Microsoft has unveiled new, immersive features for its Microsoft Mesh-powered Team platform, as announced on Build 2023 It happened on Tuesday.
With the update, users can add immersive experiences to private previews on the platform, resulting in greater engagement while attending meetings.
Teams users can now connect in immersive spaces with realistic interaction. Meeting attendees can now navigate to groups, wave to others, and similar activities.
The platform also includes spatial audio to locate voices across conversations or engage others in private, secluded conversations.
It also provides cross-platform connectivity via virtual reality (VR) headsets such as Meta Quest 2 And Quest Procomputers, laptops, and more. This provides the flexibility to join meetings as physical faces or virtual avatars.
Microsoft’s latest release of Avatars for Teams also allows attendees to break the cycle of video fatigue common to remote workers and their colleagues. Users can turn their video feeds on or off to activate their avatars, all while sharing and collaborating with colleagues.
Microsoft will roll out Mesh updates during the Build event, which takes place May 23-25 for Teams Technology Adoption Program (TAP) customers. Platforms such as Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 and E5, Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Premium, and Teams Premium will get access to the edition.
Emphasis case study
Solutions like Mesh aim to create flexible, agile and immersive workspaces, Reduce the need for travel While building a co-existence digitally. It also hopes to reduce travel costs and save companies money and time.
According to a case study from Microsoft, Japanese pharmaceutical giant Takeda started leveraging Mesh in 2023 for its educational and collaborative initiatives.
The company has developed many environments on the network platform such as Hirameki Garden. The immersive space transported workers to a center of culture for learning, hiring new employees, and socializing.
Takea has also developed an immersive museum to showcase the company’s history, culture and employees.
According to the Tokyo Foundation, which is based in Japan, the initiative has guided the company’s philosophy of “better health for people, and a brighter future for the world.”
Leo Parrilla, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Data, Digital, and Technology, Takeda, explained further. He said his company aims to use digital innovations to “create a culture of collaboration” and enable teams to “work together in new and exciting ways.”
he added,
“We’re excited to see Microsoft Mesh connect people with our company’s mission and culture and each other, enabling our people to shape the future and deliver better outcomes for our patients every day.”
More use cases for Microsoft Mesh
Other companies such as Accenture have used their own solution One Accenture Park space, where it trains and trains its new employees. Many of the scenes on the platform reflect real-world locations.
DXC Technology PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC), and World Economic Forum (WEF), Telefonica, and others have also taken advantage of this technology. Many have used Mesh to host guided tours, setups, and industry events.
Mesh also integrates seamlessly with the Unity game engine To adjust the parameters of immersive environments. Mesh will also provide Unity developers with custom or personalized 3D environments with its own set of tools.
New features also include cloud scripting to integrate corporate data into immersive environments using AI-powered interfaces. This raises the bar for computing languages and platforms like C#, .NET Core, and others.
Unity developers can also integrate interactive content such as videos, realistic physics, games, and debugging tools across the Mesh platform.
The technology integrations have enabled users to securely host online events using the platform at scale. This comes with presentations, animations, and company assets for a reliable interactive experience.