, Zoom, Slack and HouseParty all seeing a surge in users, this new theory might just be how the world works once we recover from this pandemic.