How to deploy the new Microsoft Teams

Microsoft has been busy building an entirely new version of Microsoft Teams, and it's finally ready for production. The only problem is that it’s a per-user installer desktop app instead of a traditional desktop installation. PDQ makes deploying it much easier, but it’s still a little tricky to track.

So, what does this mean for all my sysadmin comrades? While I wouldn't hit the panic button yet, Teams is going to require a bit more effort to manage than it used to. On second thought, go ahead and hit the panic button, then come back and we'll finish going over everything you need to know.

What's new in Teams 2.0?

The new Teams app has been reimagined and redesigned to drastically improve the Teams experience (according to Microsoft). Built from the ground up, the new Teams experience, or Teams 2.0 as some refer to it, is intended to provide a simpler user experience, boost performance, reduce memory usage, and simplify integrations.

Why build a new Microsoft Teams desktop client?

Why did Microsoft decide to build an entirely new application instead of overhauling the existing client? When trying to improve a product, it's fairly common to reach a point where it becomes easier to start from scratch than to build upon an older foundation. Especially as technology evolves and new frameworks and systems are developed, incorporating newer technologies into older platforms can be extremely challenging and resource intensive.

Challenges with Microsoft Store apps

Microsoft Store apps are built differently. Literally. While that's not inherently a bad thing, it introduces some challenges.

For example, most organizations prefer working with machine-wide installers, but Microsoft Store apps are generally user-provisioned. Want to uninstall a store app using Control Panel? Unfortunately, you can't. Store apps aren't populated on the list of installed software in Control Panel because they don't use the same registry keys or even the same install locations as traditional desktop installers.

The changes introduced to Microsoft Store apps also mean they're more difficult to track than traditional installers. But keep reading, and we'll show you how to keep track of those elusive Microsoft Store apps.

How to deploy & track Teams 2.0 with PDQ Deploy & Inventory 

Deploy Teams 2.0 with PDQ Deploy

With PDQ Deploy, we can distribute Teams 2.0 to your endpoints faster than I can flee a socially awkward situation.

1. In PDQ Deploy, click Package Library on the left-hand side, search Teams, and check Microsoft Teams. Then, click the Download Selected (As Auto Download) button.

   

2. Expand the drop-down menu under Packages on the left-hand side. The Teams package should now appear there. Click it, then click the Deploy Once button.

   

3. On the left-hand side, select the computers you want to deploy the new Teams to. Then, click Deploy Now.

   

Track the new Teams app with PDQ Inventory

Now that you’ve distributed Teams 2.0 to all your adoring Teams users, it's time to establish a way to track those installations. Unfortunately, tracking Microsoft Store apps isn't as straightforward as tracking traditional Win32 applications. But with PDQ Inventory and a PowerShell Scanner, we can still return all the juicy details we're looking for.

1. In PDQ Inventory, click Scan Profiles, then click New.

   

2. Add a name to the Scan Profile, then click Add > PowerShell.

   

3. Name the Scanner, select the Script radial button, then add this PowerShell script:

   $Apps = Get-AppxPackage -Name "*Teams*" -AllUsers if($Apps){ ForEach ($app in $Apps){ [PSCustomObject]@{ 'Name' = $app.Name 'Version' = $app.Version} } } else { [PSCustomObject]@{ 'Name' = $null 'Version' = $null } }
   

4. Click OK to close the Scanner window, then click OK again to close and save the Scan Profile.

With the Scan Profile created, we're ready to run it against our endpoints.

1. Right-click All Computers, click Scan Collection, then click the new Scan Profile you just created.

   

2. You can monitor the scan's progress using the Scan Status column.

   

   When the scan finishes, double-click on any computer you deployed the new Teams app to. Select the PowerShell menu option, then use the drop-down menu to ensure you select the right Scan Profile.

   

Once we've verified that the Scan Profile is working, we can create a dynamic collection with our gathered information.

1. In the main PDQ Inventory window, click New Dynamic Collection.

2. Name the collection.

3. Ensure the collection starts with an All group filter.

4. Click the Add Value Filter button, then add the following filter details: <your PowerShell MSTeams scan profile name> | Name | Contains | MSTeams

   

With the dynamic collection in place, it should contain all the computers that have the new Microsoft Teams app installed.

Take your tracking to the next level with custom variables

If you really want to impress your coworkers (and who doesn't, right?), we can take things to the next level by adding a custom Microsoft Teams variable with the latest version number.

In PDQ Inventory, click Options > Variables, then click New Variable. Give the variable the name @(NewMSTeamsLatest), then add the latest version number in the Value column. Just remember to update this variable information as the version number changes in the future.

With a custom variable established, we can create more detailed collections. Let's follow our Collection Library formatting convention and create three sub-collections under the New MSTeams Installed collection we created above. To create sub-collections, simply select the primary collection you wish to embed the sub-collections in, then click the New Dynamic Collection button. Or you can drag and drop collections after they've been created.

Here are the three collections we'll create and their filters:

• New MSTeams Latest

  • All

    • PowerShell (New Microsoft Teams) | Version | Version Equals | @(NewMSTeamsLatest)

• New MSTeams Not Installed (sub)

  • Not All

    • PowerShell (New Microsoft Teams) | Name | Contains | MSTeams

• New MSTeams Old

  • All

    • PowerShell (New Microsoft Teams) | Version | Version Lower Than | @(NewMSTeamsLatest)

If you used a different naming scheme than what I used in this example, you'll need to ensure you use the correct PowerShell scanner and variable names.

How to deploy Teams 2.0 with PDQ Connect 

If you have lots of remote machines in need of Teams 2.0, PDQ Connect might be the way to go. We’ll walk you through the same processes described above using PDQ Connect. 

Deploying Teams 2.0 with PDQ Connect is quick, easy, and requires no human interaction (the ultimate trifecta).

1. In PDQ Connect, click Packages on the left navigation bar. Input Teams into the search bar, check Microsoft Teams, and click Deploy.

   

2. Use the search bar on the right-hand side to add your target devices, then click Deploy. 

   

Manage Microsoft Store apps with PDQ

Microsoft left many sysadmins scrambling when they transitioned the new Teams to a Microsoft Store app. Don't be caught off guard when Microsoft throws you a curveball. PDQ ensures you have the tools necessary to manage your endpoints, no matter what tricks Microsoft has up its sleeves. Try PDQ Connect or PDQ Deploy & Inventory for 14 days and reduce your stress — and your step count.