Lesser-Known Office 365 Features: Exploring the Power Platform

Craig Yellick, VP Business Solutions

Microsoft’s Office 365 offers a productivity suite of tools and features that rivals most other providers. Some of these features are not even known about or underappreciated for their impact. Blue Net is here to ensure you do not miss out on the power of Office 365 and all of its tools.

What Is the Microsoft Power Platform?

Is there one IT solution that raises your security profile, increases productivity, and reduces your operating costs all at the same time? The answer is yes, and it’s Microsoft’s Office 365 suite of applications. You have probably heard of Office 365 by now and many of the things it can do, but you might not be aware of some of its lesser well-known features. Today, we’re here to talk about the Power Platform and what it can do for your business.

Ready to learn more about Office 365 and all the ways it enhances your business operations? Take a closer look at how Blue Net helps you harness the power of these applications.

The phrase Power Platform is a collective term for three different Microsoft applications included in the Office 365 features: Power BI, Power Apps, and Power Automate. Together, these applications allow you to easily manipulate, automate, and analyze data. It’s comprehensive data insight and app creation all combined into one effective business platform.

Raise Visibility With Power BI

The Power BI applications is the business analytics center of this triumvirate. Users take information from multiple databases, reports, and other resources to construct actionable reports and dashboards. These dashboards display relevant data about sales, customer service, and other various functions of a business. They also have the flexibility to be published on websites, Sharepoint, Microsoft Teams, and other apps.

These analytic tools and informative dashboards equip your business to make decisions informed by accurate, data-driven insights. Instead of planning ahead based on opinions or the various perceptions of your staff and leadership, you’ll have hard facts to fall back on when you need to make a critical decision. Let the team at Blue Net empower your staff with the data to make well-informed decisions for the future.

Transform Ideas Into Practical Solutions With Power Apps

In the past, application development was a slow, expensive process that only specialized teams could perform. Today, you can put the power in the hands of your staff and start building apps right away. Power Apps has pre-built templates, drag-and-drop functionality, and offers rapid deployment for your schedule. It is also designed to let you implement continuous improvements or patches as needed.

Build the applications you need with tools that were once out of reach. Power Apps gives everyone the capability to develop and design applications with advanced functionality options there were only available among premium developers before. Talk to Blue Net about the tools you need and the gaps in your functionality. We’ll be there to help develop the applications to make a significant difference in your organization.

Automate Workflows With Power Automate

It was once called Microsoft Flow, but it was rebranded as Power Automate. It was developed as a tool to help businesses like yours develop automated workflows between the applications you depend on and the services you perform everyday. There are multiple possibilities for the workflows you can set up which leaves the applications open for customizability as needed.

There are currently over 200 apps that work with Power Automate and that number is only growing. Your operation can use these automated workflows to integrate and update data, synchronize files, manage notifications, and even more. The ideal use for Power Automate is to automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks. This automation opens up new opportunities for your employees to do more with their time and maximize their use of time throughout the day.

Don’t Miss Out on the Advantages of Office 365 for Business

You’ll never struggle to find a blog or webpage talking about all of the features and benefits of Office 365. The word is out and everyone knows how powerful those office apps are. Customers who rely on Office 365 stick with Blue Net because we understand how to make the most of all these features and apps. You won’t be in the dark on Office 365 hidden features with our team at your side.

Keep Up With Office 365 New Features and Opportunities

Are you curious about cloud-based solutions? Mobile device management options? Get your answers in real-time with an executive whiteboard planning session from Blue Net. We offer these sessions so a small group from your organization can discuss the challenges facing your business, the long term goals of your organization, and learn how Office 365/Sharepoint/Teams can start to create the solutions you need.

These interactive sessions are the perfect place to make a direct connection with our team and start to build a lasting relationship between your company and Blue Net. To learn more about our whiteboard sessions and Office 365, reach out and contact Blue Net today. Schedule your whiteboard session or fill out the form on our contact page.