Empower Your Workforce with Microsoft 365 and Copilot

Australia, Jan 15, 2025

A feeling of wonder and marvel can happen with new technologies when you suddenly realise that all the hype and promises are real. Around the world, we’re seeing this right now with generative AI, which has whipped up a lot of hype in such a short time. As organisations come to terms with generative AI and how it can revolutionise their business, they can be left thinking about when and how to modernise their workforce best.  

The underlying premise of generative AI boils down to unlocking a smarter way to achieve efficiency – one of the bedrock goals of any business. It can be put to work to cut time spent on emails, fast-track meetings, create content, digest and analyse news and data, make data-driven decisions and remove distractions, among other things.

Firstly, let’s set the scene around when to modernise by considering a few points.

  • Look at the global impact OpenAI’s ChatGPT has made since November 2022
    ChatGPT, the frontrunner in generative AI, has gone from public beta to integrating its products into technology ecosystems in just over two years. Reports suggest ChatGPT has 200 million weekly active users as of November 2024. Microsoft expanded its partnership with OpenAI in 2023 to accelerate AI further and gain a 49% share of the profits. Apple recently announced that its latest devices will integrate ChatGPT products as part of its Apple Intelligence offering in December 2024. All this and more in just two years!
     
  • Your employees are probably already using AI at work  
    According to the global 2024 Work Trend Index from Microsoft and LinkedIn, three out of four people already use AI at work, with almost half starting in the past 6 months. Nearly 4 in 5 AI users are bringing their own AI tools to work. Around half of those surveyed said nothing about it for fear that doing so would make them seem replaceable.
     
  • CIOs in Australia are already making headway around AI
    The Logicalis Global CIO Report for 2024 shows that the top priority for CIOs in Australia is integrating AI technologies and that 92% of CIOs are actively looking to incorporate it into their business. They are apprehensive about the challenges, unsure of how it will impact their core business and have already started developing policies for its ethical and practical use.

The accessibility and benefits of AI have driven companies to a competitive digital gold rush. Just as the gold rush era in 1850s Australia was at times chaotic, it was also transformative and helped to shape the way our society is today. That same entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and, yes, even a little luck, is happening again right now across business technology. Just like in the past, those who get in first, try their luck and remain adaptable to changing conditions can take the lead.  

Okay, so now let’s look at the how to modernise your workforce using Microsoft 365 and Copilot.

While there have been several single-point solutions to develop AI-generated copy, images, videos or presentations, no other company has yet integrated these offerings into one place as much as Microsoft with Copilot.  

One of the benefits of Microsoft and its ecosystem is that it can provide a deep level of integration with many of the world’s most popular business apps included in Microsoft 365. There’s no need to switch between multiple platforms.  

In addition to this, Microsoft knows how to provide and facilitate access to corporate data, not only through its own Azure infrastructure but also through third-party cloud apps. AI tools with access to a company’s own data can be better trained for accuracy and avoid limitations of using public data.    

Finally, Microsoft is heavily invested in the privacy and security of its systems and its data sources. Copilot data is securely stored within Microsoft cloud and is subject to strict privacy and security policies. Unlike many of the other generative AI tools, Copilot will not make your data available to anyone who does not have access to it.  

Things to consider before you hit the GO button

AI has long been described as a disruptive technology. Unfortunately, without the right strategies in place to adopt it, it can sometimes be your business that it disrupts rather than your competitors. Yes, AI can streamline and deliver a raft of efficiencies to processes and systems across your business, but there are a few ducks to get in a row before that can happen.  

These include:

Workforce Change and Adoption – plan to provide clear AI guidelines and ensure staff enablement and training services are available around Copilot. These should cover what Copilot is and how, why and when to use to it.  

Security and Security Awareness – AI works best when you enable access to your existing data ecosystem. While access to all data is not required for success, it is good to be aware what data will offer the most value and be aware of the security implications around adopting Copilot, which can include data leakage and unauthorised access.  

Identity and Identity Governance – while most organisations should already be considering role-based access control to data and applications, adopting Copilot is yet another reason to be heading in this direction. Copilot in Azure only has access to the same resources that each user has access to and complies with all existing access management rules and protections including Azure role-based access control. If permissions are too broad, or not well managed, then Copilot could reveal sensitive data inadvertently.  

Data Modernisation – Microsoft Copilot draws on the data domain of existing 365 applications like OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams. When governed effectively, this integration can provide more effective results and offer greater value to clients. Modernising your data can help to uncover data-driven insights, enhance innovation, improve your customer experience and boost reliable decision-making in your organisation.  

Partnering for success

Finding a strong technology partner with the right expertise and experience can make all the difference in modernising your workforce with Microsoft 365 and Copilot. They can help support your organisation and deliver expertise around workforce change and adoption, security, identity, governance and data modernisation. Moreover, they can help you measure and demonstrate the return on investment of your AI initiatives, ensuring alignment with your organisation’s strategic goals.

While it can feel chaotic during the digital AI gold rush, remaining creative, agile and connected can help deliver the modernisation your workforce needs. With the support of a trusted partner, your team can confidently take the next steps in unlocking the opportunity for AI across your business.  

Logicalis Australia is Microsoft’s Australia and New Zealand 2024 Azure Partner of the Year and has twelve advanced specialisations and accreditations, including Microsoft Security, Modern Work and Azure. The team at Logicalis already uses Microsoft Copilot and other generative AI tools within their own business and can share their own expertise along with those of other customers.  

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