The 5 Best Productivity Tools That Come Free With Your Microsoft 365 Subscriptions
Microsoft 365 represents some of the best innovations in cloud-based tools, especially for companies that want to maximize their productivity. The 365 suite of services aims to streamline the workplace for the digital age, helping employers and employees alike access data, share information, and overall improve collaboration for a more efficient workplace.
While you may be familiar with some of the long-standing services in Office 365 like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, it’s the other productivity platforms and tools that truly make your Office 365 subscription worth it. These powerful tools not only make navigating what 365 has to offer a lot easier, but they can also help you with your productivity overall.
1) Microsoft Sharepoint Online
Microsoft Sharepoint Online may be familiar to people who have used Microsoft services for a long time, but for those who aren’t in the loop: it’s a file management and collaborative platform that streamlines how you share resources and data.
Think of it as a website/portal where you can store, edit, share, and publish documents. Unlike OneDrive, Sharepoint is more than just a depository of documents: it’s a place where you can assign permissions, link schedules, and publish web pages.
- Seamlessly integrated with the rest of Microsoft 365
- Allows automatic versions and backups
- Cloud-based service updates automatically
- End-to-end security for all data
- Accessible on all devices
Sharepoint has both Online and On-Premise versions, though we recommend moving to Online as the service is easier to manage without having to worry about the maintenance of your own servers.
2) Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is the online video conferencing and communication tool included in the Office 365 suite, helping you communicate, hold company-wide calls, and schedule meetings without worrying about switching to different platforms and devices.
Teams is fully integrated with the rest of Microsoft’s 365 services, so you can schedule meetings while also attaching relevant files for easier access. You can also access the rest of the Microsoft Office 365 suite seamlessly from this platform for a smoother transition between different software.
- High-quality video streaming available by default
- Secure encryption during communications
- A comprehensive dashboard providing detailed oversight of different features
- Participant capacity in the hundreds
- Most affordable premium plans compared to other video conferencing services
By using Microsoft teams, you’re able to bring the best of what the Office 365 suite can offer to your co-workers and employees, allowing you even more freedom and flexibility to collaborate. Since it’s already included with your 365 subscriptions, it’s a convenient way to collaborate with your employees.
3) Microsoft To Do
Microsoft To Do is technically a free application that you can download on your devices, only requiring a Microsoft account to work. It’s essentially a task manager that helps you stay organized on things to do day-to-day, without the clutter of too many other things getting in your way.
As a Microsoft service, it’s fully integrated with other scheduling applications like Microsoft Outlook. The difference is that To Do is an application more focused on your specific tasks, allowing you to get better oversight on things that you personally need to manage.
- Invite people by giving them a link to your own To Do lists
- Add subtasks for easier tracking of your projects
- Group similar tasks under Lists
- Integrate with Outlook Tasks for easier task management
- Do quick overviews of needed tasks with easy UI
Microsoft To Do offers a simple way for you to keep track of what needs doing and what steps need to be taken to get there, especially once you’ve integrated it with other services like Outlook. If you’ve ever wanted to move your to-do lists from your desk to online, this is the way to do it.
4) Microsoft OneNote
For people who like note-taking, Microsoft OneNote offers an efficient and easy way to get your thoughts organized. For a free application, it has a surprising amount of features that you don’t need to go past a paywall for – plus, it has excellent features for anyone who takes notes by hand.
OneNote can even help with different types of content, especially for numbers and calculations with OneNote Math. All you need to do is to write the equation freehand, and the application can do the rest by calculating it for you.
- Vastly improved Search function navigates all your notes
- Optimized Tag system allows for better organization
- Web clipper function that allows you to copy content directly from a web page
- Text can be pulled from images and embedding into your notes
- Digital ink that allows you to draw with supported devices like Microsoft Surface
OneNote can also do things like clip videos, but it’s not a particularly prominent feature of the app and other software can do it much better. However, this can be offset by other features that can make navigating your notes, like the Accessibility Checker.
5) Microsoft MyAnalytics
If you’ve ever wanted an overview of what exactly you’re spending your time on while you’re at work or online, the insights you’ll be able to see in MyAnalytics can give you some idea of how you spend your time. And with enough insights, you’ll be able to adjust your habits accordingly and become a more efficient worker overall.
One of the strongest points for using MyAnalytics is that it’s a service that categorizes the time that you have to space (also known as “Focus”) aside from the time that you spend, which can factor in its calculations about the best way for you to work. It can go even further and assign you ample time to rest and recharge via allotting your “Wellbeing” statistics, to make sure you don’t overwork yourself.
- Accurately track, measure, and predict your workflows over time
- See the people you’ve collaborated with frequently via Network
- Check your communication statistics including the number of emails sent
- Toggle features you’d like to disable with tracking your time
- Integrate it with the rest of the Microsoft 365 suite
MyAnalytics is a great tool to use if you feel like you need more control over how you spend your time working but don’t have the hard data to make a workflow or establish your working hours. By streamlining how you spend your time, you’re able to perform at your best while keeping a healthy work-life balance.
Develop Your Website Infrastructure With Abacus Today
Productivity tools do more than help you become more efficient at work – they can organize and make your entire workspace a collaborative place for everyone. With the tools above (plus some free Microsoft features), you can turbocharge your productivity with ease.
Abacus has extensive experience in helping our clients deploy a productive Microsoft Office ecosystem. To learn more about how we can help you with our services, call us at (856) 505 – 6860 and book a consultation today.
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