COMMENTARY: Microsoft 365 delivers tremendous productivity, collaboration, and IT benefits for organizations across all sorts of sectors. Adoption continues to grow: In 2024, Microsoft announced that Microsoft 365 had amassed 400 million licensed users worldwide.The technology is making an impact for businesses of all sizes, across all industries. Though these organizations are seeing significant gains, many of them could be getting much more out of their Microsoft 365 deployments.Here are three ways businesses can maximize their Microsoft 365 investments.
ChannelE2E Perspectives columns are written by trusted members of the managed services, value-added reseller, and solution provider channels or ChannelE2E staff. Do you have a unique perspective you want to share? Check out our guidelines here and send a pitch to [email protected].
Realize the Full Breadth of Microsoft 365’s Services
Organizations should take a hard look at apps and services they’re not using but could benefit massively from. Many companies have a tendency to just employ Microsoft 365’s flagship offerings – Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, etc. These are fantastic services, but there are a number of other overlooked products that can seriously help your business too.A couple of big ones are Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Defender, two endpoint security services that protect devices, identities, data, and applications across hybrid environments. At a high level, Intune and Defender provide a simple way to mitigate cyberthreats without having to rely on a bevy of various point solutions.Microsoft 365 features dozens of apps and services. Oftentimes, products like Intune and Defender are included in an enterprise’s current subscription plan and can be deployed at no additional cost. Leveraging valuable functionalities you hadn’t considered is a no-brainer to get more out of Microsoft 365.Don’t Forget About AI Copilot
Second, organizations should take full advantage of Microsoft’s AI Copilot. The technology has been highly integrated into virtually all Microsoft 365 products. For end users, this streamlined experience makes AI Copilot hugely valuable. Imagine an employee is building a PowerPoint presentation. Using the Copilot integration, they don’t have to go to ChatGPT, grab some info, and plug it into the deck. The tool is right there in the app at their disposal whenever they need it. This accelerated workflow means that employees are much more likely to actually use AI on a regular basis to enhance productivity, uncover new insights, and automate manual tasks.Find an Expert Partner to Optimize Everything
The most important way for companies to maximize their Microsoft 365 investments is by enlisting the aid of an MSP partner with a strong track record. Partners are critical for several reasons, especially for organizations that might lack the resources of larger enterprises.Above all, partners serve as trusted advocates and advisers for organizations. They ensure you’re driving the most value out of your Microsoft 365 deployments and doing so at the best price point possible. MSPs help with everything discussed above and more, leveraging years of expertise to guide organizations to make the right licensing, SKU, and product decisions. They know which use cases will be the easiest to roll out and which will drive the best ROI for your business.There are also significant cost advantages. Many organizations falsely assume they’ll always get the best deal by going straight to the vendor. But with Microsoft 365, there’s a lot of complexity around sizing and bolt-ons – partners understand that nuance and will cut out any waste to shrink bills.Microsoft itself acknowledges the importance of partners for optimizing Microsoft 365 deployments. The company has several incentive programs that offer funding to support partners and their customers. For example, the Microsoft End Customer Investment Funds is a program that provides funding for customer projects through select Microsoft partners.Take Microsoft 365 Further
Microsoft 365 has demonstrated its value over the years for countless organizations, and it’s taken a massive leap forward recently with AI Copilot and other emerging features. Still, Microsoft 365 isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it easy button that many organizations envision. To get the most out of their deployments, companies should carefully evaluate how they’re using the tech and find a good partner to lead them along the way.ChannelE2E Perspectives columns are written by trusted members of the managed services, value-added reseller, and solution provider channels or ChannelE2E staff. Do you have a unique perspective you want to share? Check out our guidelines here and send a pitch to [email protected].
