Microsoft Teams surged in popularity as a direct result of the Coronavirus outbreak in 2020.
According to data presented by Tradingplatforms.com, the daily active users (DAU) of Microsoft Teams in April 2021 increased by over 93% compared to a similar period in 2020 – 145-million DAU.
A majority of the world had to adopt a “new normal” as the coronavirus forced people to stay indoors. Offices had to close and working from home became the new reality which saw the communication and collaboration sector grow tremendously. Microsoft Teams was one of the many beneficiaries of the work from home phenomenon and saw its user base explode in 2020.
Microsoft Teams had 44-millio DAU on 19 March 2020, around the time of the onset of the pandemic globally. In the first month of the pandemic, Microsoft Teams’ DAU increased by a staggering 70,46% to 75-million by 30 April 2020. A year on from this date, Teams’ DAU had increased by an additional 93,33% to 145-million as of 27 April 2021.
Prior to the pandemic, the Microsoft Teams app recorded between 1,1-million and 1,82-million downloads in all three of its main operating regions but the pandemic saw one region take a clear lead. The Microsoft Teams app was most popular in their Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region throughout the course of the pandemic, initially recording 15,46-million downloads in the first quarter of 2020
From the same time period, the Microsoft Teams app was downloaded 7,52-million times in their North America and Latin America (NALA) region and 5,07-million times in the Asia and the Pacific (APAC) region. The EMEA and APAC regions recorded their strongest quarter in Q2 2020 with 27,41-million and 21,69-million downloads respectively. The NALA region recorded its strongest quarter in Q3 2020 when the Microsoft Teams app was downloaded 21,6-million times.
Microsoft Teams is particularly strong in the UK where the app recorded a digital audience reach of 10,7-million adults by Dec 2020, the highest among its competitors. Teams also recorded their highest reach of 11,3-million adults in the month prior. In comparison, Zoom had the second-highest digital audience reach in Dec 2020 with 9,2-million adults.
Rex Pascual, editor at Tradingplatforms.com, comments: “2020 was a big year for the communication and collaboration software segment as homes became a necessary extension of offices. With the pandemic situation still fluid in many parts of the world halfway through 2021, and a hybrid work-model being looked at as a long-term solution by many large companies, expect the segment and apps like Microsoft Teams to continue to flourish in a post-pandemic world.”