8 Productivity Business Gems in Office 365

Like Aladdin’s Cave of Wonders, Microsoft Office 365 is a treasure-trove of productivity gems.

Delve into its cache of valuable tools and you can benefit from automated workflows, deep data insights, supercharged communication and dynamic collaboration.

All of which can boost your business’ productivity levels in fantastic ways.

We excavate the best gems from this efficiency goldmine to help you unlock Office 365’s full potential.

  1. Microsoft Graph

This tool sits at the top of the productivity pile. It saves you time by compiling Office 365’s most useful components so you can utilise valuable features from one place.

“I love the background workings of Microsoft Graph that brings all aspects of 365 together.” –         Amarjit Singh, support team leader, San-iT

Specifically, user onboarding is effortless with Microsoft Graph.

What could take days can be completed in minutes. Integrating new team members into the system – from granting permissions to documents to assigning roles – can be automated. With access to systems they need, new staff will be able to commence work in no time after relevant training.

You can also integrate Excel workbooks into custom workflows with a click of a button. To illustrate, Microsoft Graph can automate data collection, such as storing survey response data, saving your team from tedious admin.

Gain rich context and in-depth insights using Graph too. You can find out which manager is responsible for a specific employee or view the best meeting times based on your staff’s availability. With this helicopter view of employee details and schedules, gathering information or organising appointments is seamless.

The productivity-boosting features don’t end there. You can also manage employee profiles, set up security alters and much more. Check out Microsoft Graph’s official site for more information.

  1. Microsoft Delve  

Delve surges Microsoft Graph’s productivity capabilities. It helps users find pertinent information across integrated Microsoft products when attached to Graph.

Use Delve to manage your Office 365’s profile and extract information you need to work more efficiently in the moment.

San-iT’s support team leader, Amarjit Singh, explains why Delve is his favourite Office 365 tool for productivity:

“If the office structure and teams are in place, it’s invaluable in finding documents individuals are working on along with when and how often. So you can conveniently oversee work or offer support and feedback.”

For example, if you open Delve and click on an employee’s name you can view which documents they are working on in real-time. It acknowledges each user’s unique permissions so only those who have official access can view such information.

  1. Microsoft OneNote

Think of OneNote as a digital binder containing all the notes you make at work. On top of writing and drawing, you can capture screenshots or record audio for your different projects.

What’s the difference between OneNote and Microsoft Word? OneNote isn’t a word processor. As a freeform app, it saves you precious time since you can access it without having to open another tab. And it syncs across all devices so you can make notes and find content no matter where you are.

OneNote is also a sleek and dynamic collaboration tool. The notes you create can be shared between users and vice versa so teammates can work more efficiently together.

  1. Microsoft OneDrive

Are you familiar with Dropbox? OneDrive is very similar. It’s a cloud storage service that allows users to upload and access files from anywhere.

You can share a file in one click and also view its version history helping you keep tabs on recent changes. This is a must for collaboration: instead of sharing documents via email, employees can access files in a flash.

And here’s some exciting news: Microsoft recently announced its plans to use AI as a transcription tool within OneDrive.

It will be able to pull specific quotes and information from non-text-based media. So, for example, if you need to capture a business name from an audio file, this AI-powered feature can do it for you.

Plans are also in motion to enhance the tool so it can locate specific text in images too. You’ll never have to trawl through files for precious data again.

  1. Microsoft SharePoint

SharePoint is also known for its cloud storage capabilities. Which might leave you wondering, What’s the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint?

Simply put, SharePoint does a lot of things OneDrive doesn’t. Imagine you had a wiki for your site, detailing everything an employee needs to know to work optimally.

This can be achieved through SharePoint: a cloud intranet system that lets you create pages for the business, such as guides or client overviews. These pages can be company branded. You can also use SharePoint as an employee dashboard where staff can view news and notices.

Quick access to easy-to-find information from anywhere will elevate not just your in-house team’s productivity but your remote workers too.

  1. Microsoft Teams

When you want to bring people together interactively no matter where they’re based, Teams is invaluable.

On one level, it’s a dynamic chat room. You can create multiple channels per project so employees know exactly where they need to be virtually enabling seamless discussions.

Dive deeper into this feature and you’ll discover the ability to integrate Office 365’s applications and other third-party apps. That means you can access relevant files and notes without ever leaving chat. In this regard, Teams enables more productivity than an in-person meeting ever could.

  1. Power BI

The power of business data is undisputed. With comprehensive knowledge surrounding your company’s performance, you can spot opportunities for improvements and drive progress.

Power BI puts the might of business data in the palm of your hand. You can access this tool across many devices – including your mobile – and use it to pull data from hundreds of sources in seconds.

That’s because Power BI can connect to your organisation’s tools, from Excel, SharePoint and Google analytics to even IoT devices.

You gain a 360-degree view of the business in the blink of an eye. Data that is transformed into stunning visuals that you can share with key personnel or use in your content. Power BI can also be embedded into your website so web developers can share stats on your company pages.

  1. The Most Important Office 365 Component?

Training. These tools will work wonders on your business’ productivity levels, but only if your staff know how to use them.

As Kevin Thetford, 1st & 2nd line support at San-iT puts it:

“Training is essential. Staff need to be fluent in Office 365 and its numerous tools for a company to successfully capitalise on this worthy investment.”

Ensuring you have the budget and time for Office 365 and relevant training is the key to unlocking such powerful productivity perks.

Still unsure if the Office 365 suite is right for your business? We can help you decide. Call us on 0800 084 2575 for a friendly chat about these productivity solutions.
You can also discover how we helped CQM training leverage Office 365 for enhanced business efficiency in our recent blog.

 

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