Maximising your investment in Microsoft 365

The longer-term management of a new platform is less about the technical configuration and more about a recognition that effective adoption relies on the people and processes needed to manage and support the platform to ensure it is fit for purpose from implementation and is nurtured for the duration of your subscription to Microsoft 365.

In these webinar recordings, Andy Pettman, a senior user adoption consultant, explores why we should consider an effective management framework for Microsoft 365. After all, if we are suggesting that staff invest their time in developing and introducing policies and processes, we need to understand how to articulate the benefits and communicate effectively with all staff.

Part 1 – Overcoming the barriers to effective management of Microsoft 365

In the first video, Andy explores some of the barriers we have encountered to effective management of the platform, and some of the strategies developed to help overcome them. He also explains some steps that can be taken at any time (before, during or after a project) to introduce the idea of a longer-term requirement for a team to manage the new platform.

Part 2 – Building a governance model

One of the overriding fears that Andy found working with organisations battling with the same questions, was “Where do we start?”.

This was then usually followed very quickly by “it is too complicated” or “the horse has already bolted” in terms of access and uncontrolled use of many applications.

Whether you are still in an implementation phase of a project or having completed a deployment (of OneDrive or Teams for example), it is never too late to consider introducing, or improving on your management and support of Microsoft 365.

In this video, Andy takes you through the steps to build a governance model, thinking about the people you need to involve and getting you started. He  introduces some key roles that are essential to the success of such a team, and how to set achievable targets to illustrate the success and value of the new team.

Part 3 – Developing a management plan for Microsoft 365

The main objective of setting up a new team is to establish its purpose, scope and remit. In Andy’s view, the starting point for such a team is build on what has already been achieved by the implementation team, and to develop a plan for the near to middle term.

For most teams, there is almost always a feeling of being overwhelmed by the scale of the task. With over 30 applications, how can we start to deal with all the issues we must address?

In this session, Andy introduces techniques he uses to address the very real concern that there is too much to do, in too short a time, and with limited support from the rest of the organisation. He demonstrates some ideas already practically implemented, where organisations have enabled all or part of Microsoft 365, and when the retrospective introduction of controls seemed impossible.