• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechPointCloud

Here’s How Microsoft Wants to Liven Up Boring Business Meetings

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 10, 2017, 2:20 PM ET

Microsoft wants the help of outside coders to pep up business meetings and employee communication.

The technology giant debuted Wednesday several ways that third-party developers can build apps to improve Microsoft’s Teams chat service for the workplace, which was introduced in March amid fierce competition from rival chat apps from Google (GOOG), Slack, and Facebook (FB).

At Microsoft’s annual Build conference in Redmond, Wash., CEO Satya Nadella explained that business meetings are not a “one-time thing” but rather require a lot of follow up by employees after they conclude.

It’s this long cycle of prepping, planning, and following-up that Nadella believes Microsoft’s various Office 365 tools like its calendar app can help improve. The Teams app is especially crucial for Nadella because it works as the gateway for people to join online meetings.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

However, Microsoft can’t create all of Team’s features by itself, so it needs outside coders to fill in the gaps. Nadella urged developers to consider building business apps for Teams that siphon data from the so-called Microsoft Graph, a data repository that maps the relationships between Microsoft users, their devices, work habits, and the Microsoft software they use.

By building apps that tap into the Microsoft Graph, developers can create services that function across multiple devices like phones and personal computers, he continued. In that way, users would be able to better stay on top of their business tasks.

Microsoft product marketing manager Laura Jones then gave a demo of a hypothetical-Teams app powered by the Microsoft Graph that works across several devices. It also used information from the career-oriented social network LinkedIn, which Microsoft owns, and connected people into business meetings—even while driving a car.

Because the Teams app was wired to Microsoft’s voice-activated digital assistant Cortana, Jones could command it, via Microsoft’s yet-to-be-released Invoke web-connected speaker, to check for upcoming meetings in her calendar and set out-of-office reminders.

She said the app could also send her notifications through her video game console Microsoft Xbox and the on-board computer of her car, so her work essentially followed her in every aspect of her life.

“With experiences like these, I can turn any device into a productivity device,” Jones said.

Cortana time! #MSBuild Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Graph on stage as well ! pic.twitter.com/8ULZcuvAKG

— Luis Beltran (@darkicebeam) May 10, 2017

She showed how she could conduct a meeting with multiple people, similar to Google’s revamped Hangouts business chat and video apps, while asking a Teams chat-bot to retrieve information for attendees on a designer’s work portfolio.

Finally, she said coders would be able to use Microsoft’s artificial intelligence-powered speech recognition technology to automatically transcribe the meeting into “the language of my choice.”

Of course, this was only a demonstration, but it highlights the type of workplace interactions Microsoft believes will take place in the future.

For more about technology and finance, watch:

Whether Microsoft can convince enough developers to help it build these capabilities and have them work as intended will take more than a conference presentation.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

A man in a suit wearing glasses.
Big TechAlphabet
Alphabet plans to double capex spending to a possible $185 billion—but it’s keeping CEO Sundar Pichai up at night
By Amanda GerutFebruary 4, 2026
31 minutes ago
electricity
EnvironmentElectricity
Over a million people are losing power during a freezing snowstorm while data centers nearby guzzle electricity
By Nikki Luke, Conor Harrison and The ConversationFebruary 4, 2026
5 hours ago
Phone displaying quantum computing company IonQ's logo.
Big Techquantum computing
IonQ, the biggest quantum computing company on the stock market, disputes short-seller claims it failed to disclose holes in its revenue
By Jeremy Kahn and Jim EdwardsFebruary 4, 2026
5 hours ago
altman
Startups & VentureMarkets
Scott Galloway predicts OpenAI could pull its IPO amid AI ‘vibe shift’ as investors ‘gag’ on Trump proximity, questionable revenue
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 4, 2026
5 hours ago
AILayoffs
Pinterest cracks down on dissent, fires engineers for an internal layoff tool as AI shake-ups keep employees on edge and in line
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 4, 2026
5 hours ago
McNuggets
Travel & LeisureMcDonald's
McDonald’s wants you to eat caviar McNuggets this Valentine’s Day
By Dee-Ann Durbin and The Associated PressFebruary 4, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
In 2026, many employers are ditching merit-based pay bumps in favor of ‘peanut butter raises’
By Emma BurleighFebruary 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Trump may have shot himself in the foot at the Fed, as Powell could stay on while Miran resigns from White House post
By Eleanor PringleFebruary 4, 2026
10 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Tech stocks go into free fall as it dawns on traders that AI has the ability to cut revenues across the board
By Jim EdwardsFebruary 4, 2026
15 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Cybersecurity
Top AI leaders are begging people not to use Moltbook, a social media platform for AI agents: It’s a ‘disaster waiting to happen’
By Eva RoytburgFebruary 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Gates Foundation doubles down on foreign aid as U.S. government largely withdraws
By Thalia Beaty and The Associated PressFebruary 3, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Meet the Palm Beach billionaire who paid $2 million for a private White House visit with Trump
By Tristan BoveFebruary 3, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.