Microsoft Office brings the key features of a modern document-centric office suite to SMBs and large enterprises. With version 2019, Microsoft continues its effort to make digital adoption more seamless and user-friendly. Increasing the number of users on an organization’s network is a significant hurdle for most businesses. Moreover, digital adoption platforms for Microsoft are also being used by numerous companies to increase user adoption.
In addition to familiar security concerns, concerns about adding new people to an IT environment are common. Let’s look at some tips for increasing the adoption rates of Microsoft Office.
Promote Microsoft Office in the Workplace
Even as a large number of businesses adopt digital, many are still reluctant to embrace Microsoft Office. This can be traced to companies’ long-term dependence on legacy technology. As a result, many businesses operate with a limited understanding of the benefits of a modern office suite.
As an organization’s IT leader, you can promote Office in the workplace. This can include guidance on the benefits of using Office 365 and the types of applications it offers. It can also include guidance on how to use each key Office feature. Some marketing initiatives may focus on highlighting the capabilities of Microsoft 365, which is a suite of cloud-based services.
Make Microsoft Office Part of the Standard Digital Workflow
With the launch of Microsoft Office 365, the software manufacturer has been promoting its services as a core tool in digital workplaces. This approach can benefit any organization that currently relies on older versions of Microsoft Office. Newer versions of the suite can still be used, but the Office 365 suite is promoted as the default version for most operations.
One way to make the Office suite part of the digital workflow is to include it in an existing suite of office applications. This can be done by incorporating key Office features into your existing workflow. For example, you might create a process for creating a new document. In this process, you include steps for creating a new document, adding text, adding graphics, and so on.
Provide Onboarding and Training for New Users
One major challenge for organizations that want to increase the number of people using Office is the number of new users. This can be a significant challenge for organizations that rely primarily on older versions of Microsoft Office. New software versions can require a significant investment in terms of time, effort, and money. This can be a significant hindrance to adoption rates. In order to increase brand awareness and adoption rates, it is important to offer training and onboarding processes that help new users make the transition. This helps them get comfortable with the suite and learn how it operates. It can also assist organizations in adhering to compliance requirements related to training new users.
Encourage Employees to Use Their Preferred Productivity Tools
The way employees use productivity tools is an important factor in digital adoption. This can include the choice of a core suite of applications like Microsoft Office and collaboration tools for teaming up on documents. The use of cloud-based productivity tools, such as Microsoft Office 365, can help reduce the burden of managing large data stores.
It is important to encourage your employees to use their preferred productivity tools. This can include making accounts for Microsoft Office and other productivity tools available to them. It can also include providing training and mentoring for new employees.
Establish Reward and Recognition Programs
Digital transformation often involves significant cultural change. In order to bring about these changes, organizations need to establish formal programs. This can include programs for training employees, programs for recognizing employees, and programs for rewarding and incentivizing new user adoption. Establishing a formal program for employee rewards and recognition can include rewarding employees who make the transition to using a modern suite of Office applications. This can include offering bonuses for switching to the suite and other rewards tied to using modern applications.
Conclusion
Microsoft continues to make big investments in modernizing its suite of Office apps. This includes both new app versions and ongoing investments in cloud-based services. As a result, the Office suite is becoming more reliable and more capable. This has led to the widespread adoption of Office 365, which is the default version of Microsoft Office.
Microsoft Office 2019 is yet another iteration of the suite. While the software is expected to offer similar capabilities to earlier versions as it also introduces a number of significant updates. These include updates related to artificial intelligence and machine learning.
