Microsoft has added another app to its Microsoft 365 arsenal. Microsoft Lists, which was unveiled in May at the Build 2020 developer conference, has just been added to the Microsoft Teams app to help organizations keep track of information and organize their work. Along with enterprise customers, Microsoft is making the Lists app available for its government customers. Microsoft Lists is not to be confused with Microsoft Tasks or To Do. It is accessible via the Teams app and includes various templates allowing users to easily track information across several projects and tasks.
Microsoft debuted the application as a means of smart information tracking in Microsoft 365’s arsenal of applications. The company has already started rolling out the Lists app for Microsoft 365 business users. Here are some of the additional details and features of this all-new Lists app. 
What makes Microsoft Lists unique?
Microsoft Lists allows users to perform a variety of tasks. Using this new tool, business users will be able to track issues, build and manage agendas, manage inventory, manage information such as FAQs, list out status reports, and more. However, this app, as discussed above, is available only to business users, unlike Microsoft ToDo, which is available to everyone subscribed to Microsoft 365 services.
Despite all these features, Lists is not an entirely new application. It is an upgraded version of the existing SharePoint Lists. However, unlike the original SharePoint Lists, the new Lists is available for Microsoft 365 users. Microsoft Lists is very secure. All the information stored is guarded by Microsoft’s world-class data protection and security mechanism.
Usage
The new Lists app works seamlessly with other Microsoft applications such as Excel, SharePoint, Power BI, Power Automate, and other Power apps. This allows users to work and leverage several Microsoft applications to build powerful information tracking solutions.
Microsoft Lists packs in several organizational and project management features and is all set to compete against leading project management tools such as monday.com and Asana. However, it still misses out on the Gantt chart functionality.
Currently, millions of users use SharePoint Lists and other libraries in Microsoft 365 to track issues, manage tasks, projects, track bugs, status reporting, build and manage agendas, and more. According to Microsoft, the new Lists will allow users to build custom solutions to meet specific user needs without having to code.
Users can also create custom views, establish smart rules, share the work to keep everyone in sync within the organization. The new Lists comes in four different views — List, Grid, Gallery, and Calendar. While all four of these views are clear and offer several benefits, each view offers its own advantages.
Microsoft Lists features
The app is packed with several features. Below are some of them:
- Customizable views and smart views.
- Timely alerts and reminders to keep everyone in sync and keep posted about the tasks.
- Offers enterprise-grade security and compliance in accordance with the latest Microsoft 365 app suite.
- Available in both web and mobile formats.
- Ready-made templates to suit several businesses.
- Adding tasks as favorites.
- Ability to directly import data from Excel sheets.
- Integration with various Microsoft apps and Power platform.
- Ability to create new lists from the existing lists to use all these new features.
- Custom rules, filters, and set up rules to suit every business or individual’s needs.
Rolling out now
There are several tools available in the market that serve as an alternative to the Microsoft Lists. However, it, along with several other Microsoft 365 applications suite, makes it a value-for-money proposition. Microsoft Lists is currently being rolled out with targeted completion of the worldwide rollout by the end of this month.
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