These new Microsoft 365 features help significantly in the new normal – Hybrid Work

  • Microsoft Teams Enhancements, Power Automate for Workflow Automation

Hybrid work is quickly becoming the norm, and Microsoft has responded to this shift by improving Microsoft 365 to address the challenges that come with the hybrid work setup. Specifically, Microsoft has added tools and features that allow hybrid workers to be more efficient and collaborative. If you’re implementing hybrid work, here are some Microsoft 365 updates you should be excited about.

 

Microsoft Digital Contact Centre Platform

An MSP is a company that offers comprehensive IT support and management for businesses. They can typically provide everything from 24/7 help desk support to network monitoring to data backup and disaster recovery services. They also offer other IT services, such as cybersecurity and cloud computing.

Unlike traditional IT services providers, MSPs proactively manage their clients’ IT systems for a flat monthly rate.

 

Excel Live

Last year, Microsoft introduced PowerPoint Live, a feature that allowed participants in a Microsoft Meeting to actively interact with presentations in real time. This year, Microsoft applies the same idea to the Excel app, giving us Excel Live.
 

To access Excel Live, simply select the Share tray in Teams, scroll down to Excel Live, and select the Excel workbook you’d like to share with the meeting participants. Whether you’re working on a sales report or analyzing financial data, your team can process data in real-time and jump right in to edit a workbook without switching between apps and leaving the meeting screen.

 

Microsoft Viva

Microsoft Viva is an employee experience platform that fosters connection, growth, purpose, and insight.
 

Viva in Microsoft 365 offers two key services, Viva Connections and Viva Engage.

 

Viva Connections

Viva Connections provides employees with timely news, relevant conversations, and other resources all in one place. Not only does it offer a personalized and branded employee experience, but it also appears in the apps that employees use every day, like Microsoft Teams. 

By connecting everyone in the company, Viva Connections unites employees around the organization’s vision and mission and top priorities. Viva Connections can also be deployed with minimal effort, as it builds on Microsoft 365’s existing capabilities, like Yammer and SharePoint.

 

Viva Engage

Viva Engage bonds people throughout the company regardless of location or time. By using the Viva Engage app in Teams, organizations can strengthen community ties, leadership engagement, and knowledge sharing while employees build their own professional networks.
 

Viva Engage can also serve as the platform where employees connect with mentors and colleagues, brainstorm or crowdsource ideas, highlight their experience, and find belonging in various communities at work.

 

Teams Connect Shared Channels

With this feature, you can work together with people both in and out of your organization in one central space. It pushes the boundaries of what’s possible when it comes to collaboration, as it enables everyone to communicate, meet, share files and ideas, and create apps together regardless of location and which company they work for.
 

To start collaborating with users from an external Microsoft 365 organization, you’ll need to set up B2B direct connect. Note that you need to configure this setting for every company you wish to communicate with. Another way to connect with all external organizations is to enable shared channels with them.

 

These are just a few features in Microsoft 365 that cater to hybrid workers. To learn more about how our Microsoft 365 and Cloud services can benefit your business, get in touch with us today.