Cloud Collaboration Tips to Amplify Your Office 365 Investment

Businesses and IT teams need to stay ahead of the game. This means implementing new technology and cloud collaboration tools that align with your business goals. Unfortunately, once companies adopt a new system, the technology often becomes a forgotten piece of furniture.

After implementing cloud collaboration tools, few teams evaluate how employees interact with it or take the necessary steps to reap its full potential. Here are some cloud collaboration benefits you might be overlooking — and ways to make your Office 365 migration worthwhile.

Benefits of Cloud Collaboration With Office 365

Cloud collaboration with Office 365 allows you to easily sync, store and share files internally or externally. Projects are simple to coordinate, which accelerates the decision-making process for a more efficient business and improved customer service. When used correctly, cloud collaboration solutions can boost productivity, improve sales and reduce the burden on IT.

Stats About Cloud Collaboration

The Connected Enterprise Report found that one in four IT groups don’t measure the results of cloud collaboration as it relates to their business goals or how employee utilize the new technology. They didn’t even check whether users had fully adopted the solution — only whether the tool itself was implemented. This defeats the purpose of cloud adoption and collaboration. For your organization to get the most out of its investment, the system must be properly managed.

When businesses completely adopt and implement cloud collaboration technologies, the report also found that:

• Making decisions was quicker and easier: 85 percent of respondents said using collaboration technology met or exceeded their expectations.
• They develop more efficient business processes: 79 percent said collaboration met or exceeded their efficiency expectations.
• They improved customer service: 86 percent stated that collaboration improved customer service and turned promises into reality. Those companies also experienced better engagement with both customers and partners.
• Respondents reported greater agility, more productive employees and much lower expenses. In turn, businesses produced higher revenues.

Tips for Successful Cloud Collaboration

To achieve your goals, you have to set them first. Unfortunately, one in four IT groups doesn’t set goals or measure progress after a cloud migration. Create a plan outlining what you want from your cloud collaboration tools and how to make this happen. Collaboration is designed to improve productivity and increase profits.

Another area where IT teams fall short is employee adoption. Any time you shake up the way users work, there’s bound to be pushback. Outline a training and communication plan for employees based on your goals. If you want your team to centralize file storage in OneDrive, document and communicate clear usage guidelines. Ask managers to enforce these guidelines to ensure your team is actually saving time with new cloud collaboration tools (and not falling into old habits).

The final (and maybe most important) tip is to continually improve and evolve. Your Office 365 migration might have taken months, but don’t forget why you moved to the cloud — to reduce IT costs and boost productivity. Periodically evaluate how employees use collaboration tools, if desired results are being met and how the system can be improved. Microsoft constantly updates cloud collaboration tools within Office 365. Stay on top of the game by educating your team on new ways to work smarter within Office 365.

Cloud technology is extremely beneficial for businesses, especially where Office 365 and collaboration are concerned. Communication and sharing over the cloud can enhance work quality and decrease the time it takes for projects to be completed.

Looking to get more out of Office 365? Learn how Agile IT’s Office 365 consulting services can empower your business or reach out today.