When it comes to organizational communication, collaboration, and connection, there’s no platform better than Microsoft 365 – but you may not even realize what’s available right at your fingertips!
That’s why the Modern Work Team at Valorem Reply hosted its annual Fall in Love with Modern Work event on Thursday, May 4, showing organizations just how they can do more with their Microsoft licenses. If you missed the event or want to rewatch some of the key presentations, we’ve included a summary below with some quick videos (plus you can watch the whole event here). Read along and watch, and if you’re ready to find out how to do more with less, reach out to us at vmw.us@reply.com.
What is “Do More with Less?”
You may be wondering how you can do more with less, and you’re not alone! According to Okta’s Business at Work 2023 report, large employers had an average of 187 applications deployed to their workforce in 2022, which was an increase from just 58 applications in 2015. Even worse – about 30% of those applications were redundant.
It’s not just about redundancy, either. A large amount of disparate tools can lead to security issues, increased budgets, and stifled collaboration due to “tool paralysis,” or a lack of understanding which tool to use when.
As a Microsoft consultancy, we know firsthand the impact such issues can have on an organization and how much they can be resolved by letting Microsoft 365 do the heavy lifting.
Collaborative Apps
Digital transformation for modern workplaces is still on the rise, and many organizations are looking for the right tools to extend the power of Microsoft 365. That’s where Collaborative Apps come in.
Designed to reduce context-switching and streamline business processes, Collaborative Apps are applications that can be embedded within Microsoft Teams and bring in essential workflows from other apps right to your employees’ fingertips. Whether you’re using the Power Platform to build low- or no-code solutions or creating a custom solution, Collaborative Apps can solve many of the hybrid work challenges your organization faces.
The Modern Work Team at Valorem Reply has extensive experience building these solutions for organizations across the globe. In the clip below, Bill Feldker, Collaborative Apps Manager, walks us through a demo of one of these apps called Converge, which enables in-person collaboration.
Bill Feldker, Collaborative Apps Manager for Valorem Reply, demonstrates how the custom Converge app works within Microsoft Teams
The Viva Employee Experience
In a hybrid world, how organizations approach employee experience is more important than ever. That’s why Microsoft developed the Viva suite, which brings tools for connection, communication, insight, and growth straight to the employee experience in Teams. But how does Viva brings employees together and improve their experience and engagement? Annie Lee, Senior Adoption & Change Management Consultant, talks us through how Viva can work for you.
Annie Lee, Senior Adoption & Change Management Consultant, discusses the importance of an employee engagement and what is included in the Microsoft Viva Employee Experience Platform.
Guest Speaker: Chewy Chong on Supporting Transformation
We were delighted to share the stage with Chewy Chong, the Program Manager for Partner Incubation and Viva Engineering at Microsoft. He is a self-described geek specializing in incubation and growth. He joined us to talk about how Viva can enhance your business practices by implementing it as a side dish to your digital transformation rather than the main meal. Take a look at how he believes Viva can support the work your organization is doing:
Chewy Cong, Program Manager for Partner Incubation and Viva Engineering at Microsoft, discusses how companies can leverage Microsoft Viva to enable organizational transformation.
A Deeper Look at Copilot
One of Microsoft’s most exciting recent announcements is Copilot, its newest AI feature that will revolutionize how we work today. With its integration into M365, Copilot can work alongside you in the suite of apps you use every day, like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more. Spend less time on busy work and more time driving meaningful work. But how does Copilot help?
Copilot leverages the power of large language models (LLMs) and Microsoft Graph – the platform that connects data that is stored across M365 services – to turn your prompts into powerful actions. For example, Copilot can analyze data in an Excel spreadsheet, helping your organization to identify trends and create visualizations. Even better, Copilot will allow you to explore this data in natural language, not just formulas.
Microsoft also announced the Copilot will be extending to the Viva suite, starting with Viva Engage. Conversation starters will help encourage engagement, and prompts for questions will enhance the quality of answers received through Engage.
Looking forward to using Copilot? We are, too. Stay tuned for more information about its upcoming release.
Panel Discussion
Before wrapping up, our internal experts were joined by Rachelle Henderson, a Director of Digital Communications at a Telecom company, and Peter Szoke, the Director of IT Operations and Modern Workplace at CF Industries to discuss digital transformation and answer questions from the audience. The final message was clear: If you’re looking to modernize your organization’s digital work experience, reach out to Reply today.
But don’t just take our word for it: check out the clip below.
Marcus Ruyle joins Annie Lee and Bill Feldker from Reply, Peter Szoke of CF Industries, Rachelle Henderson of a Telecom company, and Chewy Chong of Microsoft in a panel discussion of collaborative apps and Microsoft Viva.
Ready to do more with less? Contact us today at vmw.us@reply.com.
