{"id":242901,"date":"2021-12-01T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/microsoft-365\/blog\/?p=242901"},"modified":"2025-01-15T06:14:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T14:14:26","slug":"new-microsoft-teams-essentials-is-built-for-small-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/microsoft-365\/blog\/2021\/12\/01\/new-microsoft-teams-essentials-is-built-for-small-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"New Microsoft Teams Essentials is built for small businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
While the past 20 months have been challenging for all organizations, I don\u2019t know any that have been hit harder than small businesses. They\u2019ve had to adapt nearly every aspect of how they operate and work with customers, often without access to critical tools and technologies. The world isn\u2019t going back to the \u201cold\u201d way of working, so small businesses need solutions that are designed specifically for their unique needs to thrive in this new normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today we\u2019re excited to introduce Microsoft Teams Essentials<\/a><\/strong>. <\/strong>It\u2019s the first standalone offering of Microsoft Teams<\/a> designed specifically with small businesses in mind. It brings together features small businesses need to serve customers, including unlimited group video calls for up to 30 hours, group chat<\/a>, file sharing, and calendaring. And at only $4 USD per user per month, it\u2019s the most affordable all-in-one solution in the market today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Teams Essentials, small businesses from restaurants to retailers to professional services can easily meet, collaborate, communicate, and serve customers in new ways. Take Bristol Dental Specialists<\/a>, a United Kingdom-based practice that began using Teams last year. From virtual consultations to collaboration with colleagues, the Bristol team delivers faster, friendlier, and more cost-effective patient care with Teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCommunication is so important, and with Teams, we\u2019re working together better than ever to provide patients with a standard of care that sets us apart.\u201d\u2014<\/em>Rebecca Metcalfe, Senior Treatment Coordinator, Bristol Dental Specialists<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n The need for affordable communications tools isn\u2019t limited to traditional for-profit small businesses. Nonprofits, religious organizations, schools, and community groups also struggle to connect and collaborate effectively. These organizations and small businesses need to get up and running fast, and Teams Essentials makes it possible with no IT expertise necessary. Teams Essentials enables those with and without a Teams account to participate easily and effectively. While the free version of Microsoft Teams is still available, Teams Essentials offers extended limits like longer meetings and more storage. Let\u2019s take a closer look at how Teams Essentials can support your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working closely with customers and partners can be a challenge for any business without the right communication tools. Teams Essentials brings existing Teams capabilities together with features specifically designed for small businesses and community groups: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Teams Essentials simplifies communications for small businesses and community groups with a single solution for chat and meetings\u2014saving time, and most importantly, keeping meetings and conversations in context. It includes tools to work effectively with anyone, including Office web apps, file sharing, group chats, task management, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTeams Essentials is built for small businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Expansive meeting limits and easy-to-use features let you host professional meetings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Extended meeting times<\/span><\/strong>\u2014With meetings that can last up to 30 hours, there\u2019s no need to worry about your Teams Essentials meeting running over its time limit, whether you\u2019re meeting one-on-one or in a group.<\/span><\/span><\/li>
<\/strong><\/span>Large meeting capacity<\/strong>\u2014<\/span><\/span>With the ability to host up to 300 people at once, Teams Essentials offers the ability to bring everyone into the same virtual room.<\/li>
With the ability to connect existing tools and store content in one place, it\u2019s easy to stay organized<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Additional cloud storage<\/strong><\/strong>\u2014Don\u2019t worry about running out of storage or wasting time searching for documents. Easily co-author, view, edit, and store Office 365 files. Teams Essentials offers a total of 10 gigabytes (GB) file storage, which is twice the amount of storage available in the free version of Teams.<\/span><\/li>