How Microsoft 365 can Revolutionize the Way you Work and Drive Success for your Organization
How smart is your workforce becoming? There has been an enormous change in the Information Technology functionality with the global shift to the digitalization and hybridization of work. The technological interface of the corporate workplace is evolving, assuming a transition made possible by the Microsoft 365, enabling you to do more with less! The Microsoft 365 platform makes the creation of a digitally connected and distributed workforce a reality at reduced cost and void of complexities, boosting the employee’s collaborative experiences in an uncertain economic setting and with a guarantee of successful performances despite the popularity of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach and the exploration of cloud-based applications.
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a cost-effective cloud-first collaboration solution, comprising of tools and services that enable organizations to operate better and more smartly with ease and from anywhere in a secure, integrated setting while leveraging data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, strategic cloud computing firms established a telecommuting workspace where employees can access data, tools, and storage access from anywhere in the world guaranteeing collaboration, productivity, flexibility, improved work-life balance, and reduced costs much against the restrictive traditional IT work setting.
Let’s take a brief look into the differences between the traditional and the modern workspaces and thereafter consider how Microsoft 365 enhances the success of organizational operations.
| Traditional IT Workspace | Modern IT Workspace |
| Single Device | Multiple Devices |
| Individualistic | Collaborative |
| Corporate Network | Cloud Managed |
| Business Focused | User and Business Focused |
| Legacy Applications | SaaS Applications |
| Manual Orientation | Automated Orientation |
| Reactive | Proactive |
The Features of Microsoft Office 365
As the world fully comes to term with the fact that, aside from being an offshoot of the pandemic-induced revolution in the workspace, remote working has indeed come to stay, the need to embrace the gift of the Microsoft 365 becomes even more essential. With Microsoft 365 being the next big thing in the IT sector, organizations, IT experts and users, business owners and employees are currently leveraging the comprehensive suite of apps to create, connect and collaborate in a flexible mode and in real-time. Making a move to this Microsoft collaboration tool isn’t enough until you understand its plethora of features and explore the vast possibilities in its apps and tools. From Microsoft Steam and Mobile Device Management for Office 356 to Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, Viva Insight, Email Archiving and beyond, Microsoft 365 offers a wealth of solutions that redefines how work is done in the 21st Century.
| Capability | Solution (s) |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Enterprise |
| Microsoft 365 apps | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Publisher (PC only), and Access (PC only)) on up to 5 PCs/Macs, 5 tablets, and 5 mobile devices per person. |
| Email and Calendar | Exchange |
| Social and Intranet | SharePoint Yammer |
| Meetings, voice, and Collaboration | Teams |
| Files and Content | OneDrive for Business Microsoft Stream Sway for Office 365 |
| Business Apps | Microsoft Forms To Do Planner |
| Power Platform | Power Apps for Office 365 Power Automate for Office 365 |
| Device and App Management | Microsoft 365 Administration Microsoft Intune Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager Windows Autopilot Fine-tuned user experience Windows Analytics Device Health Mobile Device Management for Office 365 |
| Compliance | eDiscovery content search Manual sensitivity and retention labels Office 365 Data Loss Prevention for email and files eDiscovery Export eDiscovery Hold Litigation Hold In-Place Hold Basic audit Email archiving |
| Security | Windows Hello Credential Guard and Direct Access BitLocker Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Device Guard Azure Active Directory Plan 1 Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics Microsoft Information Protection Plan 1 |
| Analytics | Viva Insights Delve |
Microsoft 365: Helping Organizations Achieve More With Less
The fully featured broad set of applications and possibilities the Microsoft 365 provides have revolutionized the mode of work with simplified IT management and the improvement of how employees collaborate, connect and share with some other really measurable benefits.
Great Return on Investment
With the Microsoft 365, ITexperts and business owners can focus on the non-technological requirements of building viable and successful businesses that rake in a fortune at reduced cost. Microsoft 365 enables profitability and cuts costs on unnecessary licenses for products for file sharing, data storage, emails, identity and access management, collaboration, mobile device management, information protection and labeling, endpoint management and security, by an average of USD55 per user every month. It further reduces the cost of purchasing devices by another 23%.
In addition, the cloud-based characteristic of Microsoft 365 also rules out the need to get expensive hardware thus saving cost. Stallbaumer (2022) citing findings of a study on the economic benefits of Microsoft 365 E3 stated that incorporating the Microsoft 365 E3 saved composite organizations USD1,500 per user annually, with a return on investment of 205% and a payback period of less than three months.
Security and Reduced Breach of Data
Microsoft Office 365 mitigates the fear of data loss and enables a more secure IT environment free from all forms of threats with security solutions that boosts a company’s investments such as dynamic access management tools, reduced shadow IT, and secured remote work. Company data are safeguarded across devices; office’s corporate devices and employees’ personal devices, and adroitly separates corporate data from employees’ personal devices upon disengagement from a business. The intelligent security built-in features of the Office 365 such as the data loss prevention and multifactor authentication features are essentials for organizations with compliance needs.
M365 boosts of built-in, intelligent security to protect data and intellectual property. Businesses are able to implement password strength rules; implement granular access policies to ensure that employees only have access to the applications that they needed; and prevent specific types of attacks from penetrating the network with multi-factor authentication tools, by securing all applications with Azure AD (Forrester Consulting; 2022). IT expert, Tudisco (2018) also opines that the enhanced security of Microsoft 365 brings an additional layer of security to businesses without compromising employee productivity.
Simplified IT Management
A much needed upgrade in the IT sector! Composite organizations are able to reduce the required time for endpoint configuration by 75% as well as the time needed to set up a new endpoint by another 75% by leveraging the M365 modern application stack. There is also a 25% reduction in the time used in setting up and managing new software and about 15% of help desk tickets is saved up while saving up another 15% of the average resolution time (Forrester Consulting; 2022). Organizations are spared the expenditure of about $79 per user over the period of three years by the reductions.
Digital Hybrid Work Model Support and Protection
By adopting the Microsoft 365, composite organizations are able to fulfill the various data protection requirements and support a digital workstation by using the Microsoft 365 applications whether in an on-site workstation, a hybrid setting or cloud-based environment. Even more, productivity is a promise fulfilled with this innovative solution as organizations are able to save end users at least 60 hours per year with the combination of the collaboration and data-sharing possibilities enabled by Microsoft 365 Apps such as OneDrive, SharePoint, and Azure AD SSO and the interactive attributes of Microsoft Teams. This affords end users about 72 minutes of time saved each week valued at $2,248 per user over the span of three years (Forrester Consulting; 2022).
Again, with hybrid work becoming the future of business across organizations, Microsoft 365 E3 provides the tools and support that enable remote jobs and meetings thereby reducing the time and costs of business related travel.
Flexibility
The transition to Microsoft 365 continues to influence how IT administrators, business owners and employees perceive and approach change management. Companies can decide to deploy the M365 tools in a full cloud environment, on-site workstation only, or in a hybrid environment. The flexibility to adopt cloud while remaining on-site in some areas is possible with this cost-effective cloud-first collaboration solution. This also means that employees can access and share data from anywhere and at anytime with optimum productivity while capitalizing on the consistent and optimized collaboration experience across PCs, mobile devices, and browsers.
Automatic Updates
When you subscribe to the Microsoft 365, you have access to a plethora of apps, such as the MyAnalytics, Dynamics 365, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Teams, SharePoint and more, that work across multiple devices – all under one license. With Microsoft 365, updates are seamless and automatic with minimal impact to users’ productivity. Everyone has the latest security enhancements, and as new features are rolled out, users have immediate access.
Here’s How We Come In
At Telliswall, our primary focus is to provide innovative solutions that make your IT work space efficient, secure and stress free. This make us your go-to managed services provider for your smooth transition to the Microsoft 365. Our standard managed services comes with M365 Standard per user and you would not need to worry about setting anything up for your tenant. We will be responsible for the management, configuration and integration of any apps that you use for M365. Let’s walk with you through the process of organizing, setting up, transitioning and managing Microsoft Office 356 for your seamless operations and profitability.
References
Forrester Consulting (2022). The Total Economic Impact™ of Microsoft 365 E3: Cost Savings and Business Benefits Enabled by E3. A Forrester Total Economic Impact™ Study Commissioned by Microsoft 365.
Grillo, F. (2014). 4 Ways Microsoft Office 365 Can Change The Way You Work https://www.forbes.com/sites/centurylink/2014/10/07/4-ways-microsoft-office-365-can-change-the-way-you-work/amp/
Modawal, A. (2023). Are You Fully Leveraging the Microsoft 365 Apps to Maximize Your Business Potential? https://www.softwebsolutions.com/resources/microsoft-365-to-its-full-potential.html
Microsoft (2023). Transforming Change Management at Microsoft with Microsoft 365 https://www.microsoft.com/insidetrack/blog/transforming-change-management-at-microsoft-with-microsoft-365/
Stallbaumer, C. (2022). Discover How Microsoft 365 Helps Organizations Do More With Less https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2022/11/07/discover-how-microsoft-365-helps-organizations-do-more-with-less/
Tudisco, L. (2018). How Does Microsoft Office 365 Help Your Business? htttps://blog.corserva.com/benefits-office-365?hs_amp=true