As technology continues to advance, so does the landscape of design tools. Microsoft has been a company at the forefront of business apps. Microsoft 365 began with about seven apps. It now offers new users access to over 20. One of the newest ones added is Microsoft Designer. This quick-and-easy design tool has caught the attention of designers and professionals alike. You can use it whether you’re a graphic pro, marketer, or small business owner. Or someone that simply wants to make a funny meme.

Microsoft Designer offers a range of features to streamline your design process. If you haven’t used it yet, you may want to check it out. With AI features and an easy interface, it can elevate your design game. Not to mention saving time and money creating business graphics.

Let’s explore the key features.

Intuitive and User-Friendly Interface

Microsoft Designer boasts an intuitive and user-friendly interface. This makes it accessible to both beginners and experienced designers. The tool provides a clean and organized workspace. It allows you to focus on your design without distractions.

Its user-friendly features include things like:

• Drag-and-drop functionality
• Contextual menus
• Easy navigation
• Text prompts to start your design

The first prompt it asks is “Describe the design you’d like to create.” This makes it simple for someone with no design experience to use it. Based on your prompt, the system can leverage AI to generate graphics. You can also upload your own.

Comprehensive Design Templates and Assets

Microsoft Designer has several stand-out features. One of them is its extensive collection of templates and assets. It has a wide range of professionally crafted templates. These enable you to kickstart your design projects quickly.

Whether you need a business card, flyer, or social media post, this app has you covered. Additionally, the tool offers a vast library of assets. These include:

• High-quality images
• Icons
• Fonts
• Color palettes

You can use these to create visually stunning designs. Ones that align with your brand identity. The abundance of design assets gives you creative freedom and flexibility. You can have fun bringing your vision to life.

Smart Layout Suggestions and Design Recommendations

Microsoft Designer goes beyond being a mere design tool. It’s a knowledgeable design assistant. The tool employs artificial intelligence. It can analyze your design and provide smart layout suggestions and recommendations. So even if making images isn’t “your thing,” you can make something decent.

The AI help is useful for those who may be new to design or seeking inspiration. Your “design assistant” can offer optimal font pairings, appropriate image placements, and more.

Microsoft Designer helps you make informed design choices. This elevates the visual impact of your creations. It also keeps you from spending hours on one design.

Seamless Collaboration and Integration

Collaboration is essential in today’s digital workspace. Microsoft Designer understands this need. The tool offers seamless collaboration capabilities. It allows several users to work on the same design project simultaneously.

You can easily share your designs with team members or clients. As well as get real-time feedback and edits. Furthermore, Microsoft Designer integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft Office applications. Such as PowerPoint and Word. This creates a cohesive workflow across different design and documentation tasks. The ability to collaborate ensures efficient teamwork. The integration with other tools enhances productivity.

Accessibility and Cross-Platform Support

Microsoft Designer recognizes the importance of accessibility and cross-platform compatibility. The tool is available both as a web application and as a desktop application. You can use it on Windows and Mac.

Use it working on your desktop computer or from a mobile device. The tool also adheres to accessibility standards. This means it’s inclusive and usable for individuals with diverse needs.

What Does It Autogenerate?

Just for fun, let’s see what we get with the AI-generated option. We’ll describe our design as, “a sales ad for orange juice with palm trees.”

In just a few seconds, this is what Microsoft Designer generated as options.

While some images might not be relevant, it gives many options that are. If you’re not getting what you want the first time, rephrase your prompt.

If you’re seeking a user-friendly design tool, Microsoft Designer is worth exploring. Whether you’re a seasoned designer or a beginner, it can save you time and money.

Learn More About Our Microsoft 365 Support

Microsoft 365 is a vast universe of apps. Ones that can lower costs and boost your productivity. From the Office suite to Intune for endpoint management, it’s a valuable asset.

Are you a Fresno or Visalia area business needing help with Microsoft 365? Looking for setup and security support? Firewell Technology Solutions can help. Give us a call today to schedule a chat about our Microsoft support services.

 

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This Article, adapted, has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

In today’s digital workplace, printing remains an essential function. This is true for just about all businesses. But keeping up with your print infrastructure can be a time-consuming task. One printer down can mean work comes to a standstill. Another issue is keeping up with all those printer drivers. If firmware updates aren’t done, vulnerabilities exist. One unprotected printer can cause an entire network malware infection. Microsoft has come up with an answer to streamline print management. This solution is called Microsoft Universal Print. It offers a modern answer to age-old print problems. Are you a Fresno or Visalia small business looking to improve how you handle document printing? Do you wish you could avoid printer problems? Below, we’ll explore the benefits and features of Microsoft Universal Print. We’ll also help you discover how it can enhance your printing environment.

What Can Microsoft Universal Print Do for You?

Microsoft Universal Print leverages the power of Microsoft 365 and Azure. It eliminates the need for complex on-premises print infrastructure. Here are some of the ways that it can improve your document handling.

Simplifying Print Management

Microsoft Universal Print eliminates the need for on-premises print servers. Print management becomes more simplified and all in one place. Organizations can centrally manage their printing needs from the cloud.

This ease of use removes the need for complex print server configurations. As well as driver installations and print queue management. This results in significant time and cost savings.

Seamless Integration with Microsoft 365

A key advantage of Universal Print is its seamless integration with Microsoft 365. It works in tandem with Azure Active Directory. This ensures a secure and authenticated printing experience for users.

This integration allows users to print from any device, whether it’s a Windows PC, Mac, or mobile device. There’s no need for complex setup or driver installations. It simplifies the printing process. It also enhances productivity for employees working across different platforms.

Flexibility and Scalability

With Universal Print, organizations gain flexibility and scalability in their print activities. It supports both modern and legacy printers. This allows businesses to leverage their existing printer fleet.

Universal Print enables easy connectivity. This is true whether it’s a local printer or a network printer. As well as management through the cloud. Additionally, it offers centralized control and monitoring of printers. This makes it effortless to scale up or down based on business needs.

Streamlined Printer Deployment

Deploying printers across an organization can be a time-consuming task. Microsoft Universal Print simplifies this process. It does this by providing a centralized portal for printer management.

Administrators can easily add and configure printers. They can assign them to specific users or groups. As well as manage printer settings from a single interface. This eliminates the need for manual configuration on individual devices. Which can be very time-consuming and fraught with issues. It also ensures a consistent printing experience across the organization.

Enhanced Security and Compliance

A big benefit of using Microsoft Universal Print is its security capabilities. Print security is a critical concern for businesses, especially in today’s threat landscape. Universal Print enhances security by leveraging Azure Active Directory. It’s used for authentication and access control.

It also supports secure print release. This means that sensitive documents are only printed under certain circumstances. Namely, when the authorized user is physically present at the printer.

Moreover, Universal Print integrates with Microsoft Endpoint Manager. This gives organizations even more capabilities. They can enforce security policies and manage print-related settings from a centralized location.

Insights and Analytics

Understanding print usage and optimizing print infrastructure is essential for efficient cost management. Microsoft Universal Print provides insights and analytics that help organizations gain visibility. They’re able to see print usage patterns. As well as track printing costs and identify opportunities for optimization.

With detailed reporting and analytics, businesses can make informed decisions. Reporting enables better print resource allocation. As well as the implementation of strategies to reduce printing costs.

Is Microsoft Universal Print for You?

Microsoft Universal Print offers a modern and efficient approach to print management. It streamlines the printing experience for organizations. It also eliminates the need for complex on-premises print infrastructure. There are also important benefits from the boost in security.

But is it for you?

We can help you understand the full capabilities of Microsoft Universal Print. Including the costs versus the benefits. Whether the solution is for you will depend on your printing needs. Extra factors to consider will be how often you print and your number of endpoints.

Get Cost-Efficient Technology Answers

It’s not easy to make software decisions on your own. That’s why we’re here to help! We can sit down with you to discuss your current infrastructure. We’ll help you evaluate solutions, like Microsoft Universal Print. Then we’ll tell you straight up what makes the most sense for you.

Give Firewell Technology Solutions a call today to chat about your technology needs.

 

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This Article, adapted, has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

Data visualization is a powerful tool for communicating complex data. It presents complex data in a simple, easily understandable format. But it is not enough to simply create a graph or chart and call it a day. To truly make use of information, it is important to create insightful reports that effectively communicate the story behind the data.

Insightful reports help decision-makers understand key trends and patterns as well as identify areas of opportunity and make informed decisions. If analytics graphs and bar charts are only telling part of the story, it can lead people to wrong decisions.

Creating holistic and insightful reports requires the use of several data points. One tool that enables this is Microsoft Power BI.

What Is Microsoft Power BI?

Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence tool. It allows you to connect many data sources to one dashboard. Using Power BI, you can easily model and visualize data holistically.

The platform has over 500 different data connectors. These connectors can tap into sources such as Salesforce, Excel, Azure, and more. Users can leverage pre-built report templates to save time in creating data-rich reporting. Teams can also collaborate and share dashboards virtually.

Tips for Designing Great Data Visualization Reports

Getting started in Microsoft Power BI entails:

• Signing up for the software
• Connecting your data sources
• Using its tools to create report visualizations

But creating great reports goes beyond that. Below, we’ll go through several tips and best practices for getting the most out of your Power BI output.

Consider Your Audience

You should design reporting dashboards with the end user in mind. What is it that this audience wants to see? Are they looking for bottom-line sales numbers? Or do they want to cover insights that can help target productivity gaps?

The use of clear and concise language and effective visualizations are important. These help to highlight the key takeaways from the data. Customize reports to the audience’s level of technical expertise and business goals.

Don’t Overcomplicate Things

Many times, less is more. If you find that your dashboard looks crowded, you may be adding too many reports. The more you add, the more difficult it is to read the takeaways from the data.

Remove all but the most essential reports. Look for ways to include different data sets in a single report, such as using stacked bar charts. Dashboards should show important data at a glance, so do your best to avoid the need to scroll.

Try Out Different Chart Types

Experiment with presenting your data in different ways. Flip between bar, pie, and other types of charts to find the one that tells the story the best. When building a new dashboard for your organization, get some input. Ask those who will review the reports which chart type works best for them.

Get to Know Power Query

Power Query is a data preparation engine. It can save you a lot of time in developing insightful reports. This engine is used in Microsoft tools like Power BI and Excel.

Take time to learn how to leverage this tool for help with:

• Connecting a wide range of data sources to the dashboard
• Previewing data queries
• Building intuitive queries over many data sources
• Defining data size, variety, and velocity

Build Maps with Hints to Bing

Bing and Power BI integrate, allowing you to leverage default map coordinates. Use best practices to leverage the mapping power of Bing to improve your geo-coding.

For example, if you want to plot cities on a map, name your columns after the geographic designation. This helps Bing identify exactly what you’re looking for.

Tell People What They Are Looking At

A typical comment heard often when presenting executives with a new report is, “What am I looking at?” Tell your audience what the data means by using features like tooltips and text boxes to add context.

Just one or two sentences can save someone 5-10 minutes of trying to figure out why you gave them this report. That context can get them to a decision faster. It also helps avoid any confusion or misunderstandings about the data.

Use Emphasis Tricks

People usually read left to right and from top to bottom. So put your most important chart at the top, left corner. Follow, with the next most important reports.

If you have specific numbers that need to stand out, increase the font size or bold the text. This ensures that your audience understands the key takeaways.

Use can also use colors to emphasize things like a “High, Mid, Low.” For example, a low level of accidents could be green, a mid-level in yellow, and a high colored red. This provides more visual context to the data.

Need Help with Power BI or Other Microsoft Products?

Are you a Fresno or Visalia area business interested in analytics and business insights? Firewell Technology Solutions can help you get started or improve your use of Microsoft 365, Power BI, and more. Give us a call today to schedule a chat about leveraging this powerful platform.

 

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Featured Image Credit

 

This Article, adapted, has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

Is “app fatigue” a thing? The number of apps and web tools that employees use on a regular basis continues to increase. Most departments have about 40-60 different digital tools that they use. 71% of employees feel they use so many apps that it makes work more complex.

Many of the apps that we use every day have various alerts. We get a “ping” when someone mentions our name on a Teams channel. We get a notification popup that an update is available. We get an alert of errors or security issues.

So we here at Firewell Technology Solutions believe that app fatigue is a very real thing, and it’s actually becoming a cybersecurity problem. The more people get overwhelmed by notifications, the more likely they are to ignore them.

Just think about the various digital alerts that you get. They come in:

• Software apps on your computer
• Web-based SaaS tools
• Websites where you’ve allowed alerts
• Mobile apps and tools
• Email banners
• Text messages
• Team communication tools

Some employees are getting the same notification on two different devices. This just adds to the problem. This leads to many issues that impact productivity and cybersecurity.

Besides alert bombardment, every time the boss introduces a new app, that means a new password. Employees are already juggling about 191 passwords. They use at least 154 of them sometime during the month.

How Does App Fatigue Put Companies at Risk?

 

Employees Begin Ignoring Updates

When digital alerts interrupt your work, you can feel like you’re always behind. This leads to ignoring small tasks seen as not time-sensitive. Tasks like clicking to install an app update.

Employees overwhelmed with too many app alerts, tend to ignore them. When updates come up, they may quickly click them away. They feel they can’t spare the time right now and aren’t sure how long it will take.
Ignoring app updates on a device is dangerous. Many of those updates include important security patches for found vulnerabilities. When they’re not installed, the device and its network are at a higher risk. It becomes easier to suffer a successful cyberattack.

Employees Reuse Passwords (and They’re Often Weak)

Another security casualty of app fatigue is password security. The more SaaS accounts someone must create, the more likely they are to reuse passwords. It’s estimated that passwords are typically reused 64% of the time.

Credential breach is a key driver of cloud data breaches. Hackers can easily crack weak passwords. The same password used several times leaves many accounts at risk.

Employees May Turn Off Alerts

Some alerts are okay to turn off. For example, do you really need to know every time someone responds to a group thread? Or just when they @name you? But, turning off important security alerts is not good.

There comes a breaking point when one more push notification can push someone over the edge. They may turn off all the alerts they can across all apps. The problem with this is that in the mix of alerts are important ones. Such as an anti-malware app warning about a newly found virus.

What’s the Answer to App Fatigue?

It’s not realistic to just go backward in time before all these apps were around. But you can put a strategy in place that puts people in charge of their tech, and not the other way around.

Streamline Your Business Applications

From both a productivity and security standpoint, fewer apps are better. The fewer apps you have, the less risk. Also, the fewer passwords to remember and notifications to address.

Look at the tools that you use to see where redundancies may be. Many companies are using two or more apps that can do the same function.

Consider using an umbrella platform like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. These platforms include several work tools, but users only need a single login to access them.

Have Your IT Team Set up Notifications

It’s difficult for users to know what types of notifications are the most important. Set up their app notifications for them. This ensures they aren’t bombarded yet are still getting the important ones.

Automate Application Updates

A cybersecurity best practice is to automate device and software updates. This takes the process out of employees’ hands. It enhances productivity by removing unnecessary updates from their view.

Automating device updates through a managed services solution improves security. It also mitigates the chance there will be a vulnerable app putting your network at risk.

Open a Two-Way Communication About Alerts

Employees may never turn off an alert because they’re afraid they might get in trouble. Managers may not even realize constant app alert interruptions are hurting productivity.

Communicate with employees and let them know they can communicate with you. Discuss how to use alerts effectively. As well as the best ways to manage alerts for a better and more productive workday.

Need Help Taming Your Cloud App Environment?

Today, it’s easy for cloud tools to get out of hand. Firewell Technology Solutions can help central valley businesses optimize their cloud app environment. Give us a call today.

 

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Featured Image Credit

 

This Article, adapted, has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

Scheduling appointments is a common activity. Salespeople often set up virtual appointments to answer questions about a product. Software companies allow people to schedule live demos. Telehealth therapists allow clients to book video sessions.

Those are just a few examples of some groups that are going to love a new Microsoft Teams feature. Virtual Appointments was recently added to the platform. It adds a new meeting style tailored for engagements with customers.

Have you’ve been using Teams and a different online appointment app? This new feature will streamline the experience.

What Is Virtual Appointments in Teams?

Virtual Appointments gives you an all-in-one meeting platform for customer engagements. You can schedule, manage and conduct B2C meetings in Microsoft Teams.

This new feature brings together the scheduling component with the video conference interface. Anyone with the link can join the virtual appointment. They do not need a Teams account.

The power of Microsoft’s scheduling app, Bookings, connects to Teams. This makes the Virtual Appointments function as seamless as possible.

Some of the features below will be available with any Microsoft 365 plan. Some are available with a premium plan.

Teams Virtual Appointments Features

 

Manage Scheduled Appointments

You can see your scheduled appointments in a single view. Manage cancellations and time changes easily.

Send Customized Confirmations & Reminders

You can send customers a customized message via SMS or email. This personalizes the experience for them. You can also use automation to give that personal touch without having to send each one manually. Automated appointment reminders are another time-saving function.

Customized Waiting Room

Add a personal touch to your virtual engagements: customize the Teams waiting room; use themes and logos to brand your business; chat with attendees while in the lobby waiting room. This is helpful if your current appointment is running a little long. You can let them know you’ll be right with them.

Meeting Follow-ups

You can send meeting follow-ups after a virtual appointment. This helps you reduce the time it takes to send any promised follow-up information. You also keep all details in a single place. This makes your client communication trail easier to follow.

Organization & Department Analytics

How effective are your appointments? It’s hard to know if your demos are resulting in sales if you don’t have a good tracking system. It’s also important to have visibility into customer appointments across the organization.

You can do this with a premium analytics feature. It gives you helpful reporting. The reporting provides insights into B2C virtual appointments in all departments.

How to Use Virtual Appointments

To start using Virtual Appointments in Teams, admins must set up a few things. Note, they must be a Bookings admin to access these settings.

Create a Calendar

In the Virtual Appointments app choose to “Create a calendar.” You can find this option on the Home tab.

Larger organizations may wish to create different calendars for different departments.

Add Staff

Next, add staff members. You can add up to 100. You will also need to assign them a role. Once you’ve added your staff, you can view their availability in both Teams and Outlook.

What’s another nice thing about using an integrated platform like M365? It’s the cross-app compatibility. Your calendar syncs across apps.

Create Appointment Types

You’ll next set up your appointment types. You can choose from these two options:

• Scheduled: You schedule the day/time. The system adds this information to the email confirmation.
• On-demand (Teams Premium): Customers can choose when to meet from your booking calendar.

Set Up SMS Notifications (If desired)

If you choose to use SMS notifications and have the right Teams plan, you can set this up next. This allows you to easily send appointment confirmations and reminders via text message.

Note: Attendees currently need a valid U.S., Canadian, or U.K. phone number to receive the SMS notifications.

Link Forms (If desired)

If you would like your attendees to fill out any forms, you can link them now. Virtual Appointments allows linking up to four cloud-based forms. These would be forms you have created in Microsoft Forms.

Publish Your Booking Page

If you want to give customers the ability to book on-demand appointments, take this next step. You will need to publish the booking page. You do this on the “Manage” tab of Virtual Appointments. Select “Booking page,” and turn on “Publish booking page.”

Get Help Using Your Microsoft 365 Tools More Effectively

Firewell Technology Solutions are Microsoft 365 experts, and we recognize Microsoft 365 as a platform with many possibilities. We often find that Central Valley companies aren’t using all the Microsoft 365 features they could be using. As a result, their team may be less effective. They could also be wasting money on apps they don’t need.

Are you interested in help supercharging your Microsoft 365 experience? Give us a call today to set up a meeting.

 

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Featured Image Credit

 

This Article, adapted, has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

Microsoft 365 is one of the most popular cloud platforms in the world, with about 345 million paid seats. Microsoft cloud tools numbers were up 32% in Q3 2022 compared to the previous year.

One of the reasons for its continued growth is the suite of cloud tools offered in the service. Users get a stable of over 20 different apps, including the core MS Office suite.

With so many different apps, it’s not uncommon for some to go unused. Companies may not even be aware they have access to these other helpful tools. Firewell Technology Solutions recognizes that one of the handiest apps you get with a Microsoft 365 subscription is Microsoft Forms.

From sending year-end customer surveys to assessing change readiness, Forms makes it easy. This online survey and form-building tool has a lot to offer organizations. And if you have a subscription to Microsoft 365, then you already get Forms included for free.

What Is Microsoft Forms?

Microsoft Forms is a drag-and-drop form, quiz, and survey creator. It’s simple to use and allows you to send out surveys via a link. Recipients can fill out your form online from any device.

Once recipients fill out the survey, the results come into the software instantly. You can see the collated results charted in the software. You can also export the results to Excel.

How to Get Started in Microsoft Forms:

1. Visit Forms.office.com and log into your Microsoft account.
2. Choose “New Form” or “New Quiz: from the top menu

3. OR you can choose to explore the built-in templates.

4. Click “Add New” to add a new form field. You can choose from field types:
   • Choice (i.e., multiple-choice question)
   • Text
   • Rating
   • Date
   • Ranking
   • Likert (a scale that records attitudes/opinions about a topic)
   • Net Promoter Score® (a scale from “not likely” to “extremely likely”)
   • Section (separator that can include a title and image)
5. Enter your questions.
6. Once finished, click “Send” at the top. You can distribute the survey using the following options:
   • Link to a web form
   • Email
   • QR code
   • Embed in a web page
   • Via Facebook or Twitter
7. View responses on the “Responses” tab

Advantages of Using Microsoft Forms

 

It’s Included in Microsoft 365 Subscriptions

If you already subscribe to Microsoft 365, then it makes sense to use Forms. It can save you money if you’re using a separate survey tool, like Survey Monkey. It’s easily accessible by signing in with your Microsoft account.

It Saves Time

Sending a survey by email is time-consuming. You have to worry about emails bouncing due to an attachment. You also need to spend time collating all the results as they come in.

Using MS Forms can save you a lot of time. People don’t need to download anything or open an email file attachment. They simply follow your link and fill out the form online. As soon as they fill the survey out, you get the result. Forms also collates all the answers for you.

Get Charted Results Automatically

You can quickly see the results of the survey in meaningful graphs. Forms makes it simple to export to Excel if you want to upload the survey results into another platform.

On the “Responses” tab, you can hover over the result graphs to see the details.

It’s Easy to Use

There’s a very low learning curve with Microsoft Forms. The interface is intuitive and simple, so just about everyone can jump in and start using it.

What Are Some Ways You Can Leverage Microsoft Forms?

 

Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey

Using a web-based survey can increase your response rate from customers. They can fill out your satisfaction survey from any device, making it quick and easy for them.

You can see results instantly. Then, chart them to gain insights into what your business is doing right, and what you can improve upon.

Employee Security Awareness Quiz

Send a security awareness quiz to your employees using Forms. It can be easily integrated into your cybersecurity awareness training. The platform also tells you the average response time per person.

Change Readiness Survey

Change management is a growing focus of many organizations. This is due to the speed of technology-driven transitions. You can use Forms to improve user readiness for change adoption. Create and send out a change readiness survey to affected groups.

Event Registrations

Are you hosting an event? You can easily gather registration details. Send out a Forms link via QR code, social media, text, or email.

Volunteer Registration Form

Embed an MS Forms registration form on your web page to sign up volunteers. The platform will automatically collate different talents or other volunteer information. This helps you better match people’s talents to your needs.

And More

You’ll find more ideas from the Forms templates. Such as:

• Competitive analysis study
• Post-event feedback survey
• Office facility request form
• Employee satisfaction survey
• Product pricing survey
• Food catering request form
• Save the date form
• Course enrollment form

Would You Like to Get More Out of Microsoft 365?

There is a good chance that your company may be leaving some value on the table with M365. Firewell Technology Solutiosn can help you get the most out of your Microsoft 365 subscription. Give us a call today to learn more about our Microsoft 365 support services.

 

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Featured Image Credit

This Article, adapted, has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

The new buzzword around town is “metaverse.” But what does that actually mean for businesses? Is it just something that social media companies need to be concerned about?

According to people like Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, the metaverse is coming. He stated that “Life without AR will soon be unthinkable.” Firewell Technology Solutions believes that whether that’s a short-term or long-off prediction, companies need to be ready.

First comes the understanding of what the metaverse is. Metaverse is a general term – hence why it’s not capitalized like a proper name. The metaverse refers to a collective upgrade of the internet to a 3D virtual environment. This would be a world interconnected between various sites. These sites would reflect the immersive games that you see today.

Did Facebook/Meta invent the metaverse? No.

The idea of connected 3D immersive worlds has been around for decades. Several online gaming companies have staked a territory in the metaverse. But their applications are less interconnected.

What’s one of the best representations of the early metaverse? It’s a short-lived software called Adobe Atmosphere. This 3D immersive experience included interconnected online worlds. It also gave people the ability to chat with others. It was a bit before its time but shows how the concept of the metaverse has been around for a while.

The metaverse is getting attention now because technology has advanced. It has begun to catch up to the needs of such a world. This includes fast internet connections and immense processing power. It also includes a delivery method for 3D that works on most PCs.

Are we there yet? Not quite. But the metaverse is picking up steam. Recently, Microsoft announced a partnership with Meta. This partnership is to bring Microsoft 365 apps into the metaverse. This means collaboration in an entirely new way. Microsoft notes that 50% of Gen Z and millennials expect to do some of their work in the metaverse in the next two years.

How Does the Metaverse Impact Your Company?

With companies like Microsoft looking at the future of AR/VR, it could be a reality soon. You can expect the metaverse to touch your own company in some way in the next few years. Here’s a preview of what it may impact.

Where to Advertise

When the internet was first introduced, companies didn’t immediately realize its potential. Now, most companies wouldn’t consider operating without a website. It’s a necessity for driving leads and converting sales.

If the metaverse takes off as a new 3D iteration of the internet, it could be just as important. This means exploring metaverse-type advertising in virtual worlds. Also, potentially creating your own VR site or showroom.

How to Service Customers

As the popularity of social media took off, companies realized customers used it to reach out. Seventy-nine percent of consumers expect companies to respond to a social media message. And they expect that response within a day.

To address that need, many businesses have a social media presence. They use this for marketing and to answer questions and inquiries from customers.

The metaverse may be the next step. If people begin hanging out there, they will expect to interact with businesses in that space. Just like they do now with social networks.

This means companies need to be aware of how customers may be using the metaverse as it grows. Adding a question about metaverse use to a year-end customer survey could be a way to be proactive on this topic.

Employee Training

One of the touted benefits of the metaverse is its ability to enable more immersive training. This could greatly increase training capabilities for everyone from doctors to forklift operators.

Imagine being able to replicate a task more closely in a virtual world. A person could safely make mistakes there. Then they could grow proficient before doing that thing in real life.

Start thinking about the types of training that your employees need. Then, look at ways that a VR world may make the training safer or more efficient. The metaverse may not have what you’re looking for now. But with the pace of technological advancement, it could in a year or two.

More Immersive Remote Team Collaboration

Virtual meetings skyrocketed out of necessity during the pandemic. Now, meeting by Teams or Zoom is commonplace. The next generation of online team meetings may end up being in a virtual world.

As we noted earlier, Microsoft is already working on bringing its apps into a virtual space. Add a few avatars and an immersive setting. Suddenly, you have a completely different meeting experience.

What’s one more way to enhance remote team collaboration in the metaverse? It has to do with building design and maintenance. Imagine being able to walk through a 3D recreation of a space before it’s built. Then fine-tuning the construction while inside that space.

Is Your Business Ready for the Next Digital Transformation?

What are your digital transformation plans for the next 12 months? The next three years? If you’re not sure where to begin, Firewell Technology Solutions can help with remote work and collaboration. Contact us today to schedule a technology brainstorming session.

 

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Featured Image Credit

This Article, adapted, has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.

Is your team also using their Android mobile devices to do their tasks? Incorporating an Android suite of apps into your workplace can dramatically improve productivity.  

Many organizations opt for Android to take their office productivity to the next level. After all, they can provide higher flexibility, better workflows, and efficient communication. 

All sectors in your business can even benefit from a high-quality suite of Android apps. 

For instance, your account representative can use an app to update client information while on sales calls instead of making notes and submitting the information later. This can save a lot of time and can reduce errors that can occur due to extra steps. 

Another great thing about these apps is that they help reduce paperwork. Your team won’t have to wait until they go back to the office to fax, print documents, and maintain hard-copy files. They can perform these tasks on the go with less effort, all while also lowering ink, power, and paper consumption. 

Numerous companies have gained a lot from using Android apps on their team’s devices, and you can reap the benefits, too. You just need to integrate a powerful yet intuitive suite of apps. 

To help you do so, this article will detail the three best Android app suites for boosting office productivity. 

The Three Apps

App #1 – Microsoft 365

Unlike Microsoft Office (a one-time purchase), Microsoft 365 is a subscription service. With Microsoft 365, you don’t have to worry about paying full price when a new update rolls out.

Subscribers automatically gain access to new features, security updates, and tech support (at no additional cost). These can all be accessed through multiple PCs, tablets, smartphones, and Mac devices.

How many devices exactly? This depends on which Microsoft 365 plan you subscribe to. There are currently 4 business plans and 4 enterprise plans, so you can always tailor your subscription to optimize your return on investment.

Microsoft 365 is probably best described as a productivity hub. It provides much more than convenient access to the Office desktop apps that most people are familiar with: Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

Subscribers also gain access to a holistic suite of productivity-boosting features:

• Inbuilt professional email and calendaring
• Store and share files from multiple devices, with 1 TB of online storage per user.
• Collaboration tools: Microsoft 365 Groups, Yammer, and Microsoft Teams
• Advanced security and device management: Microsoft 365 Defender

You can also consider pairing Microsoft 365 with other productivity tools like Windows 365 (aka “Cloud PC”) and Windows Analytics.

There is also the option of integrating third-party apps with Microsoft 365 In September 2021, Microsoft unveiled third-party integration options for Salesforce and Atlassian’s Confluence Cloud. They join other popular third-party apps like Slack, Mailchimp, Trello, and Evernote.

App #2 – Google Workspace

Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is probably Microsoft 365’s main competitor. Subscribers gain access to a suite of communication and collaboration apps. 

These include worldwide favorites like Gmail, Gdrive, Google Meet, and Calendar, as well as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and more. 

Google offers three business plans (Business Starter, Standard, and Plus) and one Enterprise plan (with custom pricing). Since you subscribe to Google Workspace on a monthly basis, there is more flexibility here. You can easily change from one plan to another each month if your business changes considerably over time. Furthermore, all Google Workspace plans feature a free 14-day trial. This is probably the best way to discover if a particular plan is worth the monthly price tag. 

It is worth noting, however, that Google Workspace’s entry-level plan (Business Basic) only comes with a measly 30GB of storage per user. (Microsoft 365’s equivalent offers 1TB). Google Workspace’s Business Standard and Business Plus plans are nevertheless very competitive as far as storage is concerned. And both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace allow you to buy more storage on a per-user basis if you exceed your current quota. 

If your business needs specific apps that go beyond Google Workspace’s core and supporting apps, you can head over to The Google Workspace Marketplace. This directory of third-party apps contains hundreds of additional apps that are compatible with Google Workspace. For example, Dropbox, Trello, HelloSign, and MindMeister. 

App #3 – WPS Office

WPS Office can be a huge boon in your workplace, supporting nearly 50 languages. It’s free to install and consists of Spreadsheet, Presentation, and Writer. You can also purchase more features. 

Unlike the other apps, WPS Office can even convert PDF to WPS and read Adobe files. This app supports several file types, including HTML, TXT, PPTX, DOT, RTF, and DOC. All documents are compatible with Google Docs and Microsoft Office. 

Furthermore, WPS Writer lets you securely store your documents with passwords. You can also edit your files without the risk of data loss due to the auto-save feature. Additionally, the app comes with a spell checker, comments, and it can track changes. 

That said, WPS Writer might be the strongest app for boosting office productivity on the Android platform.

Optimize your Workplace with Cutting-Edge Android Apps

While all three suites are an excellent choice for Android users, Microsoft 365 might be your best bet.

It delivers the tools necessary for fruitful collaboration, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. The ongoing customer support is admirable, too, meaning you can overcome setbacks quickly. With that said, it is always best to carefully consider all your options before committing to a productivity suite for the long run.

Whichever app suite you choose, it is evident that addressing workplace productivity is pivotal. The trend towards digitization has influenced even the most skeptical and change-resistant.

Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote and hybrid working across multiple industries and countries. While everyone is undoubtedly looking forward to a post-pandemic future where the virus has finally been vanquished, we here at Firewell Technology Solutions believe that a new paradigm of work, management, and productivity will also be at hand, and that’s not ever going away.

If you wish to increase your business’s productivity and profitability, give us a call today. Firewell Technology Solutions provides IT support and IT services to the greater Fresno and Visalia region. We can have a non-salesy chat to work out how we can be of help.

Article, adapted, used with permission from The Technology Press.