Several companies find that disjointed workflows and communication gaps are not only inconvenient but also expensive. Time spent finding the latest document or handling many unrelated tools reduces productivity. That’s where Microsoft 365 tools shine: they combine all your work into a single digital area.
Apps are abundant in the Microsoft world. How do you determine which apps can benefit your small or medium-sized business (SMB)?
Microsoft 365 Tools for Your Business
Here are some of the most essential Office 365 apps for SMBs, but we’ll discuss how they solve workplace problems and promote digital collaboration.
Teams: Where Collaboration Gets Done
Your business isn’t alone if it still uses extended email threads or a mix of chat apps. But it’s not running at maximum speed.
Microsoft Teams has over 320 million monthly active users worldwide, making it the best place for small and medium-sized businesses to work together. What makes it so powerful is the ability to centralize meetings, file sharing, task assignments, and team updates in one spot.
Teams minimize friction and organize conversations, decisions, and files during distant check-ins and hybrid brainstorming. It has a greater impact when combined with other Microsoft 365 tools.
SharePoint: The Modern Company Intranet
Many SMBs struggle with knowledge sharing. Policies, standard operating procedures, and shared files often get lost in personal drives or email lines.
Here comes SharePoint, Microsoft’s tool for managing documents and talking to company employees. You can consider it to be a flexible intranet perfect for creating internal hubs, keeping company information, and automating the flow of documents.
Well over 190 million people use SharePoint, according to TechTarget. U.S. SMBs are also increasingly adopting it as the need for mixed work grows. SharePoint ensures all essential content is organized, safe, and easy to find with approval settings, co-authoring, and version history.
OneDrive: File Access, Anywhere—Without the Chaos
When team members can’t find what they need or aren’t sure which file is the most up-to-date, personal drives and desktop folders are a huge distraction.
This problem can be fixed using OneDrive, which syncs files between devices and backs up essential documents instantly in the cloud. It’s useful for remote workers who need reliable access to files.
OneDrive’s primary benefit for small businesses is that it keeps things running smoothly. When laptops break, workers don’t lose their work, and everyone remains in sync. Statista says that OneDrive for Business is used by more than 85% of the world’s largest companies. This makes it a reliable way to store and retrieve documents.
Planner & To Do: Practical Task Management Without the Bloat
Many small and medium-sized businesses try out powerful project management tools, but most teams will require something simple.
Planner and To Do from Microsoft are simple, visible tools for managing tasks that work well with Teams and Outlook. You can assign tasks, measure progress, establish due dates, and collaborate on small projects without a subscription or steep learning curve.
The Planner is excellent for team projects, and To-Do helps people keep track of their daily tasks. A Microsoft blog post says that Planner’s use in Microsoft Teams has grown 150% year-over-year. This is mainly because it is easy to set up and understand.
When used together, they make a rhythm of work that helps your team through Office 365 productivity without being too busy.
Outlook & Calendar: The Underrated Power Duo
Yes, Outlook is old news. However, working together is still vital, and Microsoft keeps improving it.
The greater value comes from how Outlook, Calendar, and other apps work together. You can set up a Teams meeting right from an email, attach OneDrive files that can be edited in real-time, or keep track of projects from messages marked as a to-do in To Do.
How will the changes affect your business? Less flipping between tabs, more flow.
With the Microsoft 365 environment, email, meetings, and time management don’t work separately. For SMBs with many responsibilities, a seamless experience is critical.
Power Automate: Work Smarter, Not Harder
Repeated administrative tasks include data entry, approval emails, and progress updates.
Power Automate, which used to be called Microsoft Flow, automates routine jobs to save small businesses time. Adding a new lead to your CRM or moving email attachments to a OneDrive folder allows you to set off steps based on certain conditions.
A Forrester Total Economic Impact research commissioned by Microsoft found that SMBs adopting Power Automate saw a 199% ROI over three years by saving time on repetitive tasks. Power Automate programming is innovative if you want to grow your business without wearing out your staff.
Loop: The Future of Dynamic Collaboration
Microsoft Loop is noteworthy for its rethinking of real-time collaboration, though it is still in the early stages of distribution for some users.
Loop lets you make “components,” which are live content like meeting notes, tasks, and tables. These “components” stay in sync between Teams, Outlook, and Word. If you change it once, it will show up everywhere.
For small businesses that need to be agile and quick to respond, Loop is the next generation of Microsoft 365 tools. It combines freedom with structure in a way that works well for mixed teams.
Why the Right Tools Matter for SMBs
You do not need to know how to use all of Microsoft’s apps. However, to use the best Microsoft 365 tools for business, you must pick the ones that work best for your team.
Teams, SharePoint, and Planner are some of the most important Office 365 apps for small and medium-sized businesses. They make daily tasks easier by putting all of your contacts in one place and keeping your files organized. They cut down on waste, help people make better decisions, and build a digital base you can grow.
Let Safebox Technology Help You Maximize Microsoft 365
Safebox Technology can assist you whether you are new to Microsoft 365 or wish to enhance your setup. Our team ensures you correctly use the best Microsoft 365 tools for business, from setting them up to training and supporting your staff.
We simplify processes, maximize Microsoft 365 ROI, and help SMBs cut through the clutter. Contact Safebox Technology to make the office smarter and more linked.
