Smartdesc customer strategy director James Field shares a few tips to make the most out of Microsoft 365. Smartdesc provides IT strategy, support and project management for charities and not for profits.
A narrated version of this blog is available at the bottom of the page
Lots of organisations use Microsoft 365 – it’s either free or very low cost for nonprofits – but few of them make the most out of the platform and use some of the more “hidden” features that are very powerful.
After the rapid change that the pandemic forced on us, and with a lot of charities having flung their data onto cloud platforms so they can work remotely, now is a good time to enhance, optimise and rationalise IT systems to set them up for success.
Below are the top 5 areas to focus on when looking to make the most out of Microsoft 365. All the features are included in Microsoft Business Premium at no extra cost; only £4 per user per month and free for the first 10 users.
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)
This feature replaces the logon/logoff function that servers used to do, meaning you can retire that old server and get rid of the VPN connection!
If you already use bits of 365 like Teams, OneDrive etc, then joining your computers to Azure AD instead of your server means no more having to remember different usernames and passwords.
Intune
This feature makes managing devices that are not in the office easier – they don’t need to connect back to a single place – they are centrally managed over the internet, meaning you can set up things like centralised updates, ensure all computers are encrypted, and allow people to use personal computers and phones securely without the risk of corporate data getting lost onto non-work machines.
Teams and OneDrive
Most charities come to us with their shared files and other data in a bit of a mess – organic growth has meant files end up all over the place. We can help move files into Microsoft Teams, restoring a logic and structure to them whilst keeping certain channels and therefore files secure, such as finance and HR. Did you know you can also replace that old phone system with Teams too? Microsoft Business Voice is a cheap add-on that enables you to migrate your existing landline phone numbers into Teams and get rid of those old plastic desk phones.
Autopilot
This feature allows you to build a single, consistent set of applications, settings, and configuration for Windows 10, that is automatically deployed to new computers. This means no more manually setting up laptops spending hours each time and forgetting to install this or remove that; the laptop can be sent straight to the staff member at home, they connect to their home wifi, and it will set itself up completely automatically for your organisation. Magic, and the feature does not cost anything!
Learning and Training
These toys are of course useless if people can’t use them, and maintaining the momentum of change that has swept across the charity technology world this year is something we should all try to salvage out of 2020.
We’ve helped several charities put together IT / Digital Skills training plans to give staff a baseline set of skills to use things like Teams, Office 365 and SharePoint. All the content is free, some of it is interactive too – for example, these sessions run by Microsoft every week on topics like Teams productivity here.
We can build up a tailored Digital Skills programme in consultation with your staff, helping to close the gap that is still so large (as we commented in our response to the Charity Digital Skills report).
There are, of course, so many more features of Microsoft 365 that are there for the taking. Power Automate, Flow, Planner, Tasks, it’s constantly evolving and improving. Our Virtual IT Directors can help you translate these into realistic and pragmatic IT Improvement Programmes, at a pace that suits you.
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