How to Maximize Your Microsoft 365 Suite | CloudServus

Sometimes more is more, except when it comes to your technology suite.   

In the never-ending quest to respond to the dynamics of the constantly metamorphosing digital landscape, organizations commonly find themselves encumbered by tool sprawl.  

• A typical desk worker uses 11 applications to perform their job, an increase from only 6 in 2019. Yet half of employees struggle to locate necessary insights, and over one-third overlook critical updates. 

• On average, companies used 130 different Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications in 2022.  
• Organizations use over 30 different security tools, but 90% can’t detect, contain or resolve cyber threats in under an hour.  
• Users toggle between various websites and apps almost 1200 times per day, spending around 4 hours each week, or 9% of their annual work time, refocusing after toggling to a new app. 
• Organizations are using and paying for an average of 3.6 duplicate apps. 
• Around 45% of employees indicate they receive irrelevant notifications that have led to poor decisions. 

A convoluted digital catalog emerges when companies adopt and deploy various tools to perform similar functions. This proliferation of overlapping tools results in a fractured technology environment that perpetuates redundancy, inefficiency, disconnected workflows, higher costs, performance challenges, functionality silos, and security risks.

Fortunately, for businesses relying on Microsoft’s Office 365 suite, there’s an opportunity to maximize their investment and simplify their technology ecosystem.  

Tool Sprawl: Causes & Impact 

Tool sprawl can happen to any organization, especially given mainstream acceleration to cloud-enabled hybrid and remote work models.  

Companies are scrambling to equip workforces with shiny new digital tools, increase responsiveness to complex cybersecurity threats, gain visibility over supply chain operations, and improve the customer experience. But these efforts aren’t always coordinated and can make it challenging to manage, license, and maintain a burgeoning landscape of digital tools over time. 

For example, we often hear from organizations that they’re using a separate tool, like Multifactor Authentication, when they already have access to this in their Microsoft tool suite. 

Simply put - companies lose control and visibility into their technology ecosystem.  

Tool sprawl usually results from: 

• Lack of centralized control or oversight over technology procurement and adoption. For example, DevOps teams might independently select and implement tools that best suit their immediate needs. But this decentralized approach can lead to diverse tools being used for the same purpose across the organization. 
• Isolated technology decision-making where each team prioritizes specific requirements without considering the potential overlap or duplication of functionality with existing tools.  
• Vendor fragmentation from working with multiple vendors or service providers that offer their own respective tool suite. 
• Continued adoption of newly emerging tools and applications to stay ahead of technology advancements without fully evaluating their compatibility or necessity, or decommissioning older versions.  
• Adoption of new tools to compensate for legacy system limitations that end up serving as workarounds rather than address underlying technology gaps. 

• Employee reluctance to let go of familiar tools or adopt new ones, resulting in the coexistence of similar tools. 
• Lack of regular toolkit evaluations and auditing to monitor which tools are being used, their effectiveness, and their necessity.  
• Mergers and acquisitions that did not involve a tool integration and consolidation process.  

Using redundant tools and applications can pose serious risks and consequences.  

Maintaining multiple tools requires separate licensing, training, support and maintenance costs that strain IT budgets. Additionally, when teams leverage various tools for similar functions, data becomes scattered across various platforms, preventing them from gaining a unified view and extracting meaningful insights. Moreover, disparate tools and workflows can create employee confusion and hinder seamless information sharing, undermining the establishment of standardized processes across teams. 

There’s also security and compliance risks to contend with, as each tool might have its own security protocols and compliance requirements. Or unapproved tools may lack the appropriate security measures, exposing organizations to potential data breaches or compliance violations.  

In the case of shadow IT tools that emerge when employees or teams are independently adopting tools without IT department oversight, there may be a lack of integration with existing teams that ultimately require additional resources and efforts to connect and manage. If the organization never gains visibility into this issue, employees might not receive critical technical assistance, updates when issues eventually arise. 

Maximize Your Microsoft 365 Investment & Streamline Your Toolkit 

Over 1 million companies in 2023 use Microsoft Office 365, including four out of five Fortune 500 companies. These organizations must take the opportunity to get the most from this powerful, comprehensive tool suite and simultaneously address tool sprawl. 

Below are some best practices to help you maximize your investment in Microsoft 365 and streamline your toolset: 

Consolidate tools 

Evaluate the tools in your technology stack and identify redundancies, then determine where Microsoft 365 functionality can replace or integrate with any of these tools. For instance, if you have a separate file-sharing tool, consider migrating to OneDrive or SharePoint. 

Conduct a gap analysis 

Identify potential gaps between your existing tools and Microsoft 365 capabilities. Evaluate if these gaps are critical and if there are workarounds or alternative features within the suite that can resolve them.  

Pilot and test 

Before replacing existing tools, perform pilot tests with a small group of users to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of Microsoft 365 for specific tasks or processes. The feedback can enable you to validate the potential benefits before implementing changes across your entire organization. 

Develop a migration plan 

Create an actionable migration plan for tool consolidation, including identifying the order priority of migrating applications, data, and workflows to ease the transition. Ensure you establish a timeline and allocate resources effectively to support the migration plan. 

Provide training and support 

As your employees shift to using Microsoft 365 for tasks they were previously performing with other tools, offer training to help them adapt and understand the new workflows. Provide ongoing support and resources to address any challenges and questions during the transition. 

Leverage collaboration tools 

Encourage employees to use tools like Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive for seamless communication, file sharing, and collaboration. Also, utilize features like document co-authoring, real-time editing, and version control to enhance productivity. 

Streamline workflows 

Identify areas where Microsoft 365 can streamline workflows and automate manual tasks. For example, using Power Automate can create automated workflows that integrate different applications within the suite or with external systems, reducing manual effort and increasing efficiency.  

Customize and extend 

Microsoft 365’s customization options can help tailor the suite to your business requirements. By leveraging this degree of customization, you can develop Power Apps or Power BI dashboards or use Microsoft Graph API, for example, to integrate with other systems and consolidate insights. 

Security and compliance 

Leverage Microsoft’s expansive built-in security features, such as data loss prevention (DLP), information protection, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to simplify your approach to cybersecurity. These built-in capabilities can be complimented with a unified Microsoft endpoint management strategy incorporating solutions like Intune and Autopilot.  

Stay updated 

Microsoft frequently updates the 365 suite with new features and improvements, so ensure you stay on top of this evolving toolset to benefit from the latest functionalities and enhancements.   

Another route? 

Engage a leading Microsoft consultant specializing in Microsoft 365 to help optimize your utilization of the tool suite. CloudServus, a certified Microsoft Solutions Partner, can simplify your technology stack and eliminate tool sprawl so you can work with the cohesive, harmonious, and consolidated breadth of Microsoft 365 solutions. 

We feature targeted solutions to unlock the full potential of your Microsoft 365 suite and eliminate the challenges of tool sprawl. Our expertise and deep knowledge of the Microsoft ecosystem enable our consultants to guide your Microsoft 365 journey - regardless of where you’re at.  

CloudServus can identify redundant or underutilized applications and consolidate your tools within the capabilities of Microsoft 365. We’ll work closely with your teams to understand your needs and technology estate and facilitate a smooth transition to a unified and optimized Microsoft environment.  

Contact us at CloudServus to start extracting the full value from your Microsoft 365 investment and leverage the full power of this intuitive suite to drive efficiency and innovation.