#Microsoft365 #Office365 has forever changed the way we deal with technology. Gone are the days of installing a new version of something and then complaining about it for 3 years until you invest in the next version. It’s time for all of us to embrace a new way of “agile” progression, here’s some tips and resources to change the way you think and better prepare yourself.
For previous posts in my #Microsoft365Challenge go to the index page.
DISCLAIMER: I WRITE ARTICLES ABOUT OFFICE / MICROSOFT 365. CONTENT IS ACCURATE AT TIME OF PUBLICATION, HOWEVER UPDATES AND NEW ADDITIONS HAPPEN DAILY WHICH COULD CHANGE THE ACCURACY OR RELEVANCE. PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND WHEN USING MY BLOGS AS GUIDELINES.
Release preferences:
Office 365 has two options for releases, Standard and Targeted Release.
- Standard release will give users the updates as they are released broadly to all Office 365 customers.
- With Targeted release you can define which users receives ‘early’ updates, for example IT or Power Users.
“A good practice is to leave majority of users in Standard release and IT Pros and power users in Targeted release to evaluate new features and prepare teams to support business users and executives.” Read more
With Office 365 ProPlus you have the following channels as an option:
- Monthly Channel – Releases every month
- Semi-Annual Channel – Releases every six months
Read more about Best practices: Update Channels
I’m not a fan of keeping updates back because you’re scared something will break or someone will cry. You’ll probably not end up releasing the updates for…. ever. Face the music and work through it. Make sure you have a team of people focusing on specific products who can support whatever gets released etc.
It’s also important that your users understand what Office 365 is, and what it means to get updates regularly. What should they do if Outlook doesn’t open after an update got released? Surely we chose Office 365 because we want to be part of the future and not wait 3 years for it? Pros and Cons I tell you.
7 Tips to go from Zero to Hero in your Digital journey:
- Make sure that your company really understands what Office 365 is and how releases work. Communicate regularly, through awareness we minimize impact.
- Share the resources with your users (road-maps / training center / what’s new in Office 365) – so they can learn to help themselves as well.
- Teach users to use the feedback mechanisms in the apps. 🙂
- Ensure that your IT team / Power Users are ON THE BALL. They need to keep their eye on the Twitter and FaceBook groups, the different support sites / resources. Become part of the community and contribute. Regularly check the Roadmap to see what’s being developed / planned, read the “Weekly digest: Office 365 changes”
- If something happens – BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM – please don’t complain and not do something about it. Log a Service Request on the Office 365 portal.
- Is it something you think that should be changed or added? Go to User Voice and see if it’s been logged? If not, log it, if yes, vote for it.
- Your Product specialist / Power Users should be proactive. If a new feature is released, they should go try it out immediately, not just to mitigate risk, but also to get geeky about it and share the good news as quickly as possible with the users in the company.
Resources:
Customer Feedback for Microsoft Office (User Voice)
Welcome to Office 365 feedback and suggestions site! We love hearing from our customers. If you have suggestions for how we can improve, please share them with us here or at one of the related sites listed on the right. While we can’t respond to every suggestion, we are committed to reading every post.
How it works
- Select one of the feedback forums from the list below
- Check out the ideas others have suggested and vote on your favorites
- If you have a suggestion that’s not listed yet, submit your own — 25 words or less, please
- One idea per post
As an Office 365 subscriber, you regularly get new and improved Office features. Take a look to see what’s available to you today.
The Office 365 Roadmap lists updates that are currently planned for applicable subscribers. Updates are at various stages from being in development to rolling-out to customers to being generally available for applicable customers world-wide.
Find training and tutorials for Office 365 and Office apps, including Outlook, OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Skype for Business, and more!
The mission of this online community is to provide a platform for IT Pros, Developers, Office 365 and Azure Users, cloud fans and Microsoft to interact. It is a central destination for education and thought leadership on best practices, product news, live events, and road-map.
I absolutely love (Microsoft) Office 365. Yes, it’s a bit like being married and there are days when we go to bed mad at each other, barely speaking. But Microsoft is my partner and together we’ll make each other better than we were the day before. Thank you Microsoft, for giving me the most amazing set of tools with which I can help transform people into the incredible beings they were always supposed to be.
Purpose of this blog challenge: I will write 365 blogs in 365 days around Microsoft 365. I did a similar challenge with Office 365, blogs can be found here. I won’t just be talking about the new Microsoft 365 subscription model. I will be sharing any news, tips and tricks around Office / Office 365 / Windows / Mobility and Security. And let’s not forget all the great new Apps & services available. A lot of what I’ll share on Office and SharePoint will also be applicable to none “Office 365” versions.
You can also find me contributing to REgarding 365. I’m a member of a group of enthusiasts, sharing their stories, thoughts and opinions about Microsoft 365. Catch us at https://regarding365.com | @regarding365 on Twitter and regarding365 on YouTube
Leave a Reply