REDMOND, Wash. Oct. 7, 1996 Microsoft Corp. today announced Microsoft® Team Manager 97, a new workgroup software product designed to keep teams in sync by consolidating, coordinating and tracking team activities. Microsoft Team Manager 97 is scheduled to be available by the end of the year.
“Team Manager is an important component of Microsoft’s office workgroup strategy,”
said Robert Bach, vice president, desktop applications division at Microsoft.
“It is the newest member of the Office family of products designed to help managers and their teams communicate and collaborate more effectively to improve teamwork and increase productivity.”
Market Need for a Team Collaboration Tool
Team Manager 97 is the result of extensive customer research, which revealed that managers and their teams needed a single tool to manage their mutual activities, as well as a convenient way to keep everyone on the team up to date on the status of their ongoing work. Microsoft visited more than 60 companies and hundreds of consumers to refine the product, discovering that, to keep the team in sync, team members need a product that allows the entire team to see and understand the overall team plan.
Microsoft Team Manager facilitates better communication among team members and managers by storing all team information in one tool.
“I am pleased to see this kind of product coming from Microsoft,”
said Ronni Marshak, editor in chief, Workgroup Computing Report, Patricia Seybold Group in Boston.
“It demonstrates a clear understanding of how people work together.”
Automatically Consolidates and Tracks Team Work
Microsoft Team Manager 97 saves managers time by automatically consolidating and tracking work entered by team members. Managers and team members have access to accurate and current team information using the following features:
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Task Organizer. Types of information such as tasks, actual work and status reports are consolidated from multiple team members for a more convenient, organized way of collecting information.
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Reports. Team Manager generates customizable, automatic recurring reports, including performance evaluations, status reports and multiple, customizable views of ongoing work.
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Sorting and filtering. With the data group sorting and filtering features, it is easy to view the most relevant information in the team file.
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Deadline-Based Scheduling. Thisfeature helps ensure that all employees can get their work done to meet deadlines.
Coordinates Individual Activity With the Teams
Microsoft Team Manager 97 coordinates individual activity with the overall team plan, so everyone can participate in the planning process. This is easy because Team Manager works with existing infrastructures and tools.
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Team member software lets team members access consolidated team activities and information such as priorities and deadlines. It can be used either as a standalone application or with the Microsoft Outlook
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desktop information manager and Schedule+ version 7.0. -
Intelligent Alerts and Vital Signs View point out issues that need immediate attention.
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The workgroup is easy to set up , since Team Manager works with existing e-mail (Microsoft Exchange Server, MAPI or VIM) or over the network. In addition, quick tutorials and the Answer Wizard help get the team off to a fast start.
Member of the Office Family of Applications
Microsoft Team Manager 97 is the best way to extend the task management capacity of Outlook to manage the team’s responsibilities. Although offered separately, Team Manager is a member of the Office family of applications, which means customers will find the interface and use of the product similar to that of other Office applications; it is also easily integrated with Microsoft Project. Users familiar with Office will already know their way around Team Manager.
System Requirements, Pricing and Availability
To use Microsoft Team Manager 97, users need a personal computer with a 486/33 MHz or higher processor; the Microsoft Windows® 95 or Windows NT® version 3.51 or later operating system; memory required for the manager: 12 MB of RAM on the Windows 95 operating system, 16 MB on the Windows NT operating system; memory required for the team member: 8 MB of RAM on Windows 95 (12 MB to review consolidated team file), 12 MB on Windows NT; a 3.5-inch high-density disk drive; 16 MB of available space on drive (14 MB for team members); network or e-mail system (Microsoft Mail, cc:Mail, or Lotus Notes Mail is recommended); and a video adapter with VGA or higher resolution.
Microsoft Team Manager is scheduled to be available at the end of December 1996, through resellers nationwide for approximately $109 for one license and in the channel in a five-pack license. Each license grants two installation options:Team Member software that enables full-read access to the team task information and allows team members to edit and synchronize their own information with the consolidated team file
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Team Manager software that enables secure read-and-write access to the team file and additional manager views of confidential personnel information
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
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