Microsoft Teams Connect chat - Extended Directory

Updated May 8, 2024: We have made the decision to not forward with this change at this time. We will communicate via Message center when we are ready to proceed. Thank you for your patience.

Microsoft Teams is now introducing enhancements on top of Teams Connect for chats. With the Teams Connect chat extended directory, IT admins can create an external directory of known external collaborators using their phone numbers. Once created, it will be easier for users in the tenant to:

• Search external users by name and establish 1:1 or group chats with them.
• View a company curated profile that includes information like a user's location, job role, or business unit and even assign an organization manager for these external partners.

In addition to these end user improvements, IT admins can continue to use all compliance and security features available with Teams Connect chat along with enhancements like restricting external chat to the list of users added via phone numbers.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 119789

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out in early February 2024 and expect to complete by mid-February 2024.

Worldwide: We will communicate via Message center when we are ready to proceed.

How this will affect your organization:

The feature requires tenant admin configuration; Therefore, no impact is expected unless the tenant admin plans to use this feature.