Bringing the office to your team: Moving to a digital workplace

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has changed the nature of work for Indigenous communities across Canada. Among the many challenges is the need for IT solutions to support rapidly evolving workplace demands — including the ability to work remotely while preserving the productivity and collaboration of the office environment.

Yesterday’s technology doesn’t meet the needs of today’s remote workforce. More than ever, it’s important to consider the benefits of shifting from on-premise to cloud technology.

Microsoft’s Office 365 (M365) productivity suite provides your community with all the applications communication tools it needs to function effectively — both within and beyond the traditional office environment. This digital workplace delivers the full work community experience anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

No more remote connectivity issues and no more having to be in the office to support the day to day needs of your organization.

M365 is the cloud version of Microsoft’s long-dominant Office application suite. It contains several applications you may already be familiar and proficient with, including:

• Word
• Excel
• Outlook
• PowerPoint

M365 also includes Microsoft Teams — a chat, video conferencing and document collaboration hub to keep you team connected with projects and with one another.

M365 offers a broad range of useful features and functions, including the ability to:

• Create, edit and export documents, presentations and spreadsheets
• Chat, video conference and brainstorm
• Share and collaborate on documents
• Save and share files securely in the cloud
• Stay connected, effective and engaged with your team when working remotely

Because M365 is in the cloud, you never have to worry about common barriers to productivity such as your network going down or issues connecting remotely. You also get the peace of mind of Microsoft’s industry leading data centres — which are highly secure, reliable and fail safe in storing your valuable information.

By moving much of your community’s technology and storage functionality online, M365 will:

• Improve the accessibility, functionality and dependability of your Microsoft applications
• Enable your team members to work remotely with minimal interruption
• Reduce your on-premise technology costs and associated challenges
• Free your IT team from the burden of mass software updates and technology troubleshooting
• Enhance your data and information security

Additionally, as audit season approaches, M365 can also keep you connected with your MNP advisor to conduct these engagements virtually in an effective and efficient manner. Leveraging multiple M365 tools including document sharing and video conferencing, we can help you maintain compliance — even when we can’t be together in person.

Whether you want to improve communications, enhance your team’s ability to work remotely or conduct a virtual audit — you’re just a few short steps from a seamless and fully enabled digital workplace. MNP can guide you through the entire process, from helping you choose the right M365 package to getting you set up, running and familiar with the platform. Microsoft also has a robust and easy to navigate Office 365 Training Centre and video on M365 basics which you may find helpful.

To learn more about how MNP can help you with the M365 platform, contact us today.