Microsoft as part of its long-term sponsorship extension with the NFL will give individual franchises "access to Teams -- the collaborative tool that is a competitor to Slack," according to Paul La Monica of CNN.com. Several franchises "already use Teams," including the Chiefs, who "utilize the tool to coordinate plans and schedules for the club's player scouts while they're on the road." Dolphins VP & Chief Information Officer Kim Rometo said that the franchise "utilized Teams to help plan" Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins' "next step will be to roll out Teams beyond the business side so that the team's players and coaches are also on the platform." The Jets "plan to use Teams to communicate during the NFL Draft in April." Microsoft Corporate VP Yusuf Mehdi said that the NFL "may not be the only sports league that it winds up working with on Teams," as several college football teams "have expressed interest in the tool." La Monica noted landing the NFL as a Teams customer is the "latest sign that Microsoft is building momentum in the collaboration software market." Microsoft last November said that it had "about 20 million daily active users for Teams, compared to about 12 million for Slack" (CNN.com, 3/3).
RISING TO THE SURFACE: GEEKWIRE.com's Nat Levy wrote this is a "notable deal" for Microsoft's tablet business, and the company since '13 has "deployed more than 2,000 Surface devices across the league." The custom-built Surface devices and their "signature blue cases are well-known in the NFL world, partly for the odd interactions players and coaches have with the tablets." But after some "early hiccups and criticism, they are now a mainstay on the sidelines, a key strategic tool that replaces paper printouts previously used to review past plays." Also, officials use the tablets during in-game replay reviews. The partnership is an "advertising vehicle" for Microsoft and the Surface, which is designated as the league's official laptop and official sideline technology provider. The Surface was featured in Microsoft’s most recent Super Bowl ad (GEEKWIRE.com, 3/3).
