As a result of the pandemic and a gradual return to 'normality', the shift to hybrid work has become a reality. It's clear that the workplace today is different than it was two years ago. Employees’ expectations continue to evolve as they reconsider their “worth it” equation. In Microsoft's 2022 Work Trend Index, 53 percent of employees say they’re more likely to prioritise their health and wellbeing over work than before. At the same time, 43 percent of employees are somewhat or extremely likely to consider changing jobs in the coming year, with younger employees even more likely to consider changing employers.
What are employees looking for in a job now? Research shows that they want purpose, flexibility, growth and development, and a culture where they feel like they belong. Based on the latest data from the 2022 Work Trend Index, beyond pay, the top three aspects of work that employees view as “very important” are for an employer to provide: a positive culture (46 percent), mental health/wellbeing benefits (42 percent), and a sense of purpose/meaning (40 percent).
Creating a great employee experience isn’t just about providing great technology, it’s also about cultivating a culture where every individual can learn and share best practices that help bring balance to work and life, be more productive, and foster an engaged and productive workforce.
Microsoft announced the new Inspiration library, available in preview through the Viva Insights app in Microsoft Teams. The Inspiration library brings together a curated set of best practices and thought leadership content written by experts from Harvard Business Review (HBR), Thrive, and Microsoft on how to approach resiliency, wellbeing, culture, and leadership amidst the evolving world of work.
“We’re excited that HBR will be part of the Inspiration library. Our hope is that it provides some useful ideas on hybrid work, productivity, leading a team, and more to help Viva users in the flow of their workday.”—Maureen Hoch, Editor, HBR.org.
With the addition of the Inspiration library, productivity and wellbeing insights delivered by Viva Insights are enhanced by premium content focused on topics that are top of mind for employees—from burning out, to rediscovering joy at work, to proven ways to inspire your team—there’s insightful, research-backed guidance for individuals, managers, and leaders that gives everyone a space to learn and grow. Embedding these resources directly into the Viva experience will meet employees where they are, enhancing the digital employee experience.
“Fostering a culture focused on employee wellbeing is now more important than ever. That is why we are delighted to partner with Microsoft to bring content from Thrive directly into people’s workflow through the new Inspiration library in Microsoft Viva Insights. With access to articles and science-backed Microsteps on everything from how to improve your leadership style to why takingbreaks can help you have a more productive workday, we hope to inspire new ideas and best practices among employees—giving them tools they need to thrive.”—Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO, Thrive.
Inspiration library content will be refreshed periodically and will expand to include additional high-value and impactful content from other respected thought leaders.
Beyond inspiring ideas and providing employees with ways to make the most of their workday, managers and leaders can use these insights and real-world examples along with recommendations from Viva Insights to take action, and then use advanced insights to measure the impact of their actions.
A manager may notice that the team’s overall after-hours work and time spent in meetings are trending upwards. Effective collaboration is important to your business, but people also need focus time to think and work without distraction. With Viva Insights, managers now have the toolkit to build a set of best practices for their teams, such as tips for staying focused, giving permission to say no, and other tools like setting up a no-meeting day for the team or encouraging the team to enroll in a personal focus plan to protect time for important projects during their regular working hours.
Organisations are now beginning to understand that robust employee experience programs supported by the right technology and insights can lead to significant business value. The more employees are invested in the mission and purpose of the organization, the more committed they are to its business outcomes.
Leaders recognise this change and are shifting investments accordingly. While business leaders are using it to accommodate hybrid work environments (like better connections and access to resources), employees say they also value personalised, curated learning experiences, stronger feedback loops, and an inclusive culture. Additionally, there are too many tools and too little adoption.
The good news is, both business leaders and employees agree that technology can help and that a single, integrated EXP can help organisations improve in ways that match the priorities of both groups.
To make hybrid work work, leaders will need to embrace this shift in employee expectations and transform their organisation’s employee experience. We’re learning together with our customers and partners, and it’s just the beginning of what’s possible.
For more information about Microsoft Viva, read our blog.
The commercialisation of cybercrime has led to an increase in the frequency and sophistication of attacks on small and medium-sized businesses. Business interruption is a concern, especially from a cyber-attack such as ransomware (Allianz Risk Barometer 2022). For smaller businesses this type of impact can be hard to manage with potential operational, financial, and customer trust implications.
Microsoft are pleased to announce the general availability of Microsoft Defender for Business for Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers. This brings cross-platform endpoint security capabilities to many small business customers worldwide. At no additional cost!
Microsoft Defender for Business now rolling out to new and existing Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers
Microsoft introduced Microsoft Defender for Business, built to bring enterprise-grade endpoint security to businesses, in a solution that is easy-to-use and cost-effective. Defender for Business goes beyond traditional antivirus and delivers threat and vulnerability management, endpoint detection and response, and automated investigation and remediation capabilities in a single solution.
Defender for Business has started rolling out to existing Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers. No action or additional transactions are required for existing customers, the service will become available within the Endpoint section of the Microsoft 365 Defender security portal over the next few weeks. For new Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers, you will see Defender for Business available immediately.
If you have an existing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint license within your tenant this will affect the administrative experience, within the Microsoft 365 Defender security portal. Enabling the Defender for Business service changes the following experiences:
The transition from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P1 or P2 to Microsoft Defender for Business will not require offboarding and onboarding devices again. Security settings will remain in place.
Defender for Business will also be offered as a standalone package. This will be coming later this year. You can continue to preview the standalone solution by signing up at https://aka.ms/MDB-SA-Preview.
To read the full Microsoft announcement, click here.
If you are looking for more support and guidance on Microsoft Business Defender, Adepteq can assist you. Contact us today.
With video that will be stored in Microsoft 365, the new version of Stream builds on the rich content management features of SharePoint and unlocks the intelligence of Microsoft Graph to enhance videos across Microsoft 365. The earlier version of Stream will now be known as Microsoft Stream (Classic) and the new version will be known as Microsoft Stream (built on SharePoint) or Stream (on SharePoint).
Microsoft Stream is an intelligent video app in Microsoft 365 that is being reimagined and rebuilt to integrate seamlessly with applications across the suite. You can create, share, discover, and manage video as easily as any Office document.
Video and audio files will be stored on the SharePoint files platform within Microsoft 365 like all other file types. SharePoint powers file experiences for Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, Yammer, and Outlook. This will provide the best of both worlds:
Customers who want to create future-proof video experiences in Microsoft 365 can start building them today with SharePoint Online and Microsoft Graph File APIs.
Stream (on SharePoint) empowers every Microsoft 365 user to achieve more with fast, intelligent videos.
To achieve that vision:
To read the full article, click here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us,
Microsoft has announced price rises to the majority of its productivity suites from 1st March 2022.
This is the first substantive update since to the Office 365 productivity suite was released in June 2011. This price update builds on the product innovation Microsoft has delivered over the past ten years to meet the changing needs of customers. Since initial release, Microsoft has added 24 new apps – including Microsoft Teams – and over 1400 features like data loss prevention (DLP) for documents and emails, Office messaging encryption, and attack surface reduction capabilities.
How does this affect you? Well the suites that will be increased are listed below with the new prices (pre user, per month).
The good news, is that if you are using or considering Microsoft 365 Business Standard productivity suite or the 'top of the range' Microsoft 365 E5 then you will not see a price increase this year.
Adepteq is a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider and can help you with your CSP licencing requirements. Adepteq can help you maintain your current prices for another 12 months by moving you to the Microsoft New Commerce Experience (NCE) before 1st March. This is especially advantageous if you currently pay monthly for you licences and subscriptions.
Contact us to understand your options.
Adepteq are excited to share that ClearBox Consulting has announced their Intranet Choices for 2022 and Omnia has been awarded Intranet Choice Europe 2022.
Since 2016 UK based ClearBox Consulting has published a comprehensive report on intranet in a box-products for SharePoint and Microsoft 365. In 2021 they also released a similar report for independent intranet in a box-products. The purpose of both reports is to help workplace leaders, intranet managers, and IT professionals understand the market and match products to priority requirements. These reports are useful as they allow users to keep up with the growing demands and technology changes.
Over 70 products are covered within the reviews and ClearBox Consulting has announced their Intranet Choices for 2022. The choices are a selection of products that the UK-based company feels are strong candidates for anyone’s best-fit shortlist.
Omnia has for the fifth year in a row been awarded the badge Intranet Choice Europe.
Anders Fagerlund, Product Offering Lead for Omnia, comments:
"Since the user experience is so important for intranet success, we are happy to see that Omnia gets praise for strong search, navigation and targeting capabilities. Our customers have provided positive feedback for the report that also mentions the product’s appealing price point. All in all, we are proud to see that Omnia is a top-rated product for the fifth year in a row.
Omnia has also been awarded the ‘Intranet Choice Badge’ that is given to products that stood out in the review and that are considered strong candidates for the shortlist of any organisation."
Johan Schedin Jigland, Product Delivery Lead for Omnia, comments on the report:
"We have invested heavily in areas such as flexible design, performance, publishing and governance, Microsoft 365 integration and having a strong offering for frontline workers, so it was great to se these areas being highlighted in the report. We are proud to be considered a top-rated product and will continue to work hard to keep the intranet choice badge."
Adepteq chose to partner with Omnia as they continue to provide outstanding, and award winning applications for businesses using the Microsoft Cloud. If you would like to see how the Omnia Intranet in a Box solution can support and work for you, get in contact with Ian Loman (ian.loman@adepteq.com) to book a demo.
To read the full announcement, and to download The Intranet and Employee Experience Platforms 2022 Report from ClearBox Consulting click here.
Microsoft Teams is a messaging and collaboration app that lets everyone in your business join the conversation, communicate and work together. Our blog contains an overview of the many accessibility features that make sure all users can have the best possible experience using Microsoft Teams.
Access meetings and participate from anywhere with Microsoft Teams desktop and mobile apps and Microsoft Teams on the web.
Communicate effectively with everyone regardless of language, cognitive needs, or visual capabilities.
Enable collaboration for everyone by adapting to different learning paces, motor skills, and communication preferences.
To read the full Microsoft article, click here.
For more information on Microsoft Teams and how you can fully utilise Teams for your organisation, download our FREE Microsoft Teams PDF.
Microsoft announced that the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10. Legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications will continue to work with Microsoft Edge’s built-in Internet Explorer mode.
At the time of the announcement, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application remains unaffected on some Windows versions: Windows 8.1, Windows 7 Extended Security Updates, Windows 10 Server SAC, Windows 10 IoT Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), Windows 10 Server LTSC, Windows 10 client LTSC. Windows 10 LSTC may be used in devices with a long life such as MRI machines and air traffic control systems.
Microsoft Edge’s Internet Explorer mode provides built-in support for legacy websites and applications that still require Internet Explorer. Edge for instance uniquely supports ActiveX controls, a technology introduced in 1996. Legacy applications support is particularly important for enterprises, which Microsoft estimated having 1,678 legacy apps on average.
Beyond compatibility with legacy Internet Explorer applications, Microsoft quotes two advantages of switching to the dual-engine Microsoft Edge.
The announcement post explained:
Internet Explorer 11 packaged security updates monthly, Microsoft Edge can issue security patches for immediate vulnerabilities within days, if not hours.
Edge’s Internet Explorer mode will be supported at least until the end of 2029. This provides additional time for IT departments to transition away from legacy applications.
For more information and to read the full Microsoft FAQ article, click here.
For additional support to your IT department in transitioning away from legacy applications, contact us today.
We are delighted to announce that we have achieved the Microsoft Project and Portfolio Management competency. This competency increases our breadth of our certified Microsoft 365 skills.
Microsoft competencies are designed to help meet customer needs and help Microsoft Partners such as ourselves, attract new customers who are looking for Microsoft-certified solution providers. We are amongst the elite tier of Microsoft partners, which helps us stand out from our peers. By attaining this silver competency, we are able to demonstrate our consistent capability and commitment to our clients and the projects we work on. By attaining a gold competency, this allows us to showcase our best-in-class capabilities within a Microsoft solution area.
We have enhanced our existing Microsoft Gold Partner status by adding the Silver Project and Portfolio Management competency. This reflects the knowledge of our team, a high level of access to Microsoft’s tools, intelligence, training programmes and support.
Our competencies focus on Microsoft 365, Office 365, SharePoint, Teams and the Power Platform. This enables us to deliver the best services for our clients, and continue to do so with great skill and practice.
If you want to change your business with intelligent Microsoft Technologies, choose Adepteq, with technical expertise, recognised dedication to our clients, a track-record of success and the Microsoft competencies to match.
To learn more about what our Microsoft competencies can mean for you, or to see how we can deliver Microsoft Business Applications to meet your unique business needs, contact us today for a free consultation.
Threats are becoming increasingly significant at a higher rate with a rise in cyberattacks targeting small and medium-sized businesses. In the last year, Microsoft have seen a 300% increase in ransomware attacks with over 50% reaching small businesses. Microsoft is investing in security solutions purposefully designed to help protect businesses from cyberattacks.
Microsoft Defender for Business is a new endpoint security solution that’s coming soon. Microsoft Defender for Business is specially built to bring enterprise-grade endpoint security to businesses with up to 300 employees, in a solution that is easy-to-use and cost-effective.
Microsoft Defender for Business elevates security from traditional antivirus to next-generation protection, endpoint detection and response, threat and vulnerability management, and a lot more. Defender helps businesses protect themselves against cybersecurity threats including ransomware and malware across macOS, Windows, Android and iOS devices.
Defender for Business includes the following capabilities:
Defender for Business delivers maximum security value at a price point that works for your organisation. Included as part of the Microsoft 365 Business Premium license (or as an addon license), this security and productivity solution brings together MS Teams and Office 365 with the essential security tools for organisations.
Contact Adepteq today to find out how we can help your organisation implement Microsoft Defender for Business to help secure your business.
Read the full Microsoft Defender article here.
Microsoft are excited to announce that all four Viva modules shared at the beginning of that journey—Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Viva Topics, and Viva Learning—are now generally available and with the purchase of just one plan, the new Viva suite, you have access to all of them. They are also announcing new capabilities and partnerships for each module and a centralised IT admin experience.
Microsoft Viva ensures every employee is a part of their organisation’s culture, expert knowledge, personal productivity insights, and key learning resources.Viva empowers every level of an organisation to address key challenges of hybrid work and employee burnout, which is a serious, common occurrence in today's working environment.
With the Microsoft Viva suite, customers get an integrated EXP that brings together knowledge, learning, communications, resources, and insights into the flow of work.
Viva Connections is a curated, company-branded experience that brings together relevant news, conversations, and resources in the applications and devices you use every day—and later this month, those devices will include your mobile phone.
You are now also able to add cards for Approvals, Shifts, and Tasks from Teams into your Viva Connections dashboard.
Viva Insights helps improve productivity and wellbeing through data-driven, privacy-protected insights and recommendations. Microsoft are announcing expanded capabilities to help managers and team leads navigate hybrid work and to help everyone in an organisation run more effective meetings.
Viva Topics applies AI to automatically organise content and expertise across your systems and teams into related topics, like projects, products, processes, and customers. That content appears as topic pages and topic centers—created and updated by AI—that enable experts to cultivate and share knowledge with wiki-like simplicity.
Viva Learning brings enterprise learning into the flow of work by connecting content from your organisation, Learning Management Systems, third-party providers, and Microsoft.
If you would like to see how Adepteq can transform your hybrid working experience with Microsoft Viva, get in contact with us today. For more information about Microsoft Viva, read our launch post here.
To read the full Microsoft Viva article, click here.
