Recently Microsoft posted an update on the most requested feature for Microsoft Teams, Private Channels! Private channels are scheduled for release this month, October 2019. There has been no official word on what that exactly means, yet the hope is that GA rollout will begin at least by the end of October, and may take weeks to hit all tenants. If we are lucky, we all should see the opportunities of private channels by November / December. Seeing as how Microsoft Ignite 2019 is the first week of November, it sure would make for excellent timing.
If you are a Teams Administrator, a Teams Champion, a team owner, etc., this is important. Even if you do not think it is, or maybe you are in the camp that says private channels are bad, private channels will affect you.
Let’s change a default admin setting until the dust settles
A little while back, we saw an interesting new administrative option appear in the Teams admin center. You will find in your default team policies a new toggle, “Create private channels,” which by default will be on!
This means that as soon as private channels are available in your tenant, your end-users will be able to, and let’s face it, will begin to create private channels. Maybe this is good, perhaps not, and as much as I am in the pro-private channels group, I have to suggest in the strongest terms you turn this off by default until you have had a chance to evaluate private channels for your organization.
What to read more about my recommendation and why you should act now? Check out my post over at PixelMill.
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