Many people have become accustomed to remote working options. As businesses begin re-opening their offices for on-premises work, CEOs and IT managers need to consider what tools and apps they should invest in to provide employees with the best of both worlds.
A recent study stated that 73% of workers want flexible remote working options to continue. To allow for both remote working and in-person time with their co-workers, businesses must drive a rapid digital transformation in their workplace to allow for hybrid working options.
The most important step to take is adopting the right IT infrastructure so employees can stay connected, wherever they are working.
What is hybrid work?
Many companies are shifting towards a work environment that is based on more flexible and remote working. This is hybrid working, an arrangement in which workers are able to choose when they work remotely and when to meet face-to-face.
Through hybrid working options, employees are able to maintain their productivity levels and focus on their work within their chosen locations. Hybrid working has certain advantages; it can help to increase productivity, build up teamwork, and foster a culture of co-operation.
With the popularity of remote work, some companies are considering ways to retain a consistent, connected culture while their employees work remotely. For instance, virtual meeting rooms can connect teams in work events, like daily meetings, and can also be used for more social work activities to retain company culture.
With this approach, employees can still feel like they are part of a cohesive team by using video conferencing with their teams and talking in chat rooms.
Microsoft’s hybrid work collaborative tools
Microsoft’s new tools are intended to encourage employees to work collaboratively, for the modern workplace and greater business productivity.
With the release of these tools, Microsoft aims to help people get more out of their time. The idea is that the tools will encourage people to interact and share ideas with one another. One easy way this could be accomplished is by allowing people to seamlessly collaborate on a shared workspace.
Microsoft’s hybrid business tools give businesses a competitive edge and helps them save money. They can be integrated into your existing IT infrastructure without any major changes to hardware or software.
The range of Microsoft 365 collaboration tools provide many beneficial capabilities, such as low-latency video conferencing and file sharing features, detailed activity logs, and enhanced security features like two-factor authentication.
The collaboration tools are designed to facilitate communication and work process in remote working environments. Some of these tools are listed below.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is one of the latest collaboration and communication tools that can help your business be more productive. As a chat-based platform, it allows multiple people to collaborate on projects and stay in touch with team members.
The tool integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365. It allows employees to work together on projects or share ideas, files, and documentations via chat rooms, instant messages, threaded discussions, voice calls, video, and screen sharing.
Microsoft Viva
Microsoft Viva is the first AI-powered enterprise platform that creates a seamless experience between work and personal life.
The AI helps users have a more productive day by suggesting activities that are time-sensitive for their workflow. For example, it will suggest which tasks need to be completed before the user leaves for lunch, or which tasks need to be completed after a work meeting.
With Microsoft Viva, you can manage your personal life from work, and vice versa. You will be able to manage your schedule, tasks, and contacts from one platform. This also allows employees to enjoy their personal life outside of work. It aims for greater quality of life through technology integration.
Microsoft Visual Studio
Microsoft Visual Studio offers users a new way to approach software development that helps to stay productive in a more flexible, fluid environment with hybrid workloads.
The latest version of the Microsoft’s flagship development tool is designed for teams and organizations who want to adopt hybrid workflows, including continuous deployment and agile methodologies. It provides tools for your businesses and employees to build, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud or on-premises. Visual Studio also provides a development platform for hybrid work.
Microsoft OneDrive
OneDrive is a cloud storage platform. It has various benefits for businesses and can help them in their continuous work.
Microsoft OneDrive will benefit your business in hybrid working environments by making collaboration easier with other employees and potential business partners, as well as the ability to share files between different platforms seamlessly.
It also allows for file sharing with other office software packages easily, including Google Drive and Dropbox.
Find what your business needs with the Microsoft experts
Microsoft’s hybrid collaboration tools allow users to create their own workspace where they can share documents, whiteboards and screens in real-time with their team.
If you want to utilise Microsoft’s range of hybrid work-specific tools and apps, get the best advice, prices, and advice from certified Microsoft partner Technology Solutions. Their Microsoft specialists will work closely with you to determine your exact IT requirements and help you select the right Microsoft 365 solutions.
