Microsoft makes a Yammer 'Communities' app available in Teams
Last fall when it introduced its redesigned Yammer app, Microsoft emphasized its role in powering communities and enabling knowledge-sharing. It's not too surprising, then, that the company's new Yammer app for use inside its Teams collaboration platform is called "Communities."
Communities, like full-fledged Yammer, is meant for users who need to broadcast information to a wider group. The Communities app will allow users to share polls or questions at scale; notify employees of company announcements; and to see the reach and impact of those broadcasts. The Communities app also will allow broadcasts of town-hall type meetings with video, interactive questions and Q&A.
Users can get the Communities app from the app store that is built into Teams. It admins can opt to pin it for all users; manage who can install it via custom policies; or enable individual users to install and pin it themselves.
For those surprised Yammer is still around, yes, yes it is.
For the past several years, Microsoft execs have insisted that Teams, Yammer, SharePoint, Outlook and Office 365 Groups all have their separate roles to play in Microsoft's conversation ecosystem. And for those wondering: It looks from today's post as if full-fledged desktop Yammer for Windows and Mac; Yammer mobile apps for iOS and Android; and Yammer on the Web (in preview, due to release worldwide soon) are sticking around.