Microsoft is readying an replace for collaboration platform Groups that can carry some of the well-liked options to a wider pool of customers.

As per two new entries (opens in new tab) within the Microsoft 365 product roadmap, Microsoft is extending the power to exchange and blur the background of a video name to folks working on digital desktops from Citrix and VMware.

The replace is at present below improvement, however ought to start to roll out to related Microsoft Groups customers sooner or later subsequent month.

Microsoft Groups backgrounds

Because the transition to distant working, virtually all main video conferencing distributors have rolled out digital background performance, which permits customers to dam out the room behind them with an overlay of their alternative.

A extra delicate possibility is to blur the background, which has the double impact of obscuring something incriminating that may be laying round a bed room or house workplace and focusing the eye on the individual’s face.

Though Microsoft Groups has provided such a characteristic for some time now, it has historically been obtainable to customers of its desktop and cellular purchasers solely.

After bringing background results to the online consumer and people working Groups on Azure Digital Desktop or Home windows 365 earlier this yr, the characteristic will now be made obtainable to customers of Citrix and VMware digital desktops too. 

The broad goal is to make sure the assembly expertise is constant for all Microsoft Groups customers, irrespective of which consumer or {hardware} they’re utilizing the dial in.

Past the digital backgrounds characteristic, Microsoft has made quite a lot of current additions to Groups with this purpose in thoughts, together with the power to profit from end-to-end encryption when dialling in from the workplace, mix work and enterprise accounts and entry screen-sharing controls throughout all purchasers.

• Full your setup with the very best headsets for convention calls