Microsoft Teams: Classic vs. New — Features and Security Unveiled

5 min readJan 28, 2024

Microsoft Teams is one of the most popular collaboration platforms in the world, with over 250 million monthly active users. Teams helps you chat, call, meet, and work with your colleagues, partners, and customers in a secure and efficient way. Now, there are two versions of Teams: classic and new? In this post, I will compare the differences between them and help you decide which one is best for you.

What is classic Teams?

Classic Teams is the original version of Teams that was launched in 2017. It is a web-based app that runs on Electron, a framework that allows web applications to run on desktop devices. Classic Teams has a rich set of features and integrations that enable you to communicate and collaborate with your team and beyond. Some of the features that are available in classic Teams include:

Custom line-of-business apps, third-party apps, and bots that you can add to your Teams app or channels to enhance your workflows and productivity.
Breakout rooms that allow you to split your meeting participants into smaller groups for more focused discussions and brainstorming sessions.
7x7 video that lets you see up to 49 participants on your screen at once during a video meeting.
Call queues that allow you to set up a phone system for your organization and route incoming calls to the right people or groups.
PSTN calling that allows you to make and receive phone calls from Teams using a phone number assigned by Microsoft or your own service provider.
Contextual search in chats and channels that allows you to find messages, files, and other content related to a specific topic or conversation.
Cross-post a channel conversation that allows you to share a message with multiple channels at once without leaving the channel you’re in.

What is new Teams?

New Teams is a revamped version of Teams that was launched in 2023. It is a native app that is reimagined from the ground up with performance in mind, providing a faster, simpler, and more flexible experience. New Teams uses 50% less memory and is up to two times faster than classic Teams, which means you can launch and navigate the app, respond to chat messages, and join meetings and calls faster while using less battery and memory. New Teams also has a more consistent and intuitive layout, with fewer clicks required to access the features you need.

New Teams has everything you need to collaborate effectively with your team and beyond. It has all the features that are available in classic Teams, plus some exclusive features and enhancements that are only available on new Teams, such as:

Multi-tenant, multi-account support: This is a game-changer for you if you work with multiple organizations and accounts. With new Teams, you can sign into multiple work or school accounts (or as a Guest in other organizations) without signing in on multiple web browsers. You can also receive real-time notifications from all accounts and organizations, participate in chats, meetings, and calls across multiple accounts and organizations without dropping from a call or meeting, and set your status for each account and organization individually.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and government cloud support: This is another big deal for you if you use virtual desktops and work in a secure and compliant environment. With new Teams, you can enjoy the same performance and functionality of new Teams on your virtual desktops and in your government cloud (GCC, GCC-H, DoD).

Cyber Security Insights:

Cybersecurity is an important aspect of any online collaboration platform, especially for Microsoft Teams, which is used by millions of users across various organizations and industries. According to the web search results I found, there are some notable differences and improvements in the cybersecurity perspectives between the classic and new versions of Microsoft Teams. Here are some of the main points:

The new Teams uses MSIX packages and App Installer for deployment and updates, which reduces the risk surface and maintenance cost compared to using a custom installer and updater. It also installs in a privileged location, where non-administrator users cannot tamper with its executable files.
The new Teams leverages Edge WebView2 runtime, which updates with Edge browser and independently of the Teams client, and can be shared across multiple embedding applications. This saves storage space on the user’s device and provides the latest and most secure runtime for embedding apps.
The new Teams has a slimmer main executable, which reduces the overhead and extra risk surface compared to the classic Teams, which includes most of Chromium, Node.js, and Electron’s logic.
The new Teams supports Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and government cloud (GCC, GCC-H, DoD), which enables users to use new Teams on their virtual desktops and in their secure and compliant environments.
The new Teams has a more consistent and intuitive layout, which makes it easier for users to access the features and settings they need, such as notifications, appearance, and accessibility.

Which one should you use?

The answer is clear: new Teams. New Teams is faster, simpler, smarter, and more flexible than classic Teams. It has everything you need to collaborate effectively with your team and beyond, plus some exclusive features and enhancements that are only available on new Teams. New Teams is the future of Teams, and you don’t want to miss out on it. So, what are you waiting for? Switch to new Teams today and experience the difference for yourself. You won’t regret it. 😊.

Cheers,

Sources:

Microsoft Teams: Classic vs. New — Features and Security Unveiled

What is classic Teams?

What is new Teams?

Cyber Security Insights:

Which one should you use?

Written by Abdullah Kareem