Teams

As of 14 June 2026, the University has transitioned to Microsoft Teams, with the exception of those who have been granted a reasonable adjustment or have an exceptional circumstance, as agreed with their College or Professional Service Group Head of IT. 

The Project Team is currently reviewing transition license requests submitted as a reasonable adjustment only.

As the deadline of 5 June 2026 has passed, if you believe you have exceptional circumstances, you will need to discuss this with and gain approval from your College or Professional Service Group Head of IT:

• Rick Arnautovic – College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS)
• Anthony Davie – College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine (CMVM)
• Fiona Vine – College of Science & Engineering (CSE)
• Jamie Eason – Corporate Services Group (CSG)
• Sheila Fraser – University Secretary’s Group (USG)
• Rachel Mfoafo / Lisa McDonald – Information Services Group (ISG)

Please note that requests based on exceptional circumstances are reviewed carefully and will only be approved in a limited number of cases where there is a clear and justified need. Decisions will follow the standard process outlined in the Reasonable Adjustments Policy and guidance, available below:

Reasonable Adjustments Policy and guidance 

If you’re unsure whether this applies to you, we recommend speaking to your local IT lead in the first instance.

Other Points to Note:

Colleagues should not purchase individual Zoom licenses using University funds, and those who provision a Zoom license using personal funds will not be reimbursed. The University will only fund Zoom access where there is a clear legal, regulatory, or exceptional business requirement. This approach is essential to ensure institutional savings are realised and to maintain a consistent, supported collaboration environment. 

Guidance and support for this transition is available through the Smarter Meetings Hub, linked below:

Smarter Meetings Hub (SharePoint)

Service Availability Status

Find out about the University's updates on the following page:

University of Edinburgh Service Alerts

​​​​​​​​​​​Teams Updates

Teaching Remotely

We recommend using Teams to hold meetings or for group chat, but if you are looking to teach remotely then you should refer to Teams for Teaching for more details:

Teams for Teaching

Unsure which tool to use for your meetings or events?

If you are unsure which tool best fits your needs as a host or organiser, you may find the Online and Digital Events Service helpful. Here you will find advice and guidance about safely and securely hosting your meetings and events online, supported tools, and a selector to help you choose the right tool for your type of meeting or event:

Online and Digital Events Service  

Limits and Specifications

Microsoft Teams has various limits, specifications and requirements that apply to it.

Microsoft provide up-to-date information on these limits and specifications on their website. This gives information on how many people can be in a Team, how many Teams you can create, how many attendees can join a meeting and other information.

Limits and Specifications for Microsoft Teams (Microsoft site)

Help avoid disruptions to your events

The biggest cause of unwelcome disruption to an online meeting or event is because of sharing the meeting join link on social media platforms.  Avoid sharing your meeting link beyond the participants you wish to attend and if you require a public event, choose a Webinar or Townhall format instead, as this will limit the level of engagement of participants by default.

Security

Please review the University of Edinburgh's policies on Information Security which applies when using the Online and Digital Events platforms:

University of Edinburgh Information Security Policy

If you are sharing research data through the Online and Digital Events platforms, please refer to the Research Data Service webpage for information:

Research Data Service

Data Protection

DPIA

DPIAs have been completed at the University of Edinburgh for each of the Online and Digital Events services.

Please access the files using Your University Login:

Microsoft Teams DPIA

University Data Protection policy

You can also review the Universities policy on Data protection:

University of Edinburgh Data Protection Policy

Privacy

Recording Online and Digital Events

Please read the following privacy notices on recording online and digital meetings and events:

Recording privacy statement (external collaborators) (Word)

Recording privacy statement (internal – staff and students) (Word)

Please also read through the information and guidelines we provide for recording Online and Digital Events:

Guiding Principles - Recording online and digital events

Further Privacy Information

Templates and guidance on privacy notices, including for students, employees, visitors etc:

Privacy Notice Guidance

More information

If you have concerns about security, data protection or privacy in any of the Online and Digital events service platforms, please contact the IS Helpline below:

Contact the IS Helpline