In the eyes of many, Microsoft is arguably the most powerful technology company in the world - with approximately 1.4 billion people and businesses using its products and services in 2022. But are you using it to its full potential? Our business development manager Mark Taylor explores the ways in which organisations can make sure they are getting the most out of current, or perhaps even new, Microsoft technology.
Whether you use Office 365, Azure, Teams or any other application within the ever-evolving stack, Microsoft is an integral part of today’s business world. In fact, the tech giant became even more powerful during 2020, when Microsoft Teams usage jumped from 20 million active users in November 2019, to 115 million the following October – showing the popularity of this staple brand across the world.
With so many different products and services to choose from – and given so many companies adopted these solutions at pace during the pandemic – it’s important to ensure organisations are making the tech work as hard as it possibly can.
1. Don’t forget backups
Given how much businesses rely on Microsoft 365 – and the amount of business-critical data that is stored here – only a gambler would risk not backing that up! But, it’s surprising that many organisations don’t think about this. Maybe due to assumptions that Microsoft’s size means the data associated with it is totally secure, and all of a firm’s back up needs are covered by default.
But this is a huge oversight. Microsoft itself recommends “you regularly backup your content and data”, as I have also explained here. So, if the above applies to you, it's time to rethink your data resilience and disaster recovery strategy, and find a partner – like Vapour – who can deliver flexible and reliable backup solutions, powered by Veeam.
2. Perform a Microsoft secure score test
To ensure no stone is left unturned – however resilient you think your Microsoft estate is – you can perform a secure score test for free. This ‘penetration test’ will allow you to benchmark your Microsoft security posture against best practices.
But beware, the lower the score, the better your setup. So don’t get too excited if you score 100… in fact, be scared. If you don’t know how to run this Microsoft audit, let us know – we can take care of that.
3. Explore Microsoft’s voice capabilities
As I mentioned before, Teams is dominating the unified communications space, taking Microsoft’s role in organisations’ communication infrastructures to new highs. But do you want to take Microsoft’s voice capabilities to the next level?
If so, take a look at Vapour’s TeamsLink solution which enables customers to take advantage of full voice capabilities, natively, without relying on Microsoft’s calling plans – Teams becomes the end point on the communications platform.
In fact, it’s possible to implement a full Microsoft contact centre solution now too. Watch this space for more information from Vapour very soon…
4. Think about licence optimisation
If you’ve got a sneaky suspicion that you’re throwing away budget on unneeded licences, it’s probably because you are. For example, many businesses introduced new products and services during the pandemic to solve of-the-moment challenges. But, without a review, how can you tell if those same licences are still being used effectively, or even used at all? This is especially the case if colleagues have moved on to new roles.
You need to drill down into your data. If you don’t already have access to this form of Microsoft usage analytics, talk to us about the role our partner, Tiger.io, could play in saving your organisation money.
5. Could you automate business processes?
Everyone’s looking for ways to work more efficiently. And automation is the answer, with technology that can streamline workflows and business processes – saving time and money.
The good news is that Microsoft’s process automation is advancing at pace. So, if you’re not yet clear on how Microsoft can become even more ingrained in your business, then speak to our team for advice.
Whether you are a fan of Microsoft or not, the company and its applications are easy to work alongside, and the capabilities of the ecosystem are only going to grow and grow.
6. Look at closer ties with Microsoft
However important Microsoft’s applications are to your business, if you don’t have a fast and secure connection, then improvements need to be made.
Traditionally, businesses might simply connect to Microsoft via the internet. However, by accessing Microsoft’s data centre in a one-step hop through Vapour’s private network, the connectivity is much more secure with far less latency.
7. Be more effective with Azure costs
Azure is more prevalent than ever before and is very much one of the big three – thanks to public cloud being more widely accepted.
Developers are heavy reliant on Azure, and want the flexibility to experiment with new projects, but as soon as they begin, they’ll be asked for credit card details due to the constant bandwidth usage.
With Vapour’s private Microsoft interconnect, you can use significant bandwidth for a fixed amount.
If this has sparked some ideas as to how Microsoft could work harder for your business, get in touch with us.
