Today\u2019s workplace is radically different from the workplace of the last century. The speed of technology advancements largely dictates it and a shift in social norms, forcing business leaders to constantly adapt to a new way of managing, supporting and accommodating talent.<\/p>\n
From digital to mobile, the changes have been monumental, allowing people to connect across continents and devices in ways simply not possible \u2013 or affordable \u2013 a few years ago.<\/strong> Now, employees can work remotely and embrace the modern workplace<\/a> with teammates around the globe. People prefer laptops and mobile devices to desktops. And customers now expect to connect virtually.<\/p>\n Employees also expect better communication tools, which can impact a candidate\u2019s choice of employers. With increasing competition for a limited talent pool, being a technically sound company can make a difference. Finally, with increasing security needs, companies need to feel secure in their workplace collaboration platforms<\/a> and tools so they can manage risk.<\/p>\n To thrive in this ever-changing work environment, we find organizations clamoring to identify tools that help them collaborate better, remain competitive, and work faster to meet the needs of customers and employees, whether they\u2019re on-site, hybrid, or fully remote. That has given rise to the digital workplace.<\/p>\n Despite all these changes and advancements in technology, the fundamentals of \u201cworking together\u201d are no different than they were in the last century or even the last decade. We still must work alongside each other. We still must use information to make decisions. We still benefit from bringing many minds together to solve problems.<\/p>\n Those fundamentals have contributed to Microsoft\u2019s rise as a leader in office productivity for organizations.<\/strong> Early on, the software giant saw a need to build and sell software tools that help employees work together.<\/p>\n To address changing workplace elements, Microsoft\u2019s most significant push and investment in recent years has been into remote tools with Microsoft 365<\/a>, a digital workplace that offers users a portable and integrated experience. With it, employees can access their company\u2019s information hub at any time, from anywhere, to collaborate with clients and colleagues in ways unheard of only 15 years ago.<\/p>\n Once upon a time, Office was simply Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. But that hasn\u2019t been the case for quite some time. Over the years, Microsoft has continued to expand that core productivity suite \u2013 which has been around since the 90s \u2013 penetrating the market with new tools that have become essential to modern business.<\/p>\n As mindsets shifted, making the cloud the platform of choice, Microsoft further adapted its toolset to meet the demands of its business users, officially launching Office 365 in June 2011.<\/p>\n Since the first release of its Office 365 toolset, Microsoft zeroed in on a growing need for a digital workplace that provided secure, cloud productivity<\/a> services for users to collaborate in real-time and access information online from any place, on any device.<\/p>\n As businesses demanded more, Microsoft delivered, which led to the rapid progress of Office 365. In the 2013 version, Microsoft moved its product to a subscription model, allowing companies to purchase capabilities as needed. Over the next two years, Microsoft continued to innovate, adding more tools and features for the enterprise to capture market share.<\/p>\n Today, Microsoft 365 (Business)<\/a> \u2013 as it\u2019s renamed its suite \u2013 consists of a robust suite of tools ranging from its initial products to new file storage hubs and communication tools like SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive. Microsoft Teams<\/a>, for example, creates space for continued collaboration in the workplace by not only giving employees a place to message each other or take virtual meetings but also by connecting with Microsoft\u2019s other tools, so sharing projects is a seamless experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n With today\u2019s additional tools like Microsoft Loop and Microsoft Viva, the platform is doing its part to make communication, feedback, analytics, goals, learning, and organization as simple to do as possible. But none promise to transform collaboration and workplace productivity as much as Microsoft\u2019s latest expansion into artificial intelligence with Microsoft Copilot.<\/p>\n As Microsoft works its way into the future, it\u2019s drawing attention to enhancing secure productivity by providing organizations with the ability to become an AI-powered business with\u00a0 Microsoft Copilot, enabling improved collaboration between team members and expanding efficiency and productivity.<\/p>\n Microsoft Copilot<\/a> combines the power of large language models (LLMs) with data in Microsoft Graph and Microsoft 365 apps, which enables it to provide personalized and contextually relevant content tailored to each user\u2019s preferences.<\/strong> When it comes to workplace collaboration in an AI-powered business, the platform\u2019s seamless integration into Microsoft 365 solutions such as Microsoft Teams can significantly enhance productivity and creativity by having Copilot in Microsoft Teams act as an AI meeting assistant, taking meeting notes, summarizing what\u2019s been said, and even performing sentiment analysis around a topic.<\/p>\n Copilot doesn\u2019t only give insights into meetings, however. It can also automate certain communication tasks, like sending reminders or scheduling meetings. It can help facilitate brainstorming sessions and organize information so that priorities are at the top of the list. Beyond collaboration, Copilot can help you find information and provide insights into data within an Excel spreadsheet, create a PowerPoint presentation based on a specific topic in only minutes, or help with writing when you get a case of writer\u2019s block in Microsoft Word. The possibilities are seemingly endless.<\/p>\n Understanding the building blocks necessary to enable Copilot to work in your organization can help you unleash the full potential of the tool\u2019s intelligent assistants across your workforce in a secure and compliant manner. As you prepare for Copilot<\/a>, it\u2019s important to understand your technical readiness as it relates to licensing, data searchability in your Microsoft 365, and data security initiatives in your organization.<\/p>\n For the first time, companies have a better, more familiar, and more streamlined foundation for secure collaboration in the workplace \u2013 and Microsoft continues to build out product capabilities to support growing digital workplace needs that not only help increase productivity and efficiencies in the workforce but also ensures secure collaboration that is supported by an entire product line of robust security and compliance capabilities.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s easy to obtain one of the various collaboration tools available in the market, such as Zoom, Slack, or Dropbox, it is important to consider the lack of integration they provide in creating a cohesive workplace. As Microsoft 365 continues to develop its platform of integrated capabilities, it\u2019s important for your organization to stay up to date on releases and have a communication strategy in place for when it becomes available to your employees so there is a common understanding of the new capabilities and how they work together.<\/p>\n From secure communication and collaboration to file storage, content creation, workflow automation, and AI-powered solutions, Microsoft 365 provides a holistic approach to collaborating in a modern workplace where employees can execute their tasks in a fully integrated environment.<\/strong> Not only does that free up time and increase productivity, but it also boosts employee job satisfaction.<\/p>\nA Culture of Workplace Collaboration<\/h2>\n
Microsoft Office Then and Now<\/h2>\n
Introducing Microsoft Copilot<\/h2>\n
Adopting the Future<\/h2>\n