Microsoft is the most recent firm to unveil enhanced synthetic intelligence (AI) choices to its clients. Rolling out this fall, Microsoft Copilot is an AI help characteristic designed for Microsoft 365 purposes and companies, Edge and Home windows. The instrument leverages the superior capabilities of OpenAI’s GPT-4 massive language fashions.
Given Copilot’s capacity to streamline tedious duties, many companies might think about transferring to Microsoft 365 to reap the benefits of this AI companion perform. Earlier than doing so, nonetheless, their IT groups and MSPs should consider their present techniques and put together for the intensive migration forward of them.
Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at the advantages of Microsoft Copilot and what IT groups ought to concentrate on earlier than transferring to Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Copilot and its advantages
As talked about above, Microsoft Copilot leverages the superior capabilities of OpenAI’s GPT-4 massive language fashions. As an AI assistant for Microsoft customers, the principle aim of the instrument is to assist streamline each day duties and create time-saving shortcuts in Microsoft’s purposes.
In Home windows, Microsoft Copilot allows customers to create sooner, full duties with ease and reduce the cognitive load, making once-complicated duties easier. For instance, within the new Outlook for Home windows, customers can join and coordinate varied accounts equivalent to Gmail, Yahoo! and iCloud in a single utility. Copilot’s clever instruments then assist customers write clear, concise emails and seamlessly connect necessary paperwork and pictures from OneDrive, making the complete course of simpler.
As well as, Microsoft has launched a modernized File Explorer residence, tackle bar and search field, all of that are designed to assist customers extra simply entry necessary and related content material, keep updated with file exercise, and collaborate with out even opening a file.
In the end, Microsoft Copilot is designed to make these time-consuming duties faster and simpler to navigate, saving customers helpful time and assets that may be allotted to different initiatives. These efficiencies and automation improve productiveness for customers, which is a big cause why many companies could also be migrating to Microsoft to entry this new AI-driven characteristic. Nonetheless, earlier than they do, there are a selection of things that have to be thought of to make sure a seamless migration.
What to contemplate earlier than migrating to Microsoft 365
Migrations could be a complicated course of that requires quite a lot of steps, planning and precautions to execute them accurately and effectively. For these trying to migrate to Microsoft 365 particularly, varied components have to be evaluated earlier than, throughout and after a migration.
Licensing and Prices
Perceive Microsoft’s licensing fashions, as they are often somewhat complicated. It’s necessary to make sure you’re conscious of the licensing necessities for the services or products you propose to make use of and be ready for potential value implications. The licensing fashions accessible can considerably differ from the service supplier firms at the moment use, so it’s necessary to pay attention to the associated fee discrepancies and consider budgets upfront.
Compliance and Safety
Microsoft offers a variety of compliance certifications and safety options. It’s important to know the precise compliance necessities every enterprise wants to satisfy and the way Microsoft’s companies will help them obtain and keep compliance.
For instance, Microsoft makes use of Multi-Issue Authentication (MFA) for enhanced id safety. It additionally has varied conditional entry insurance policies to manage entry based mostly on sure situations, serving to to maintain info and consumer identities secure. As well as, Microsoft deploys Superior Risk Safety (ATP) to guard towards superior threats in emails and paperwork.
These compliance and safety features might have a studying curve for some customers, so it’s necessary training and coaching are factored into planning as soon as the transfer to Microsoft 365 is full.
Information Governance
Microsoft companies typically deal with delicate information. For example, Microsoft deploys eDiscovery instruments that allow organizations to determine, maintain and export content material for authorized or compliance functions. That is notably essential in authorized investigations or audits.
Firms should set up information governance insurance policies and procedures to make sure information privateness and compliance with laws just like the Normal Information Safety Regulation (GDPR) and the Well being Insurance coverage Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). These insurance policies and procedures ought to align with the capabilities and instruments Microsoft can provide to make sure final safety and total information administration.
Use The Proper Migration Device
There are lots of migration instruments available on the market, which makes choosing the proper one a difficult and typically strenuous course of. In relation to migrating from a system supplier to Microsoft 365, it’s important to make use of a migration instrument that’s purpose-built for Microsoft to keep away from hiccups or setbacks that would derail a migration and its outcomes.
For instance, firms could also be tempted to make use of free, first-party instruments due to the worth level. Nonetheless, these instruments typically have restricted options and performance, scalability points and hidden prices. Utilizing a third-party platform will typically present superior configuration choices, 24/7 technical help, cost-effective instruments and appropriate Microsoft capabilities that meet firms’ Microsoft 365 migration wants.
Efficiency Testing
With any migration, efficiency testing is vital. By way of migrating to Microsoft 365, IT groups ought to conduct efficiency testing to make sure the brand new Microsoft surroundings can deal with the workload and ship the required efficiency. This course of will determine any bottlenecks and permit IT professionals to resolve them earlier than conducting the precise migration, serving to to mitigate issues and complications that may negatively influence a challenge.
Change Administration
Following a migration, it’s important that firms develop a change administration plan to assist staff adapt to the brand new Microsoft techniques, processes and workflows. Coaching and help are key elements of this plan.
Fortuitously, Microsoft has a number of processes that may make the transition to its platform seamless and straightforward. Microsoft offers a Change Administration Framework for organizations to information planning and implement modifications to their Microsoft environments. This framework consists of greatest practices, templates, and steering for change administration processes.
As well as, Microsoft Endpoint Supervisor is a unified administration answer for deploying and managing units in a corporation. It permits directors to plan and deploy software program updates, purposes, and configurations in a managed and arranged method.
Embracing the ability of AI and Copilot
Microsoft Copilot marks a big milestone on the planet of AI, creating one other refined instrument for companies to make use of at their disposal to enhance operations and streamline each day duties.
As firms put together emigrate to Microsoft 365 to reap the benefits of Copilot, it’s crucial that IT groups think about quite a lot of components and implement a number of steps to make sure the migration to the system supplier is easy and headache-free. As soon as the migration is full and corporations have transitioned to Microsoft 365, they will reap the advantages of Copilot and embrace the ability of AI for a extra productive future.
By Stacey Farrar
