Is your business maximising its Microsoft 365 subscription? We’re going to look at six tools that often go unnoticed in the 365 ecosystem. They’re not the headline acts that PowerPoint, Excel and Teams are, but these tools could help you sharpen your security posture, save hours of time every week or replace third-party software your team has been using. The best news is, they’re already included in your plan – no big rollout or development required.
1. Microsoft Planner
Planner is a powerful project management solution that helps boost personal task tracking as well as team collaboration. If your team is getting lost in chains of reply-all emails or collaborating around a shared spreadsheet, this one is worth checking out.
With Planner, visual task boards allow work to be assigned to individuals and tracked through to completion. Work can be coordinated across departments and locations, recurring tasks don’t fall through the cracks and managers can get a quick bird’s-eye view of how things are progressing.
It integrates nicely with Teams and if you’re on the Copilot train you can use AI to set goals and summarise tasks. It also has ready-made templates to get you off to a flying start. Accomplish more, get Planner.
2. Power Automate
Given its massive time-saving capabilities, Power Automate is a criminally underused tool. Here’s how it works: You find yourself doing the same sequence of tasks on a recurring basis. The whole procedure is eating up time and has become pretty uninspiring. Power Automate will build a workflow and take it off your hands without a single line of code being written.
It automates and optimises business processes in the apps you’re already using, like Word, Outlook and Excel. Its AI Builder and integration with Copilot help you build data-driven workflows with a few clicks.
Data can be extracted from invoices and added into accounting systems. Email attachments can be automatically saved into a SharePoint folder. No more inventory management – it can analyse demand patterns to trigger restocking orders.
The time savings from Power Automate quickly add up. Its fast and intuitive setup will eliminate many hours of manual work down the track.
3. SharePoint
SharePoint works beautifully as a central file storage system, and that’s what a lot of businesses only use it for.
That’s a shame though, because there is so much more to SharePoint. When configured properly, it becomes a full internal intranet: a central hub for company news, policies, department resources and onboarding materials.
Different departments can get their own customised team site, document version control keeps everyone on the same page, and permissions can be set so that team members only have access to what’s relevant to them.
As your business grows, a well-organised SharePoint becomes invaluable. This is a tool that’s already available to you that will have a high impact on productivity.
4. Microsoft Defender for Business
A slight disclaimer here, because Microsoft Defender for Business is only available if you’re on the Business Premium tier or higher. If you’ve been thinking of upgrading, we’ve put together reasons why this is a good idea here.
Defender is definitely one of those reasons. It provides endpoint threat protection across all your company devices, harnessing the power of AI to detect and respond to threats. Administrators get a centralised view of their organisational security status, as malware, ransomware and phishing attempts are kept at bay.
Many businesses think that switching Defender on is all you need to do. To be most effective, it needs to be configured correctly, which is where your managed IT service provider steps in. They’ll set it up so that you enjoy the highest level of protection from the ever-increasing number of cyber threats that target businesses of all sizes.
If cybersecurity is a priority at your organisation, and it should be, Defender is a tool you want on your side.
5. Microsoft Bookings
Bookings is a simple tool that can save hours during the week, particularly if your team goes back and forth a lot over meeting availability.
It lets you publish a scheduling page where clients or colleagues can book time with you directly, based on your Outlook calendar availability.
You set parameters such as your available hours, appointment types, and buffers between meetings; people pick a time that works, and a booking is made on both your calendars. The time you save on each booking adds up fast across a big team.
This works great for organising client consultations, HR interviews, internal one-on-ones and recurring catch-ups.
6. Copilot Chat
Copilot Chat is Microsoft’s AI chat tool that’s included with your Microsoft 365 subscription. It works within your Microsoft tenancy boundary, so any information inputted can’t be accessed by a third party.
This is a critical distinction from free AI tools your staff could be using like ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Sensitive data such as client information or financial details inputted into public AI isn’t secure and could be used to train the underlying LLM
- In day-to-day use, Copilot Chat handles:
- Drafting and editing emails, documents, and reports
- Summarising long threads or documents
- Researching topics and pulling together briefings
- Answering questions and working through problems
It’s a far more secure option for your business than consumer AI tools. There is also the option to upgrade to Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing, which provides more comprehensive AI functionality across the suite of apps, including Word, Outlook, Teams, and Excel.
Get More From Your Microsoft 365 Licence
When it comes to Microsoft 365, exploring what you already have is almost always more productive than spending time and money on something new. Most businesses are sitting on tools they’ve never opened.
Is your business across all the tools available in your Microsoft 365 tenancy? Are you making the most of the license you’re paying for?
The Smile IT team works with businesses every day to optimise their Microsoft 365 environment and guide them to the correct usage of available tools. Whether it’s through configuration, seeing where AI can help or just working out what tool is worth switching on, we want you to get the full value out of your Microsoft tenancy. Get in touch and let’s start the conversation.
When he’s not writing tech articles or turning IT startups into established and consistent managed service providers, Peter Drummond can be found kitesurfing on Moreton Bay or hanging out with his family!