SOLVED: VIDEO: What is Kaizala & How To Disable It

Microsoft Kaizala is an innovative chat tool designed for highly decentralized and/or frequently changing groups.  What makes it different from Teams or Skype is the way users register.  They only need a cell phone number and not a username and password.

Kaizala is Indian (ok… specifically the Marahi) word for “what happened”.  If you are wondering why Microsoft would have selected an Indian word to name a product, wonder no longer.  Kailaza was developed in Microsoft’s “Garage” project.

The Garage is a program that drives a culture of innovation.  We deliver programs and experiences to our employees, customers, and ecosystem that drive collaboration, creativity, and experimentation.

You likely already have full access to it because Kaizala is is part of most Office 365 subscriptions.  The problem is if you are in a large company that does not have frequently changing staff or is not decentralized, you should likely disable it so staff (IT and ‘normal’) staff don’t waist time working with a tool you are not going to support.

The process to disable Kaizala is a bit odd in that there are no Kaizala settings in portal.office.com or admin.microsoft.com.

1. Surf to manage.kaiza.la
2. Close anything that pops up
3. Click SETTINGS (in the bottom left corner)
4. Close anything that pops up
5. Click the DISABLE button

At this point Kaizala will be disabled for your staff but the program will still be installed and it it will still show up in the ‘9 pin waffle’ menu of all apps in Office365.

 

In case this has peaked some interest in the product below is Microsoft’s 90 second Kaizala intro which is great for getting started.