How to harness the business opportunity of Microsoft’s Modern Workplace

Flexible working is here to stay. In this post-pandemic era, the new norm is for employees to work remotely or hybrid. These practices are no longer seen as a perk but have become an expectation.

Employers now face the challenge of facilitating modern, flexible working practices to replace their traditional on-premises set-ups. But to do this, they need reliable systems, access to the full range of tools they had in the traditional workplace, together with the ability to communicate as clearly as if a colleague were sat next to them – all while keeping data safe and protected. Plus, the technology must be cost-effective and adapt to different contexts, especially for smaller and medium-sized businesses.

So, what’s the answer? Digital transformation solutions, such as Microsoft’s Modern Workplace suite, have developed in response to this workplace evolution. Specifically designed to help organisations transform their practices, they enable businesses to adapt and stay competitive. And these innovative solutions don’t just deliver better work-life balance, they empower users to work more efficiently, productively, innovatively, securely, and cost-effectively.

Let’s dive deeper and explore the full capabilities of Microsoft’s Modern Workplace, so you can learn about the benefits to your customers and the opportunities it presents for your MSP business.

What is the Microsoft Modern Workplace?

In a nutshell, it’s a suite of tools, technologies, and applications to enable people to work smarter, be more productive, collaborate effectively, and harness new tools, safely and securely. It facilitates remote and hybrid working to enable digital transformation, effective communication, and improved efficiency. It can also scale and flex to any workforce, team, or location – including smaller operations.

The evolving capabilities of Microsoft’s Modern Workplace mean it’s not only an effective solution for remote working but a lasting, long-term access point for new tools and innovations. It presents opportunities for users and businesses to not just change, but to improve and streamline the way they work – even to work more creatively. It also provides an effective way for MSPs to upsell new solutions, enabling long-term productive partnerships.

What does the Microsoft Modern Workplace provide?

The Modern Workplace comprises a suite of Microsoft 365 technologies and productivity applications like Office 365, Exchange email, Enterprise Mobility + Security, SharePoint, OneDrive, Azure, and more. It’s designed to meet the evolving needs of modern businesses by providing one, universal system that simplifies administration, enhances security with end-to-end encryption, and offers regular product improvements.

These solutions can be integrated into your customers’ operations to improve productivity, security, and collaboration whilst remaining cost-effective. Key benefits and features include:

• Hybrid and remote work setup: Microsoft Teams enables seamless communication and collaboration among remote and in-office employees. Teams facilitates video meetings, chat, file sharing, and real-time collaboration on documents.
• Cybersecurity and compliance: Microsoft 365 Business Premium provides advanced security features like threat protection, information protection, and identity and access management.
• Cost-effective IT management: Azure Active Directory and Microsoft Intune allow SMBs to manage user identities and devices efficiently without a large IT staff. This helps organisations maintain control over their IT environments and reduce costs.
• Data accessibility and collaboration: SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business enable SMBs to store, share, and co-edit documents securely from any location.
• Productivity and organisational efficiency: Tools like Microsoft Planner and Microsoft To-Do help users manage projects and tasks efficiently, enhancing team productivity.
• Reliability and uptime: Microsoft’s Modern Work solutions, such as Office 365 and Microsoft Teams, are hosted on Azure, one of the most reliable cloud platforms available. This ensures high availability and uptime, meaning that businesses can operate continuously without the interruptions that often come with on-premises solutions.
• Automation and streamlining workflows: Microsoft Power Automate enables SMBs to automate repetitive tasks and create streamlined workflows. This can include everything from simple data transfers between applications to complex business processes.

What are the business benefits for MSPs offering Microsoft Modern Workplace solutions?

When it comes to business opportunity, Microsoft’s Modern Workplace isn’t just about adding new products to your portfolio; it’s about genuinely expanding what you can offer to your customers and helping them develop and grow.

By offering these solutions, you can not only enhance your service range but also build more predictable, recurring revenue streams. And that brings the financial stability every business needs. Plus, providing these modern solutions helps strengthen relationships with your clients. They see you’re invested in their success, offering them genuine value to solve their business challenges. This is how you stay ahead in the competitive MSP landscape.

Key business benefits:

• Increase revenues and margins by upselling higher-value licenses such as Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
• Acquire new customers by working closely with intY to develop effective marketing campaigns.
• Boost your bottom line by activating exclusive Microsoft benefits.

How we can help: intY’s Modern Workplace Practice

The Microsoft ecosystem can feel complex and overwhelming. That’s why we developed our Modern Workplace Practice, to help you grow your Microsoft Cloud offering with specialist support.

Through our programme, you’ll receive all the specific expertise, product and sales support you need. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of Microsoft’s capabilities and tools, develop your offers, and learn how to confidently explain the value of these services to customers.

Steps to success – how our Modern Workplace Practice works:

1. Onboarding: We start by enrolling you in the Microsoft Partner Centre, where you’ll learn about available benefits and the learning pathways to gain Microsoft Solutions Partner Designations.
2. Learning & development planning: You’ll receive training and development plans to support your Microsoft accreditation journey and optimise your cloud portfolio.
3. Marketing: We’ll identify your upselling and cross-selling opportunities by analysing your Microsoft Partner Centre data and harnessing Microsoft’s marketing collateral. By combining these with intY’s marketing expertise, we’ll help you devise campaigns that captivate your customers and attract and convert new leads.
4. Sales cycle support: Finally, we’ll support you with a range of dynamic sales opportunities. You’ll be able to access product demonstrations and sales training, we can deliver end-user training for your customers, and we’ll conduct exclusive sales events to help you secure new business wins.

Want to learn more about the Modern Workplace opportunity? Or are you ready to get started now? Talk to our team here.