Microsoft is the newest 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 giant language fashions.

Given Copilot’s means to streamline tedious duties, many companies might contemplate transferring to Microsoft 365 to benefit from this AI companion operate. Earlier than doing so, nonetheless, their IT groups and MSPs should consider their present programs and put together for the in depth migration forward of them.

Let’s take a better have a look at the advantages of Microsoft Copilot and what IT groups ought to pay attention to 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 giant language fashions. As an AI assistant for Microsoft customers, the principle purpose of the instrument is to assist streamline each day duties and create time-saving shortcuts in Microsoft’s purposes.

In Home windows, Microsoft Copilot permits 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 numerous accounts akin to Gmail, Yahoo! and iCloud in a single software. Copilot’s clever instruments then assist customers write clear, concise emails and seamlessly connect vital paperwork and pictures from OneDrive, making your entire course of simpler.

As well as, Microsoft has launched a modernized File Explorer dwelling, handle bar and search field, all of that are designed to assist customers extra simply entry vital and related content material, keep updated with file exercise, and collaborate with out even opening a file.

Finally, Microsoft Copilot is designed to make these time-consuming duties faster and simpler to navigate, saving customers worthwhile 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. Nevertheless, earlier than they do, there are a selection of things that should be thought-about to make sure a seamless migration.

What to think about earlier than migrating to Microsoft 365

Migrations generally is a complicated course of that requires plenty of steps, planning and precautions to execute them appropriately and effectively. For these seeking to migrate to Microsoft 365 particularly, numerous elements have to be evaluated earlier than, throughout and after a migration.

Licensing and Prices

Perceive Microsoft’s licensing fashions, as they are often fairly complicated. It’s vital 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 price implications. The licensing fashions accessible can considerably differ from the service supplier corporations at present use, so it’s vital to pay attention to the fee discrepancies and consider budgets prematurely.

Compliance and Safety

Microsoft gives a variety of compliance certifications and safety options. It’s important to grasp the particular compliance necessities every enterprise wants to fulfill and the way Microsoft’s companies may also help them obtain and keep compliance.

For instance, Microsoft makes use of Multi-Issue Authentication (MFA) for enhanced identification safety. It additionally has numerous conditional entry insurance policies to manage entry based mostly on sure circumstances, serving to to maintain data and person identities protected. As well as, Microsoft deploys Superior Menace 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 vital 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 knowledge. As an illustration, Microsoft deploys eDiscovery instruments that allow organizations to establish, maintain and export content material for authorized or compliance functions. That is notably essential in authorized investigations or audits.

Corporations should set up knowledge governance insurance policies and procedures to make sure knowledge privateness and compliance with rules 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 general knowledge administration.

Use The Proper Migration Device

There are numerous migration instruments available on the market, which makes choosing the best one a tough and generally 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 might derail a migration and its outcomes.

For instance, corporations could also be tempted to make use of free, first-party instruments due to the worth level. Nevertheless, 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 suitable Microsoft capabilities that meet corporations’ Microsoft 365 migration wants.

Efficiency Testing

With any migration, efficiency testing is vital. When it comes to 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 establish 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 impression a challenge.

Change Administration

Following a migration, it’s important that corporations develop a change administration plan to assist workers adapt to the brand new Microsoft programs, 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 gives a Change Administration Framework for organizations to information planning and implement modifications to their Microsoft environments. This framework consists of greatest practices, templates, and steerage 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 facility of AI and Copilot

Microsoft Copilot marks a big milestone on this 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 corporations put together emigrate to Microsoft 365 to benefit from Copilot, it’s crucial that IT groups contemplate plenty of elements and implement a number of steps to make sure the migration to the system supplier is clean and headache-free. As soon as the migration is full and firms have transitioned to Microsoft 365, they will reap the advantages of Copilot and embrace the facility of AI for a extra productive future.

By Stacey Farrar