Microsoft Tools for Managing a Remote Workforce

The working landscape has altered almost beyond recognition – and unbelievably, next month marks an entire year since the upsurge of remote work began in the UK.

As such, our tech experts felt it only appropriate to share their insights into the technologies that can best facilitate those who work from home – leading to our multi-facet blog series touching on employee productivity, remote security and cloud telephony. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, it’s only fitting that our fourth and final piece in this series summarises the key Microsoft technologies that we believe are essential for any remote workforce.

Whether your organisation plans a speedy return to the office, or wants to implement a hybrid working environment, utilising the right technology is critical to empower a flexible workforce to flux between the home and office with ease.

So, keep reading to discover our top picks for the Office 365 tools that answer key home working requirements…

For Collaboration and Productivity use…

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams presents an all-in-one hub for collaboration. In today’s digital world, the ability to seamlessly switch between various communication methods is vital for any successful business – remote or otherwise. Microsoft Teams provides your employees with an instant chat messaging solution, unmatched video and audio conferencing, real-time document collaboration and secure file sharing – available to use from any device, in any location.

This easy to use, centralised platform streamlines group work from multiple locations to facilitate both a remote workforce and multiple offices. The additional integration with other key Office 365 collaboration apps allows quick and easy user adoption, mitigating the risk of downtime and decreased employee productivity.

Microsoft Sharepoint

Our next essential solution for distributed employees is, of course, Microsoft SharePoint. Essentially providing a centralised virtual workplace, SharePoint is the ideal solution to streamline collaboration between multiple departments and team members.

Implementing a central file storage location that your employees can access from anywhere is essential when working remotely, and to successfully facilitate this you’ll need complete control and visibility over your files – something SharePoint provides with its stand-out project management tools and access management capabilities.

For Device Management and Security use…

Microsoft Intune

Maintaining employee productivity is all well and good, but without data security and mobile device management to underpin it, your business could be looking at lost data, a damaged reputation and costly fines if it finds itself victim of a data breach.

That’s where Microsoft Intune comes in – a cloud-based tool which provides the mobile device management needed to secure a remote workforce. This feature comes as part of Microsoft’s Enterprise Mobility and Security offering, and essentially allows employees to access, share and edit sensitive business documents from their mobile devices – empowering secure productivity on or off-site.

For Accessibility use…

Microsoft OneDrive

The next essential tool required for implementing a successful remote working environment is OneDrive for Business. Vital for accessing files remotely, OneDrive not only allows employees to collaborate on files from multiple locations and devices, it also provides comprehensive file protection and back-up capabilities for easy recovery if needed. Also available as a OneDrive mobile app, users can even collaborate on the go with further capabilities such as document or receipt scanning.

Overall

These Microsoft tools undoubtedly create a strong foundation for any business that wants to implement a flexible or fully remote working policy, and improve the security, collaboration, and management of your workforce.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner, our experts are equipped to successfully implement your Microsoft 365 environment whilst providing you with the expertise and advice to guide you through the transition and build your optimal environment. If you want to discover more on how 10-100 can transform your organisation with Microsoft technologies, get in touch with one of the team here.