For many businesses, last spring ushered in quick adoption of business technology – paving the way for a remote or hybrid workforce. This shift in the way our businesses operate forced many of us to take a second look at how we define our workforce, the IT support we rely on and the tools we use to manage projects, improve our team’s communication, and track productivity.
As technologies continue to evolve, it is becoming clearer that agility and security are critical for every business – allowing your team to work securely from anywhere and on any device is likely here for the long haul. To stay competitive in this new business and economic environment, let’s look at some tools to help you remain productive, connected and secure as you and your teams adapt to new ways of working.
Rethink Virtual Productivity with Microsoft 365
If you are like me, you probably have a never-ending to-do list. One way I have managed to get that list under control is by using some of the tools included in Microsoft 365. It is a cloud-based service that has sophisticated tools to empower you and your team to work more efficiently than ever. The tools allow you to take advantage of more responsive communication capabilities, document management, file sharing, and much more – all with a focus on security.
- Microsoft OneDrive – Cloud storage to securely store and share your files with your team.
- Outlook – Email and calendar functions to keep your team up to speed on availability and easily create meeting requests.
- Microsoft Planner – With Planner you and your team can create plans, assign tasks, chat about tasks, and see charts of your team's progress wherever they are.
- Microsoft Apps – Real-time co-authoring with OneNote, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint helps keep your team’s projects moving faster with instant collaboration.
Microsoft 365 helps to address the new expectation that our workforces can and should be productive from anywhere.
Increase Communication and Collaboration with Microsoft Teams
We used to think collaboration was made up of face-to-face meetings, conversations via telephone, or email correspondence and multiple file attachments after every editing session. Over the last few years, Microsoft Teams has released many new features that allow workforces to seamlessly use multiple communication methods such as video conference calls, instant messaging, real-time document collaboration, and file sharing, individually or all together as needed—all within a single window.
- Together Mode – Video conference calls have become part of our every day but didn’t quite have the appeal of sitting in the same room with your team. Together mode changes that and enables more human social connection to happen and makes virtual meetings more engaging.
- Dynamic View – While Together mode is great for internal teams, it is not intended for every meeting -especially if you are sharing a presentation or document. Dynamic View uses AI to give you more control over how participants see shared content and each other in the meeting.
- Breakout Rooms – It can be hard to have a meaningful exchange of ideas in a large group setting. Breakout rooms can help split your meeting into sub-meetings making it easier for your teams to communicate and collaborate.
- File-Sharing – Working together, even when you’re apart doesn’t have to mean constantly asking where the latest version of your documents ended up. With secure cloud file sharing in Teams, you can store, share, and edit files within Teams using built-in access to SharePoint, OneDrive and OneNote.
Since Teams is integrated with Microsoft 365, it brings all your productivity tools to one place. Using a platform like Microsoft Teams allows for a combination of communication methods, and provides the best tools and solutions that enable your employees to collaborate whenever and wherever they are.
Focus on IT Security
With investments of more than one billion dollars each year, Microsoft has made IT security a focus across all its products. There is a vested interest in making its product suite foolproof against all futuristic cyber threats and cyber-attacks.
A great option for small- to mid-sized businesses, Microsoft 365 Business Premium provides threat protection, data protection, identity management and device management features to help you protect your company from online threats and unauthorized access, as well as protect and manage company data on your phones, tablets, and computers.
Almost all online services - banks, social media, shopping and yes, Microsoft 365 too - have added a way for your accounts to be more secure. You may hear it called "Two-Step Verification" or "Multifactor Authentication" (MFA) but the good ones all operate off the same principle. When you sign into the account for the first time on a new device or application (like a web browser), you need more than just the username and password. You need a second thing - what we call a second "factor" - to prove who you are. If you or your company use Microsoft 365, you must protect your accounts. From confirming which sites and applications are compatible to configuration and testing with your team, an IT managed services provider like Silverado can help you properly roll out MFA to your users.
As a Microsoft Partner, Silverado Technologies can quickly assess your business goals and identify the Microsoft solution that matches your needs. Check out a few other reasons to work with a managed it services partner like us!
4 Reasons to Work with A Microsoft Partner like Silverado Technologies
1. Professional and Certified Experts
Microsoft Partners are Microsoft-recognized, certified and accredited IT experts who deliver innovative, proven solutions built on Microsoft technologies to support your business, realize your full business potentials – giving you the competitive advantage.
2. Strategic Partner that Delivers
It is important to grow your business and align your infrastructure with long-term goals. You should upgrade based on your business requirements and not because an IT reseller has imposed a new technology on you. Microsoft Partners see their role as your strategic partner and trusted adviser. This trust is built through the development of a long-term relationship rather than a short-term desire to earn an easy profit. As your partner, we will help you to understand the contribution IT can make to solving the issues in your business, make the right choices and stay on track. Microsoft Partners provide real value and aim to maintain a high quality of service that supports client business ambitions - and, often, at a lower cost than using an in-house resource.
3. Value for Money
Working with a Microsoft Partner enables you to drive a better return on existing and new IT investments. Microsoft Partners are trained to expertly examine your business needs and recommend solutions that deliver tangible benefits, whatever the size of your organization. Microsoft Partners support clients long-term and will focus on advising you of what you need to know, what you may need to buy and what will meet your current and future expectations. Microsoft Partners will inform you of opportunities for new licensing models or managing applications via a mixture of on-premise, hosted, or through cloud solutions deployment that could help you save money.
4. Quality Matters
As with most things in business, cheap IT support consistently costs money and headaches. Worse, you may end up paying to do it again properly. Microsoft Partners make it their business to know your processes, reduce your corporate risk and make your business more agile.
Want to know more about how a Microsoft Partner like Silverado Technologies can help your Tucson business? Reach out to one of our experts today.
