Microsoft Places is a new collaborative app for remote working

The COVID-19 outbreak forced most office workers to work remotely. This paved the way for the rise in popularity of online meeting and collaboration services such as Microsoft Teams. However, with the pandemic gone, many businesses are still enabling their staff to work remotely, at least on some days of the week.

Microsoft has unveiled Places, a new app for Teams Premium customers. According to a post on the Microsoft 365 blog, Places enables distant workers to schedule and collaborate with their managers. It will also assist those employees in scheduling when and where they can work when they do come into their offices.

The Places app will allow remote employees to set their location schedule with their bosses, as well as see the schedules of their coworkers. It added:

Updating or adjusting your location is always available within the Places app, but it’s also accessible within your regular flow of work in the Outlook Calendar. With a click, you can adjust your schedule and access the peek card—which shows your closest collaborators who plan to come in and allows quick access to space booking—for more information.

The app will also have a function called team direction, which will allow managers to designate when their team members should be in the office and what goals they are expected to achieve while there.

Speaking of workplace locations, the Places app will have a Places Finder tool. It will be available in the Outlook app and will allow employees to search for a specific desk at their desired location in the office, along with images of those workstations. Other benefits of Places include the ability to see whether any of your coworkers are nearby at the office.

Of course, Microsoft intends to include AI-based Copilot functionality in the Places app. That will happen during the second half of 2024. It will analyze data from your firm to determine the ideal days for coming into the office. You can also ask Copilot to adjust your timetable and more.

Microsoft Places is now in public preview testing stage. Businesses can join up for a preview here. When it does become broadly available, it will be included in a Team Premium subscription.