The Microsoft Graph APIs are a game-changer for devs, and in this blog you’ll see how you can build an unparalleled Teams experience.

For the past several months we have been gathering extensive feedback from users regarding their Teams experience, and we know many have been asking for the ability better organize your users’ teams and channel, automate Teams lifecycles, and create pre-loaded, familiar experiences for your users. Today, we are giving you those capabilities (and more) with the general availability of 37 Graph APIs.

With the new Graph APIs, you can now automate:

• Provisioning of large sets of teams
• Automatically creating teams and channels (with business-specific logic)
• Deployment of apps in team and channels

These collaboration tools include Microsoft Graph-enabled tabs or bots running inside Microsoft Teams apps. You can also call Microsoft Graph outside of a Microsoft Teams app, such as from a website or a web service. If you’ve already enabled your website for Microsoft Graph, you can use that work for Microsoft Teams by using the Microsoft Teams developer platform to create a tab that uses the existing website code. For scenario examples, check out our TechCommunity blog.

Automate team lifecycles

Use Microsoft Graph to create a new virtual team when a new business issue arises, add the right people to the team, and configure the team with channels, tabs, and apps. If you want to get the new team together to discuss the business issue, add a new event to the team calendar.

When the business issue is resolved and you no longer need the team, use the Microsoft Teams API to archive or delete the team. If you know the maximum duration of the team when you create it, set an Office 365 group expiration policy for the team that automatically removes the team according to the policy.

Get work done even when no one is around

Use application permissions to work with teams, channels, tabs, and apps without human intervention. Create a new channel when your customer files an order. Automatically create teams for classes at the beginning of the school year and archive them at the end.

Create teams linked to your app

Let customers to create new teams and channels. Install your Teams app in the new teams. Pin your app to a tab in the new channel. Send messages to the channel linking back to your website.

Create and manage multiple teams and channels

Microsoft Graph makes it easy to create large numbers of teams and populate them with users and channels, by automate creating and managing teams, channels, tabs, and apps. Microsoft Graph also lets you find and archive the teams you are no longer using. This is the same API that the Microsoft Teams Admin Center and Teams PowerShell commandlets are built on.

Deploy apps to teams

List the teams in your tenant, and install apps to them. Create tabs in channels to give users easy access to apps.

Microsoft Graph APIs can enhance apps inside and outside of Teams. Basically, everything we said above can surface in these extensibility features:

What’s next?

• Check out this tutorial to see how to leverage the Graph APIs in your organization, today

• Stay tuned for more announcements regarding Graph APIs for messaging.
• Sign up for the Teams Developer Preview Program to get the latest updates in your tenant.