Every great product is an answer to a question or problem. Whether the question is “What are some good restaurants around me?” or “Is there a way to connect with other professionals via Social Media?”, each question is met with a prompt and at least half-decent answer. This is the backbone that many, if not all businesses and products are founded on. Microsoft’s Modern Workplace suite is the answer to a plethora of questions. “How can employees stay productive while working remote?”, “How can my team access files and documents that they need easily?”, and many more, all answered through Microsoft’s Modern Workplace Technology.
Modern Workplace
Microsoft’s statement on Modern workplace states: “With Microsoft Modern Workplace solutions, your customers can improve employee productivity and satisfaction, and create more seamless communication and collaboration across locations and platforms while maintaining the security and integrity of systems and data”(Source).
Modern Workplace empowers employees to securely work from anywhere, on any device, and gives them the tools to collaborate and share with teams of people, or other employees as if they were in the office. Whether users need to share files, chat or present to other team members, or create groups for departments to share information, all can be done within one aspect of Modern Workplace: Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Teams
Teams is an extremely beneficial tool for companies that are trying to grow or scale, offer the ability to work from home/anywhere, or those that simply want to chat other employees without having to walk across the office or send an email. Teams also offers a wide range of customization. Admins and users can create their own Apps with little code using the Power Apps platform or add publicly available apps from a library of hundreds. Sharing files and presenting is also made very simple in Teams allowing users to share to an individual, group, or team simply by dragging and dropping files into chats or meetings. Many Microsoft powered apps are can also be opened within Teams, so whether you are collaborating on a PowerPoint presentation with a colleague, or managing expenses on an Excel sheet, all can be done within the Teams app. Many people think that Teams is just a collaboration platform, but it is so much more. Document sharing, online meetings, screen sharing, full telephony, live captioning, presenting, and more can be done through Teams. It is available through its standalone app, of as part of a Microsoft 365 bundle.
Microsoft SharePoint
SharePoint allows employees and teams to share and manage content, knowledge, and applications to seamlessly collaborate across a team or an organization and is integrated into Teams. For example, each channel in Teams has a corresponding folder in SharePoint Online for the files that you work with. “SharePoint is now an enterprise-ready, cloud-capable platform providing many different types of capabilities and services. SharePoint products and technologies are a major part of the Office suite. In fact, SharePoint is the backbone of the Office System because it connects users to the Office Suite. SharePoint empowers teamwork by providing a self-service environment where teams can communicate and work together”(Source).
Security and Endpoint Management
With the ability to share so much online, the topic of security and endpoint management comes to mind. Part of the Modern Workplace is unified endpoint management as the endpoints are much more spread out, and versatile. With employees now bringing and using their own devices, being spread out across the world, and the ability to work while traveling, managing company endpoints has never been more important. Easy deployment and management can speed up the onboarding process for new employees, keep software up to date, and prepare companies for the future of work.
There are so many security features that come standard with Microsoft that I will not be able to go over all of them, but I will list a few.
- Information protection ensures that only those who are authorized can view/download certain documents
- Threat protection helps defend against cyberattacks and allows companies to respond and adapt quickly
- Identity and Access Management enables companies to protect employees’ identities and control access
- Security Management gives IT departments visibility and control over their security tools and to modernize with new solutions as they are developed
Security when utilizing Modern Workplace software, apps, and techniques is critical, and Microsoft has every touchpoint and endpoint covered.
Modern Workplace and You
Any business can utilize the Modern Workplace mindset. Whether your business is growing quickly, wants to make working remote a permanent option, or wants to increase collaboration and sharing, your business will benefit in terms of productivity and ease of access to business information. Learn more about how Modern Workplace can impact and benefit your business by speaking to one of our professionals by filling out the form located here. I learned a lot writing this blog, and I hope you enjoyed reading!