8 Tools Empowering the Modern Workplace

Modern 'information workers' use a broad variety of tools to stay productive. And that always turns out best if the individual building blocks are perfectly coordinated and there are no issues with interfaces or redundancies. Microsoft offers reliable, mutually compatible technologies with which mobile collaboration does not remain wishful thinking, wherever and whenever the individual contributors happen to be at work. This article gives you an overview of the tools that can make your daily routines more efficient and facilitate introduction of the mobile workplace.

Office 365 is a cloud-based subscription service that brings together the best solutions for the modern world of work – allowing everyone to collaborate as a creative team – at virtually any location and with almost any device.

• Familiar Office applications, nicely complemented by tools for smoother collaboration
  
• Data security and compliance: Data protection and improved integrated controls
  
• Team chats, online meetings, collaborative document editing and secure document sharing
  
• Interactive reports, simple dashboards and convincing data visualizations
  
• Step-by-step instructions for quick on-boarding of new colleagues

The familiar Office applications are available anytime and anywhere in Office 365. We are faced with daily challenges. What do we do if a tradesman wants to drop by or our child suddenly falls ill? Do we have to take a day off work or find a stand-in? Office 365 lets us work productively from home as well.

SharePoint is an intelligent, mobile intranet solution used for seamless sharing of content. Create productive and dynamic websites that keep you and your colleagues informed and on the ball.

• Easier collaboration in project groups and departments
  
• Collaboration across any platform and device
  
• Smart search function: Information is always just one click away
  
• Simple sharing and neat management of documents
  
• Configuration of project workflows

We also have our own intranet to provide the staff with important internal information, introduce new colleagues or even to organize the occasional company sweepstake, for instance during the Christmas period.

Microsoft Teams is the chat environment in Office 365. The solution connects all users, contents and tools to boost productivity within the team.

• Stay connected with your team by chat, phone or conference
  
• Schedule your online Skype meetings (join by HD video, VoIP and audio dial-in)
  
• Share your files, applications or desktop for online meetings
  
• Professional telephony functions like VoIP, call forwarding, automatic switchboard and emergency calls
  
• Scheduling overview: Meetings are added directly to your Outlook calendar

A platform that everyone can access is required as soon as a new project is on the cards. It needs to be a place where people can place files and work together on project documents and where changes can be tracked in real time. Microsoft Teams puts all these things at your fingertips.

PowerPoint is Microsoft’s best-known slideshow program. Create attractive presentations to inform and entertain your audience.

• Use the PowerPoint Designer to build presentations like a real expert
  
• Use the zoom function on the summary slide to zero in on any section or individual slide
  
• Speaker view: Keep the speaker’s notes in your field of vision on a second screen
  
• Collaborate with colleagues on the same presentation
  

Is there another webinar, workshop or update meetings scheduled for the current project? We prepare our presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint and use the many different functions to explain the issues as vividly as possible.

Yammer is a social network for organizations with an open communication policy. Connect with people to make better decisions faster than before.

• Use other people’s progress and experience to energize your own productivity
  
• Join groups that are relevant to your work and interests – or set up your own
  
• Get answers to questions, even if you are uncertain whom to address
  
• Communicate securely with contractors, customers or affiliates
  
• Keep your documents, photos and videos in the right context by adding them to threads

Employees at SoftwareONE use the social network daily, producing lively communication across the various locations. It’s a quick way of disseminating information and news and encouraging the staff to support and help each other. The large number of groups that have sprung up within Yammer keeps us in close communication about issues like Microsoft licensing or tips and tricks on social media. Users can define whether things should be public or private when they set up their group.

Skype for Business is a forum for professional online meetings in companies. Anyone can take part in the online discussions with just one click.

• Unlimited number of meetings: Free online meetings for up to 10 participants without subscription (up to 3 people after 60 days)
  
• Any device: Set up your device and take part via PC / Mac, iPhone, iPad or Android devices
  
• Screen sharing: Share your screen and files or hand over control to someone else
  
• Integrated chat: Introduce fresh ideas by sending chat messages during a business meeting
  
• Whiteboard: Design, draw and edit content in a collaborative setting, as if you were all in the same room

Skype for Business makes your daily routines that bit easier. Just send a quick message if you have urgent questions or get together for a meeting, wherever you all happen to be. The screen sharing function is a clear way to stay on the same page, no matter how far apart you might be, for instance to discuss the layout of a brochure or to make changes to a presentation.

Microsoft OneNote is the electronic notebook to jot down and collect notes, putting an end to the interminable “paper trail”.

• Write your notes using a stylus, and not just via the keyboard
  
• Add multimedia content like emails, websites or videos
  
• Group notes according to thematic areas and insert links between them
  
• Integrated text and voice recognition lets you search for content, also in screenshots
  
• Joint editing and sharing of notes for maximum collaboration

We use OneNote as a digital notebook for many different topics: Vacation stand-ins, minutes, to do lists or guides are the most frequent scenarios in which our colleagues use OneNote.

Microsoft OneDrive lets you save files like videos or PowerPoint presentations so that others can access them as well.

• Multiplatform editing: Changes are synchronized on all devices, no matter whether it’s a smartphone or tablet
  
• Offline access: You still have access to your important data, even if you happen to be offline
  
• Security: OneDrive is SSL-encrypted
  
• Create a link to a file, send it by email and put an end to the cumbersome attachments
  
• Photograph notes with your smartphone and save them to OneDrive

Our employees do not transmit larger files by email. Instead they upload them to OneDrive and then send a link to the relevant people. What’s more, OneDrive is secure and nips any form of shadow IT in the bud.

It goes without saying that tools are not enough to create the modern workplace. That will require a new mindset and paradigm shift in companies. But introducing the right tools can pave the way for this process.