How an Intranet Can Supercharge your Microsoft 365 Suite
Like a Swiss Army knife, Microsoft 365 often remains underused in workplaces.
- According to Gartner, one in five corporate employees currently uses a Microsoft Office 365 service.
- The number of daily active users of Microsoft Teams has increased from 145 million users in 2021 to 270 million in 2022.
- 44% of Microsoft Office 365 licenses are underutilized.
- Office 365 Enterprise licenses follow a tier structure, ranging from E1 — with basic business services — to the E5 bundle, which includes a full suite of products and services. Among E5 licenses, 38% could be downsized to E1 licenses based on employee app usage, according to the analysis.
Despite many organizations holding Microsoft 365 licenses, they frequently limit themselves to basic tasks such as document management, overlooking the suite’s potential for teamwork, automated workflows, and improved communication. Organizations often overlook other Microsoft 365 features such as advanced threat protection, encryption, identity management, and data loss prevention.
Intranet Benefits for Businesses using Microsoft 365
For businesses using Microsoft 365, integrating an intranet into their digital infrastructure opens a gateway to several benefits. An intranet is a centralized hub where employees can access and share information seamlessly. Integrated with the Microsoft 365 suite, Intranets become the nexus for facilitating organized content storage, efficient document retrieval, and team-specific collaboration, enhancing knowledge sharing and teamwork and boosting overall productivity. They provide a seamless integration of Microsoft 365 applications, enabling efficient use of tools like Teams, Planner, and Power Automate within the intranet environment. This integration modernizes internal communication and improves collaboration and operational efficiency.
Ways to Maximize Benefits with Intranet Integration in Microsoft 365
1. Boosting Employee Engagement
By strategically utilizing Microsoft 365 integrated with a native SharePoint-based intranet, organizations can implement various engagement strategies. This includes:
- Creating interactive platforms within the intranet for employee feedback, idea-sharing, and recognition.
- Using communication tools like Microsoft Teams and integrating them into the intranet environment enables real-time collaboration, enhancing employee connectivity and teamwork.
- The intranet can serve as a centralized hub for important updates, company news, and employee resources, ensuring staff members remain informed and engaged with organizational developments.
- Integrated digital tools allow employees to participate in organizational initiatives actively, driving a sense of ownership and commitment.
- The intranet becomes a nexus for shared goals and accomplishments, facilitating a collaborative culture where ideas flow freely.
- Integration provides personalized experiences for employees, tailoring content and features to their roles and preferences.
2. Revitalizing Communication Channels
- Addressing Communication Challenges: Common challenges such as information silos, delayed updates, or lack of accessibility are tackled through this integrated system. By consolidating communication channels within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, the intranet ensures that information is readily available, breaking down communication barriers that might impede operational efficiency.
- Improving Information Flow with the SharePoint-based Intranet: The SharePoint-based intranet offers a dynamic environment where teams can collaborate, share updates, and access critical real-time information. SharePoint’s document libraries and version control features contribute to organized information management, ensuring that the most up-to-date content is accessible to the relevant stakeholders.
- Use of Targeted News and Customized Dashboards: Targeted news ensures that employees receive information relevant to their roles and responsibilities, enhancing engagement and understanding. Customized dashboards visually represent key metrics, announcements, and updates, offering a comprehensive view of organizational communication.
3. Enhancing Knowledge Management
- Creating a Centralized Knowledge Hub: A centralized knowledge hub integrating Microsoft 365 and the intranet is a repository for various organizational knowledge, including Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, and precedents.
- Enhancing Collaboration and Decision-Making: Teams can engage in real-time discussions, share insights, and contribute their expertise directly within the intranet environment. This collaborative aspect transforms the knowledge hub into a living repository where ideas are exchanged, best practices are shared, and a collective wealth of knowledge informs decisions.
- Empowering Frontline Workers: With mobile accessibility, frontline workers can seamlessly access the knowledge hub, upgrading their know-how on the go. This ensures that critical information is readily available to those who need it, enhancing their effectiveness and decision-making capabilities.
4. Efficient Workflow Automation
- Streamlining Business Processes through Microsoft 365 Automation: By using SharePoint’s collaborative features and document management capabilities, teams can create structured workflows that automate routine tasks. This accelerates the pace of work and reduces the likelihood of errors, ensuring a more efficient and reliable business operation.
- Identifying Opportunities for Workflow Improvement: A SharePoint-based intranet provides a centralized platform for monitoring and analyzing workflow performance. Organizations can pinpoint bottlenecks, redundancies, or inefficiency within their processes through data analytics and reporting tools.
- Integration with Business Productivity Tools: The integration connects seamlessly with powerful business productivity tools like Power Automate, and Power BI. Power Automate allows for automated workflows that span various applications and services within the Microsoft ecosystem. Power BI, on the other hand, provides advanced analytics and visualization capabilities, offering insights into workflow performance and efficiency.
PeopleOne’s Excellence in Modern Work
As a Microsoft Solutions Partner with Modern Work certification, PeopleOne, the SharePoint-based intranet, has been a driving force in helping organizations harness the full potential of Microsoft 365. PeopleOne’s proficiency in deploying and customizing intranets ensures a smooth transition to a modernized work environment and maximizes user adoption. This approach has enabled our clients to successfully streamline their operations, automate workflows, and enrich communication channels. Interested in knowing more?
