As is often the case – the answer to the question “Is Microsoft Teams free?” … is yes and no.
This article is going to look at Teams purely for SMEs and therefore will focus on Microsoft’s 365 Business plans.
How to get Microsoft Teams?
SMEs can access Teams in the following ways:
In summary, if your business already has a Microsoft 365 tenant to provide your email accounts and office applications, Teams free is not an option.
If you want your employees to access Teams you will either need to pay for the appropriate Microsoft 365 subscription or your people can sign up for the Teams Exploratory Experience, which is free for a minimum of a year.
The Teams Exploratory Experience is designed to be activated by the end-user and is not something that can be assigned to a user by your domain administrator. Users can sign up for it by visiting the Microsoft Teams website.
Understanding the Teams Exploratory Experience and future cost implications
It’s important to note that the Teams Exploratory Experience doesn’t just include Teams. It also includes a cross-section of applications and services that you might want to trial.
We advise you to think carefully about what applications and services you could start to use and embed in your business, as you will need to pay for them after your trial period expires.
The following table lists the features, included in the Teams Exploratory Experience and shows you the minimum subscription you would need to purchase to keep using them after your trial expires:
Conclusion
Microsoft’s Teams Exploratory Experience is a fantastic way for your people to trial applications and services that could enhance your business operations, but it’s vital you understand the future cost implications of the apps and services you decide to adopt.
We recommend you speak to your IT partner or internal IT department for more advice so you can make an informed choice, or contact Susannah at Westlake IT on 023 92 007850 or at [email protected] for more advice on Microsoft Teams and office 365 solutions.
