How to Maximise the ROI From Your Microsoft 365 Subscription

We all know what Microsoft 365 is, we use it every day from sending emails to document authoring, but you may not be aware of some applications within the suite that could drastically improve your team’s productivity. This blog post explores how your business can maximise the return on investment (ROI) from your M365 Business Premium licensing by fully utilising the applications you are already paying for!

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1. Video creation and Streaming 

M365 Tool: Microsoft Stream

What is Microsoft Stream?

Stream is a video creation and streaming tool for businesses to use for recording and publishing training videos, meetings, webinars, live-hosted events, and more.

Key Benefits

• Easily organise your videos into channels or groups.
• Host live events on Teams, or share content via SharePoint, OneNote, or Yammer.
• Seamlessly integrates with apps across the Microsoft 365 suite.

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2. Automation and Integration

M365 Tool: Power Automate

What is Power Automate?

Power Automate is an application that allows businesses to create automated workflows between various apps and services. It can boost productivity by significantly reducing the time needed to work on repetitive/manual tasks. Automations can range from sending email alerts for overdue tasks, or receiving a Teams message for staff leave requests, all the way up to large-scale system integrations.

Key Benefits

• Automating repetitive work frees up more time to focus on other tasks that are of greater strategic benefit.
• Reduces human errors.
• Prebuilt connectors make it easier for non-technical staff to setup workflows.

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3. Task and Project Management:

M365 Tool: Planner & To-Do

What is Planner & To Do?

There’s no shortage of task management tools available, ever heard of Monday.com, Asana or Trello?  Microsoft Planner and To-Do are major players in the project planning and task management space and are included in the Microsoft 365 platform.

What’s the difference between Planner and To-Do?

To Do works best for managing individual tasks and projects. Think daily tasks.

Planner works well for managing group tasks and projects. It provides a central location for teams to create plans, organise and assign tasks, and keep up to date on progress.

Key Benefits

• Manage and collaborate on your tasks all in one place, without the need to use other tools.
• For Managers, you can see all your team’s tasks to better manage their workload and keep up to date on their progress.
• Calendar view with expected deadlines, enabling staff to plan their week.
• Sync daily tasks in To Do with Planner so no need to jump between two different tools.
• Seamlessly create tasks in To Do from requests received through both Outlook and Microsoft Teams.

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4. Feedback Collection & Analysis

M365 Tool: Microsoft Forms

 What is Microsoft Forms?

Microsoft Forms allows users to create and share surveys, quizzes, and other forms. It can be used for a variety of purposes such as collecting feedback, assessing understanding, and organising events.

Key Benefits

• Secure and reliable feedback processes is a must for any business. The security protocols in Forms mean that individual questionnaires and responses are encrypted when stored in the M365 platform.
• Microsoft Forms is easy to use, even for those with little or no experience creating forms.
• Data privacy is essential when collecting certain feedback from clients or employees. Forms allows users to make their surveys anonymous by unticking the ‘record name’ option in the program’s settings.

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5. Track and Organise Information

M365 Tool: Microsoft

What is Microsoft Lists?

Microsoft Lists allows users to create and share dynamic lists to track and organise information. It is similar to a spreadsheet, but with added features such as the ability to collaborate with others, set reminders and alerts, and integrate with other M365 apps.

Key Benefits

• Multiple users can work on a list simultaneously, making it easy to share information and track progress.
• Lists can be set up with automated workflows to help streamline tasks and improve productivity.

Many businesses who use the Microsoft 365 Business Premium suite aren’t fully utilising some of the most powerful applications included in their subscription and subsequently miss out on uncovering significant value.

If you’re wanting to leverage the Microsoft 365 suite to increase your business’ productivity and cut costs by reducing the need for third-party applications, IT Partners can help.  Contact us at hello@itpartners.co.nz