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4-steps to maximise Microsoft 365 in your organisation

Microsoft 365 is a digital workspace that provides endless possibilities. However, for some people, the sheer volume of information out there about how to use the product can simply be overwhelming. The question is how do we, as users, make the most of the benefits that this system has to offer and utilise all of its features in the smartest and most beneficial way possible? 

 

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In this webinar from Thursday, 29 March, we take you through the process of how to get the most out of your Microsoft 365 online workspace. In this article, we’ll also share some of the insights that we gained from polls during the event.

Prefer to watch the webinar? You can watch it on demand here.

How to tailor Microsoft 365 to your organisation

The best way to integrate Microsoft 365 into your virtual workplace system is to start from the top – or is it?

The bottom-up influence on business technology

Before we get started, it’s important to understand that decisions regarding software have become considerably more democratic in recent years. In the past, a list of requirements would be drawn up by those at the top of an organisation regarding things like security, infrastructure, and security. Meanwhile, the question of what specific kind of software was needed to carry out that list of requirements was pushed down the list of priorities, becoming much more of an afterthought.

End-users now have more power than at any other time in history, both in terms of the voice that they have within an organisation as well as their own technological capabilities. On top of this, they're now more used to purchasing and using their own (consumer) software. 

With the advent of the hybrid workspace and the growing prevalence of smart working in our daily lives, the Digital Employee Experience is more important than ever before. This explains why more and more focus is being placed on the quality and popularity of tools being used to help workers carry out their work smoothly and efficiently.

Additionally, business technology is becoming increasingly similar to consumer technology, both in terms of ease of use as well as availability. This provides people with a much wider choice regarding the kind of software they want to use and makes it much easier for them to get started with it. 

Furthermore, it offers employees an alternative to simply having to get to grips with whatever software system has been forced upon them by those in charge, regardless of whether they like it or not. Organisations themselves now have to get used to the idea that, with any technology project, the concerns of the people who are ultimately using the software day in and day out should always be at the top of their list of priorities.


Step 1: Create your Microsoft 365 Dream Team

More often than not, it will be the IT department that decides to start using Microsoft 365 in their overall strategy to move to the cloud.

However, it shouldn't just be left up to a single department to have the final say on a company's digital workplace solutions; it should be a group decision. The thoughts of the C-Suite, the HR department, Corporate Communications, people from Line of Business and those responsible for Innovation or Business Transformation should all be taken into account. They all have different perspectives that should not be overlooked, as such information can be fundamental in shaping an optimal virtual workspace that meets the needs of everyone in the organisation.

During the webinar, Workspace 365 carried out a poll asking participants the question "Who is involved in Microsoft 365 implementations in your organisation?". While some of the results were to be expected, there were a few surprises:

Bar chart showing departments involved in Microsoft 365 implementations?

 
Poll results: Who is involved in Microsoft 365 implementations in your organisation? n=74 

The unanimous lack of involvement from HR came as a bit of a shock, given that HR can undoubtedly offer very valuable insights into the work processes of people throughout the company. We would, of course, advise involving people from all of these business areas. 

Step 2: Defining your goals and choosing the correct tools to achieve them

So you’ve assembled your dream team. What comes next?

Now it’s time to look at your goals. Not just for Microsoft 365, but for your organisation as a whole, as these fundamental objectives should be at the heart of all your decisions regarding software. 

Microsoft 365 is highly practical and extremely versatile, hence why so many organisations have started using it. However, in many cases, they only start looking at how it can help them achieve their organisational goals once they've already got everything up and running - this is the wrong way around.


The three levels of organisational goals

Organisational goals can be divided into three separate categories: strategic, tactical, and operational.

Organisational goals pyramid
  • Strategic goals: goals closely linked with the overall organisation such as increasing employee productivity or making a name for yourself as an innovative place in order to attract the attention of talented individuals.
  • Tactical: these can often be seen as ‘sub-goals’ on a department or business unit level that go into more detail about how various strategic objectives will be achieved. Examples of this could be reducing the number of meetings and making sure that employees have access to all the information and applications which are relevant to them.
  • Operational: more specific still are goals related to concrete actions on an individual or team level, such as requiring that everybody uses Single Sign-On (SSO) to access applications.


Of course, we were also curious to find out if and to what extent those present at the webinar already had specific goals for their organisation’s digital workspace. The results can be seen below:

Worksapce 365 poll results organisational goals

 
Poll results: Does your organisation already have goals for the digital workspace? And if so, on what level? n=74 

We want to emphasise the importance of waiting to talk about any specific tools until you’ve established a clear set of business goals.


Top Tip: select tools, not brands

So you've sat down and established a clear set of goals, and you're now ready to select the tools that will allow you to create the online workspace necessary to make them a reality. At this stage, the mistake that many people make is to focus too much on the names of the brands providing the software, rather than the practicalities. 

Remember, when you’re looking for tools, to focus on product categories such as ‘identity provider’, ‘intranet’ and ‘digital workspace’. It's vitally important that you focus on the quality of the tools themselves and how they will help you on a practical level, rather than be swayed into buying a specific product based on brand name alone. 

 

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Step 3: Evaluate and test drive existing tools

Now, you know what you want to achieve and you've decided that Microsoft 365 could be a great fit for you and your organisation. The next step is to see if all the tools that you need are available in Microsoft 365. 

However, the Microsoft landscape is vast and it's sometimes difficult to know where to start. Do the tools available on the platform enable you to reach the goals that you've set for your organisation? To answer this question, your Microsoft partner is here to help you locate and implement the right tools to create your ideal online workspace.


Adding to Microsoft 365 through integrations

Despite the extensive range of tools available with Microsoft 365, there's always the possibility that something that you need is missing. If this is the case, don't forget that you have the option of integrating tools from elsewhere to help you bring everything together.

If the tool is not connected to Microsoft 365, you can confirm whether or not it can be integrated into your existing digital workspace or intranet. Read up on how to integrate other tools and tasks with the help of Power Apps, remembering to always choose tools with an open system that can be combined with other platforms.


Step 4: Selecting the brand of a tool

Once you’ve decided on the type of tool you need to compliment your Microsoft 365 landscape, then it’s time to choose the brand. As well as the obvious things to think about like pricing and security, there are several other things that you should keep in mind. Namely:

  • Which brand is best in terms of reaching your goals?
  • Can it be integrated into myour portal, intranet, dashboard, or digital workspace?
  • Does it have APIs to connect applications and automate processes?
  • Is there an active development community?
  • Do I trust the people behind the software solution?
  • Is there a solid partner network?

Finally, ask yourself if the tool has the necessary potential to develop in order to support you not only today but in the future as well.
 

Innovation using Microsoft 365 and other software

Let’s now have a look at the possibilities presented to us by Workspace 365 that will help us get the most out of Microsoft 365.

An open system to help customise your ideal digital workspace

Workspace 365 offers many possible integrations with Microsoft 365. Including Windows Virtual Desktop for remote applications, Azure for authentication, and Exchange for calendars and contacts.

In addition to Microsoft 365, we also integrate systems from other vendors. Because we believe that a digital workspace should be future-proof and vendor-agnostic. We make this happen in several ways:

  • Integrating existing and new tools using APIs
  • Integrating information, communication and processes
  • Using Micro Apps for secondary tasks including annual leave requests, expense claims, and more
  • Requesting and deploying applications as part of the research phase

By utilising the API of other systems, we can integrate your services and combine them with Workspace 365. We create Micro Apps for organisations to bring specific tasks and information into the online workspace and help you to create your own. This helps you to keep people in their workflow by streamlining processes and preventing the disruption of tasks.

Such is the versatility of this open system that, as well as allowing you to integrate external solutions into it, Workspace 365 also gives you the possibility to implement its own features into other platforms such as an existing intranet or Microsoft Teams. This enables you to bring people together each day at the same starting point without losing any of the benefits of Microsoft 365 or Workspace 365.


Key highlights and things to take home with you
In short, these are the key things that you should be taking home with you from the webinar:

  • Learn how to create a digital workspace group
  • Start by setting your goals and then think about the tools that you'll need to get the job done
  • Create a tool inventory and see which tools you already have available
  • Have a good think about the criteria you use to evaluate the brands, and make changes if necessary
  • Talk about everything with your Microsoft partner and make the most of their knowledge

 

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