Eight Ways to Improve Microsoft Teams Video Conference Quality & Security

Finding high-quality, secure ways to communicate with one another is a priority for law firms as we increasingly collaborate with coworkers and clients who live and work all over the world. Video conferencing platforms have become indispensable tools for large and small law firms in and around Toronto.

Microsoft Teams, a centerpiece of the Microsoft 365 suite, is a go-to tool for not only video conferences but also for team chats in a central environment.

Is Teams the best video conferencing solution out there? Does it provide high-quality video and audio that a client would expect from a professional law firm? And does it offer enhanced security to make sure that confidential conversations and communications are kept private and protected according to law industry compliance regulations? The short answer is yes.

Let’s dive into the long answer.

Microsoft Teams Video and Audio Conference Quality

Image quality and sound quality are important for professionals where both inspire client confidence; poor quality has the opposite effect. Teams provides four optimization settings in both these categories—that fine-tune quality no matter how many participants are on a call:

1. Adequate Bandwidth

The minimum bandwidth recommended by Microsoft is an upload and download speed of 0.1 MB. For 5 or more participants in a single meeting, your dedicated speed should be a minimum of 8 MB for best quality.

2. Adequate Memory

Not having sufficient computer memory can lead to poor video call quality. Increasing computer memory is an effective way to improve video call performance.

3. Premium Devices

No matter how powerful your system infrastructure, video and audio quality are only as good as the output devices. Opt for certified headsets, webcams, and IP phones that have the correct drivers. This goes a long way when it comes to echo cancellation and noise filtering.

4. Quality of Service Settings

Quality of Service (QoS) settings are embedded in Microsoft Teams software that prioritizes call traffic across the network. Network congestion causes voice breaking and frozen video. According to Microsoft, built-in QoS lets your video conference “cut in the line” in front of traffic that is less delay-sensitive, such as downloading mobile apps. QoS instructs your network to give bandwidth priority to voice, video, and screen sharing.

Securing Your Microsoft Teams Experience

Video conferencing software increased worldwide in 2020 and security has been the top concern for every industry that adopted this modern form of communication. It is especially important for law firms to share files in a completely secure way that protects sensitive client information.

According to Brainstorm Inc., security features included in Microsoft Teams are already tight. Teams not only enables security compliance services by default, but it also features two-factor authentication (2FA) and encrypted data.

While there isn’t a software program that can circumvent all attempts at security breaches 100% of the time, there are additional steps you can take to make sure your conference calls are ironclad.

5. Manage Your Apps

For tighter security, restrict certain apps based on the app’s source and how the app handles data. In the Teams admin centre, control which apps are blocked and make certain apps available to specific users.

6. Set Up Teams Management

The default setting allows anyone with access to create a team and become a team owner. Limit the number of users who have this privilege to increase conference security.

Additionally, control whether users can communicate with people outside the organization, and whether or not they can file share. Be sure to set authentication requirements for accessing meeting content.

7. Secure Guest Access

Using the Teams admin centre, configure the level of access granted to guest users during conferences. Leave guest access disabled by default or disable certain privileges like screen sharing to ensure tighter security during calls.

8. Supervise User Activity

To ensure the highest level of security for your law firm, use supervision policies to monitor chats and team channels with Teams built-in reports.

Whether your lawyers work in-office or remotely, Microsoft Teams conferencing services ship with quality and security at its core. Vertex has been a leading provider of Managed IT services for Toronto law firms since 2008. Our innovative, customer-focused IT solutions provide peace of mind when it comes to communicating with clients and protecting your software from threat actors. Contact one of our IT professionals to discuss how your law firm can become more efficient and successful with Microsoft Teams.