The Conference Modern Workplace Pros Don’t Want To Miss

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Hi everyone! I’m really excited to be recapping our “Top 5 Office 365 Groups Insights” from our conversation with Microsoft’s Christophe Fiessinger, Senior Program Manager for Office 365 Groups, that we posted last week. Check out the full video here in case you missed it!

Christophe has been with Microsoft for more than 14 years, having previously worked on Project Server and Yammer, so he has some great insight into what customers need when it comes to team collaboration. I wanted to share a few key highlights and takeaways from our discussion about how Office 365 Groups is changing the way customers are doing business.

Office 365 Groups Insight #1: Collaboration needs are evolving.

There was a time when e-mail was the go-to collaboration format, composing a nice note and attaching a file for the recipient. Now that we’re learning more about user behavior and needs, Microsoft is uniting productivity and communication in new ways. This is particularly important for the next generation of workers who don’t rely on email for collaboration on projects – they are used to instant communication with Facebook messages or Snapchat to coordinate in real time and won’t be afraid to turn to these third-party tools if their patience is tested in the workplace. Office 365 Groups bring together more traditional applications and new real-time communication tools like Yammer, Skype, and Microsoft Teams to ensure collaboration stays within the secure network environment.

Office 365 Groups Insight #2: Office 365 Groups show how serious Microsoft is about helping people collaborate.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said that there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to collaboration, and Office 365 Groups have really embraced that spirit of working together more effectively. In the not-so-distant past, there were a lot of silos that sometimes hindered collaboration, but by bringing tools like SharePoint, OneNote, and Planner into Groups, and the ability to add users who may not be in your Active Directory, it is much easier to work together in a seamless way whether your project lasts for a couple days, a few weeks, or more long term.

Office 365 Groups Insight #3: Office 365 Groups are anchored on users’ needs.

One of the biggest lessons Christophe shared from his days with Yammer was the importance of delighting customers before introducing higher level controls and a fancy interface. Many times products make incorrect assumptions about how people will use certain tools, and it’s a waste of effort and resources if customers don’t use these extra bells and whistles. That means you don’t need to be a power user to take advantage of Office 365 Groups – it is a tool that was created with all users in mind from its inception.

Office 365 Groups Insight #4: IT needs to work differently with Office 365 Groups.

Traditionally, IT was organized by application, which made a lot of sense. There was an admin for SharePoint, an admin for Exchange, an admin for Active Directory, the security team, and so on. But now, with Groups as the common thread through so many applications, IT needs to work more closely together and embrace collaboration themselves. Especially when it comes to governance, IT admins across the business really need to agree on expectations to ensure a consistent and efficient experience for users when Office 365 Groups is rolled out.

Office 365 Groups Insight #5: You’re not alone in getting started with Office 365 Groups.

Many of you will still have questions about how to get started with Groups. Fortunately, there is a lot of information out there to help. Microsoft has published a lot of support collateral on support.office.com that can help you get started with Groups. There are also ways for enhanced onboarding support through Microsoft’s FastTrack program or through a Microsoft partner. And finally, don’t be afraid to explore the different feedback channels to pose questions directly to the Microsoft technology community.

Click HERE for a FREE TRIAL of AvePoint’s GroupHub!

• The Office 365 Groups Playbook
• [Webinar] Office 365 Groups: Best Practices & Solutions
• [Webinar] Office 365 Groups: Ask the Experts
• How to Manage Office 365 Groups Natively
• Office 365 Groups vs Yammer
• Ask an Admin: Day-to-Day Office 365 Groups Administration
• Managing Office 365 Groups with Governance Automation Online
• Backup and Restore Office 365 Groups with DocAve Online
• [Video] Behind the Scenes of Office 365 Groups with Microsoft’s Christophe Fiessinger
• [Video] Provision Office 365 Groups in Policy with AvePoint
• [Video] Backup Office 365 Group Files and Quickly Restore with AvePoint