In a letter to the community on September 25th, 2026, it was announced that the University will retire BU's Zoom platform and establish Microsoft Teams as the University's platform for online meetings, webinars, classroom collaboration, and meeting-room technology. This consolidation is planned to be completed by July 1st, 2027.

IS&T is committed to making the transition period as clear, manageable, and well-supported as possible and will be maintaining this guide as our efforts progress. Over the coming weeks, additional and more specialized resources, such as those for teaching and learning, will become available.

Answers to questions generally applicable to the transition can be found on this page. For meetings and other Zoom components, please use the menu to navigate to the appropriate sub-page.

Overview

Transitioning to Microsoft Teams

When will the transition be completed by?

Consolidation and transitioning to Microsoft Teams is planned to be completed by July 1st, 2027.

Will Zoom continue to be available throughout the transition?

Yes, you will be able to continue using Zoom throughout the transition.

Will I be able to continue joining Zoom meetings during and after the transition?

Yes, you will be able to continue joining Zoom meetings both during and after the transition. However, after the transition, you may need to join meetings as a guest.

I use a Zoom for HIPAA account. Is BU Microsoft Teams HIPAA compliant?

Yes, BU Microsoft Teams is HIPAA compliant and using a separate environment is not required.

Where can I learn more about Microsoft Teams?

We encourage you to look through our Getting Started with Microsoft Teams page as well as this FAQ, which contains answers to both general and specific questions about Microsoft Teams.

You can also find a detailed tutorial video on getting started with Microsoft Teams on Microsoft's training resources site.

Accessing Microsoft Teams

Who can access Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is available to the BU community, though some features may be limited or unavailable if you do not have an BU Exchange mailbox or BU OneDrive license.

Guests from outside BU, including international guests, may also join meetings and events even if they do not have a Microsoft Account or Office 365 license.

I'm a sponsored affiliate who only has access to Google. Can I use Microsoft Teams?

Please have your sponsor submit a Change/Renew Affiliate Account form and select the "Exchange/Office 365" box under "Access Change."

Will I be able to organize large meetings and webinars from a departmental or shared account in Microsoft Teams?

Yes, departmental and shared accounts will be able to host large meetings and webinars in Microsoft Teams. If you use a departmental or shared account for any other reason, please contact us.

How do I install Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is likely already installed on any Windows 11 PC, IS&T-managed Mac, or managed BU iPhone. If you don't see it in your Windows Start Menu, Mac's Applications folder, or on your mobile device, you can download it from Microsoft.

If you use Linux, Microsoft recommends using Teams for Web and creating a Progressive Web App.

Are the system or network requirements to use Microsoft Teams different from Zoom?

In general, Microsoft has stricter operating system version requirements than Zoom for Microsoft Teams, especially on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. Other requirements, like RAM or processor speed, are comparable. For questions about specific requirements, please review Microsoft's Teams client requirements page.

Microsoft Teams and Zoom share similar bandwidth recommendations for 1:1 calls. For meetings with multiple participants, Microsoft recommends similar upstream bandwidth (2.5 Mbps), but higher downstream bandwidth (4.0 Mbps). While these are the recommended speeds, Microsoft Teams meetings can still function on slower networks.

What steps are IS&T currently taking to identify, prioritize, and resolve accessibility concerns reported within Microsoft Teams?

IS&T is actively engaged with Microsoft to determine what reasonable accommodations and modifications can be made available in Teams for individuals with particular requirements to facilitate meetings and collaboration.

My Zoom Meetings and Content

What will I need to do with my scheduled Zoom meetings?

Any scheduled Zoom meetings will need to be recreated with Microsoft Teams. We recommend canceling your existing meeting invites, then creating a new series using Microsoft Teams. To learn more, please see Microsoft's page on scheduling Teams meetings.

What will I need to do to retain my Zoom recordings?

Any Zoom recordings you need to retain must be downloaded. This includes both public materials that you wish to share or content governed by the Record Retention Policy. For public events, we continue to recommend using BU My Media (Kaltura) for long-term storage and publication.

Additional resources and guidance to assist with content retention may become available during the course of the transition.

Zoom Transition Resources

I am unfamiliar with BU's Teams Meetings offering, are there resources where I can learn more?

We have created a page to summarize many of the common meeting features in Teams. To learn more, see our Teams Meetings FAQ.

We have also collected a series of Microsoft Learn articles in our Teams Getting Started page.

My department relies heavily on Zoom Webinars. Is there a Teams equivalent?

Yes, Teams has both webinars and town hall meeting types for large-scale meetings. To learn more, see our Teams Webinars FAQ.

If we've purchased hardware for Zoom Rooms, what will happen to it?

To learn more about our Zoom Rooms transition plan, please see our Rooms FAQ.

How do I create Polls, Surveys, or lead Q&A sessions?

You can read about creating polls, surveys, or Q&A sessions in our Polls, Surveys, and Q&A FAQ.

Does Microsoft Teams allow you to annotate on shared content or collaborate on a whiteboard?

Yes, you can both annotate on shared content and whiteboard in Microsoft Teams. While we gather additional information about these features, especially as they relate to teaching and learning, you can learn more by reviewing Microsoft's pages on how to annotate shared content or how to use Whiteboard in a meeting.

What additional services are available for Teams meetings?

Depending on your license, you will have access to transcription and AI services. To learn more, see our Transcription and AI FAQ.