When we emerge from the coronavirus crisis, there will be many aspects of business life that will have changed for ever.
I’ve been incredibly impressed by how quickly so many people have embraced remote working, in particular through the use of teamworking platforms, enabling many organisations to go a long way towards maintaining business as usual for their customers and stakeholders.
Despite inevitable teething problems as the various technologies creaked under the pressure of unprecedented demand, just a few weeks later, telephone and video conferencing is the new normal. And as the long-term cost, convenience and productivity benefits become clear, remote working is here to stay.
But what’s the right technology to build your future ways of working around? Well, if you’re a regular reader of these emails, you’ll know that I’m a strong advocate of Office 365 (just rebranded as Microsoft 365), which means, for me, there’s a logical starting point to consider for your teamworking platform – and that’s Microsoft Teams.
While there are other great products on the market, Microsoft Teams is the fastest growing app in Microsoft’s history, with more than 330,000 companies worldwide using it. It’s a stable, secure and proven communications hub, enabling users to chat and collaborate from anywhere in the world, at whatever time, just as if they were sat around the same table.
But it’s Teams’ tight integration with other elements of Microsoft 365 that really sets it apart, meaning that you don’t have to switch apps when you want to work together on a document, for example. You can access all the familiar 365 resources within Teams and use Word, Excel or PowerPoint to instantly share your work with colleagues and co-author the next version. And if you couldn’t attend the meeting, you can catch up via the session’s recording, meeting notes and agreed actions, all stored in the same place. Meeting organisers can also invite non-Team members who do not have an account, such as suppliers or other stakeholders, to attend meetings as guests.
If you’re still considering the best way forward for your organisation, there are some great videos online. Here is a link that I’d recommend to help familiarise yourself with Teams and how to successfully deploy it.
To access Microsoft Teams all you need is a Microsoft 365 account with the appropriate license plan. The PC Support Group can help you to install and deploy Microsoft Teams, or if you would prefer to do it yourself visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/business
For an informal chat about Microsoft Teams, how to make the most of it, and how we can help, call us NOW on 03300 886 116 or email info@pcsupportgroup.com
Phil Bird
Managing Director, The PC Support Group