8 Microsoft Tools to Maximize your Workflow (+1 Free Graphic)
For the organizations out there that are Microsoft focused
This one is for all you Microsoft exclusives out there. There’s nothing more satisfying than having all your apps and tools compatible with each other in one platform. Here we’ll walk through 8 Microsoft Tools that will help maximize your workflow. And feel free to download the free graphic along with it! Let’s get started.
8 Microsoft Tools to Maximize your Workflow (+1 Free Graphic)
OneNote
To Do
Planner
List
Bookings
Forms
Power BI
Intune
1. Microsoft OneNote
Arguably the best and most used Microsoft Tool: OneNote. OneNote operates just like a virtual notebook, with different sections denoted with color coded tabs, and individual pages underneath each section. OneNote is collaborative and updates fast enough so that multiple people can work on the same page without any issues. Unlike many of its competitors, OneNote has a great mobile and tablet interface, which make it a very strong candidate for a cloud notetaking platform that is compatible on multiple devices and between multiple users.
2. Microsoft To Do
Microsoft’s equivalent to Google’s Task list but with the added integration into Microsoft Outlook and other apps. Microsoft’s To Do is your smart daily planner for individual tasks. Break them down into steps and track their progress with due dates and reminders. Unlike Microsoft Planner or Lists, Microsoft To Do is just built with a simple to do list in mind. You can invite others to collaborate, but its strength lies in its simplicity. If you’re looking for something more complicated, consider Microsoft Planner or Lists.
3. Microsoft Planner
Another platform for managing information and tasks: Microsoft Planner. As mentioned before it’s easy to get confused between Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Lists because both accomplish similar (and oftentimes the same) tasks. Planner is the more streamlined, visual task organizer that makes use of KanBan boards to divide responsibilities and project tasks between multiple users. Planner is more suited to team environments, allowing you to assign tasks and set priorities in a visual way (just like Trello and Asana). However, unlike Lists, Planner lacks the capability to tackle more diverse data inputs and customizability.
4. Microsoft Bookings
Microsoft Bookings is your calendar booking app. This is your Calendly or Acuity Scheduling but with Microsoft. It allows clients to book a time on your calendar based on your published availability, which should help minimize back and forth emails attempting to find an available time. Like other Microsoft products, it integrates with your Microsoft 365 Outlook calendar and your Teams account to always show the most up to date availability so that your clients always know when you’re free (what a blessing!). Also worth mentioning is Microsoft Scheduling polls. Scheduling polls are already integrated into your Outlook so it’s not really part of Microsoft Booking, but it’s definitely worth mentioning here. You can send out polls to teams so that everyone can vote on the best time for them instead of sending out endless emails.
5. Microsoft List
Microsoft’s combattent against Asana and Wrike, except (can you guess it?) this tool integrates natively with Microsoft 365. Many people get confused between choosing Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Lists because both do similar things, but in slightly different ways. Microsoft List is more suited to diverse formats of data, think text, numbers, attachments, dates, etc. Both Lists and Planner allows for you to work with multiple people and assign tasks, but Lists is more suited to data management rather than Planner’s project management. Use Planner for a more simplified workflow between multiple people, and switch to Lists when Planner doesn’t have all the custom options you need.
6. Microsoft Forms
Microsoft Forms is a free tool that is part of M365 that allows you to create forms, online surveys, and polls. Say goodbye to TypeForm, Google Forms and Jotform because Microsoft has got you covered.
7. Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power Business Intelligence or Power BI is your tool for business analytics. Bring all of your data from different platforms together and create datasets. While Microsoft Excel will help you store your data in a spreadsheet, Power BI is the tool for generating reports from that data and visualizing it. You probably won’t see the need for this tool until you try using the built in tools data visualization tools for Microsoft Excel. Then you might change your mind.
8. Microsoft Intune
Microsoft Intune is a Mobile Device Management and Mobile Application Management integrated with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. As mentioned in my article about staying safe from ransomware attacks, Microsoft Intune is a valuable tool for deploying and managing multiple device’s security protocols all at the same time. Being able to remotely deploy all security configurations will help secure devices and company data across all your systems. This application will also safeguard company data on personal devices (if someone does choose to have company data on their personal device).
These are not all of Microsoft’s available tools, but they are some of their more useful ones (sorry Microsoft Recall!). The biggest strength of all these apps is the fact that they integrate seamlessly with each other without any weird issues so you can have everything at your fingertips without being an apple user.
Microsoft is just one of the many companies we partner with here at Exact Tech Solutions. If you’re reading this and thinking, “man, I wish I could elevate my company tech strategy as efficiently as I could use these Microsoft tools” then wow that is a very specific need you have that we can help with. It just so happens to be that we are an IT firm that specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses with their tech strategy and needs. If this sounds like something that would help you, then contact us for a consultation!
Just want to remember these Microsoft tools? Fill out the form below to download your freebie!