Microsoft has announced that Mesh, a new 3D virtual meeting platform is now available on Teams, the tech giant’s messaging app for organizations.
Microsoft Mesh offers several features designed to make virtual meetings more engaging and productive than traditional video conferencing.
It's like an office meeting within the metaverse, or a sim going to work.
Users can personalize their avatars to reflect their appearance, or play around and create entirely new looks. On top of this, Mesh’s avatar features also include:
- Creating up to three avatars that can embody your personality in different ways
- Sharing feelings instantly with common gestures like hearts, thumbs up, and claps
- Simulating facial expressions and body movements
Custom meeting spaces can also be personalized to even include a company’s logo. Avatars can move around and interact with objects in the virtual space, creating a whole new immersive experience for employees.
CoPilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant, can be used with Mesh to make personalizing everything a lot easier.
The platform is currently in early access and is only available on desktop PCs and Meta Quest devices. Microsoft plans to expand compatibility to other devices in the future.
Mesh was tested for use by several major companies pre-launch, gaining rave reviews from the likes of IT leader Accenture, charitable organization Mercy Ships, and global energy firm BP.
"By partnering with Microsoft Mesh, we can explore how to use advanced technology for faster, more informed, and safer decision making as we pursue our ambition to become an integrated energy company," Roger Rohatgi, BP's vice president and global head of design, said in a statement.
The standard Mesh features can be accessed by subscribing to Teams and Microsoft 365 business plans.
Pricing starts at $4 per user/month for the basic Team Essentials plan and scales up to $57 per user/month for Microsoft 365 E5.
Organizations subscribed to a business or enterprise plan can test Mesh for free for six months.
Microsoft Reaches $3 Trillion Market Cap
Microsoft is capitalizing on the AI hype. It has recently released CoPilot Pro, the premium and more advanced version of CoPilot.
This shift towards AI development has allowed Microsoft’s stock to continuously rise in the past months.
Yesterday, its stock jumped 1.5% in NASDAQ trading, propelling the tech titan towards the $3 trillion mark.
Microsoft is only the second company to reach this market cap, with the first one being Apple in June 2023.
Many are attributing this feat to Satya Nadella’s innovative leadership as Microsoft’s CEO since 2014 and as its executive chairman since 2021.
