Most people now use Microsoft 365 (previously called Office 365) and yet have very little idea of the capability they have at their fingertips for no extra charge. Alongside the core apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive and OneNote, there are a whole host of other features just crying out to be investigated! There are actually even more apps than those we’re going to take a look at in the following article. So without further ado, let’s explore what Microsoft 365 has to offer.

Productivity

Microsoft To Do

Microsoft To Do helps you keep track of your daily tasks. Divide them into manageable steps, assign due dates, and set reminders to keep you on track even when your mind wanders. You can also access and share your lists with colleagues from anywhere. To Do is fully integrated with your Outlook tasks, allowing you to manage everything you’ve got to do from one place.

Lists

When used in conjunction with Teams, Lists really comes into its own. Working together in real time with lists, chat, and video calling running alongside each other is a fantastic way to feel like you’re collaborating in the same space, especially at a time when many people need to work from home. You can also change the way your list is configured with Lists, choosing from calendar, grid, gallery, or completely custom options. This could be used in a variety of ways – the sky’s the limit!

Microsoft Editor

Microsoft Editor is a tool that can help you write documents, emails, and even on your favourite websites with the help of a browser extension. It has features to help you improve your grammar, spelling, and style – an intelligent writing assistant that will assist you in producing high-quality work quickly.

Project

Microsoft Project is a powerful, easy-to-use app that can turn even the most hesitant project leader into an organisational force. It can handle all projects, whatever their size, and can be used to plan projects quickly and easily while keeping the team informed and on track. It also works well with groups, allowing you to collaborate even if you’re not currently in the same office.

Data collection

Microsoft Forms

With Microsoft Forms, you can easily collect better data in a more straightforward manner. You can use it to get feedback on simple things like “What film should we watch at the office film night?” (restrictions allowing) or “Do you prefer phone calls or video calls?” You can also use more in-depth question options to gather and display more complex information. You can even make a poll directly within Outlook, and the recipients can either respond in-email or via a link – easy!

My Analytics

My Analytics is an app that can be used to gain insight into how employees spend their time during the workday by tracking email and calendar meeting statistics in their Microsoft 365 mailbox, as well as call data from Teams or Skype for Business. The statistics and insights generated from this data are just for the user’s eyes, but their insight report is a great place for them to see and evaluate how they spend their days, and ways they can be more productive.

Communication

Exchange

A smart inbox that prioritises important messages, organises activities, and integrates with other Microsoft 365 applications, making it a strong platform for all of your email correspondence.

Microsoft Viva

Viva is an Employee Experience Platform (EXP) that Microsoft announced on February 4th, 2021. Viva Relations, Viva Perspectives, Viva Learning, and Viva Topics are its four parts. Viva Topics is particularly exciting since it was developed by Microsoft to resolve the issue of time wasted due to people spending time searching for, or playing with, knowledge from organisations. Topics is described by Microsoft as “a Wikipedia with AI superpowers.” With home working appearing to be here to stay, even post-pandemic, this could be a very useful and powerful tool for part of any flexible working business strategy.

Files and content

SharePoint

SharePoint is a great platform for cross-organizational collaboration. Users may exchange files, documents, news, and resources on team sites created for projects or departments. It’s also simple for the IT provider to add encryption at any step, ensuring that users who don’t need access to documents uploaded by the accounts department don’t have it. This cuts down on the number of individuals who have access to confidential data they don’t need. There’s also a smartphone app so you can access records and information no matter where you are on the job.

Microsoft Stream

Securely distribute company video content around your business. Stream is excellent for both visual training, and for uploading the recordings of team meetings. It can also be used to offer live and on-demand events to groups of up to 10,000 people.

Security

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Defender for Office 365 is an all-rounder when it comes to threat protection, with features that aid companies and organisations at any point of an attack. Prevention uses multiple features to build a good defence against cyber-attacks. Defender can monitor threats across Office 365 thanks to Detection, which uses AI to search for malicious material. It can also help identify attacks that are intended to be sneaky and evade protections. Response includes automation tools to help the defence team cope with an attack more effectively and Understanding includes rich scenarios that can be used for effective training.

As you can see, there’s a lot more to Microsoft 365 than meets the eye. Whether you’ve already got a license, or you’re interested in moving to the platform. Just give Crosstek IT a call on 01732 617788 or forward your query to [email protected]

We’re here to make sure you don’t experience easily preventable security breaches and end up in the above numbers next year!