MC727450 – Voicemail: Automatic activation of out of office (OOF) greetings based on OOF Calendar events to be retired (archived)

Product:

Outlook, Teams

Platform:

World tenant, Online

Status:

Change type:

User impact, Admin impact, Retirement

Links:

Details:

Summary:
The voicemail feature that automatically activates an out-of-office greeting based on an out-of-office event in Outlook calendar will be retired in early June 2024 to reduce costs and strengthen customer data protection. Going forward, end users can manage their OOF greetings with two available options in the Teams client. It is recommended to notify all users of this change.

Details:
Today, end users have three options for voicemail OOF greetings activation:
All the time
When I have an Outlook auto reply
When I have an Out of Office calendar event (to be retired)
The voicemail feature that automatically activates an out-of-office greeting based on an out-of-office event in Outlook calendar will be retired.
This decision is driven by Microsoft commitment to strengthen customer data protection. In addition, retiring this feature will help reduce costs, as it has a significant environmental footprint and relatively low usage.
[When will this happen:]
We will be rolling out this change beginning in early June 2024 and expect to complete by early August 2024.

Change Category:
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Scope:
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Release Phase:

Created:
2024-03-08

updated:
2024-03-08

Task Type

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Docu to Check

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MS How does it affect me

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MS Preperations

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MS Urgency

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MS workload name

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Direct effects for Operations**

- Impact on IT Operations
- Increased support requests: Users may require assistance in transitioning to the new method of managing OOF greetings, leading to a higher volume of support tickets.
- Roles impacted: IT Support Staff, Helpdesk Technicians
- Potential for miscommunication: Users may not be aware of the change, leading to confusion and missed communications during OOF periods.
- Roles impacted: IT Operations Managers, Communication Officers

- Impact on IT Services
- Dependency on Teams: The retirement of the automatic OOF greeting feature will place greater reliance on the Teams client for managing voicemail settings, which may lead to performance issues if Teams experiences downtime.
- Roles impacted: IT Service Managers, System Administrators
- Integration challenges: Other integrated services that rely on the OOF feature may need to be re-evaluated or updated to ensure continued functionality.
- Roles impacted: Application Developers, Integration Specialists

- Impact on IT Users
- User experience changes: Users accustomed to the automatic OOF greetings will need to adapt to manually setting their greetings, which may lead to frustration and decreased productivity.
- Roles impacted: All end users, particularly those in customer-facing roles
- Training requirements: Users may require training or resources to understand the new process for managing OOF greetings, which could lead to additional time spent on onboarding.
- Roles impacted: Training Coordinators, Team Leaders

- Impact on IT Administrators
- Increased administrative workload: Administrators may need to monitor and manage user settings more closely to ensure compliance with the new OOF greeting options.
- Roles impacted: IT Administrators, Compliance Officers
- Policy updates: Existing policies regarding voicemail management may need to be revised to reflect the changes, requiring additional administrative effort.
- Roles impacted: Policy Managers, IT Governance Officers

- Dependencies and Interdependencies
- Outlook Calendar integration: The change will affect how users interact with their Outlook calendars, potentially leading to discrepancies in OOF status across platforms.
- Roles impacted: IT Integration Managers, System Analysts
- Environmental considerations: The decision to retire the feature is linked to broader organizational goals around sustainability, which may affect other IT initiatives.
- Roles impacted: Sustainability Officers, IT Strategy Planners

References:
- Microsoft 365 Blog: [Microsoft Teams Voicemail Updates](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/)
- Microsoft Documentation: [Manage Voicemail in Teams](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/manage-voicemail)

Opportunities**

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Potentional Risks**

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