Microsoft 365 Shows Growing Commitment to Small Businesses

One of the biggest players in the IT world is refashioning a product specifically to suit small business. Microsoft 365 Business was described as a “fundamental departure in how we think about product creation” by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO, Satya Nadella, at the company’s Inspire event in Washington this week.

Nadella discussed how the new venture incorporates the fusion of three of Microsoft’s flagship products with artificial intelligence (AI).

“This is the coming together of the best of Office 365, Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility and Security,” he said, making it clear the swath Microsoft wants to cut with this new suite of tools is large.

“Everyone needs to be connected. We have an opportunity here to democratize access to these tools to every small and medium sized business.”

A Look Inside Microsoft 365 Business

Microsoft 365 Business is an offshoot of the already well known Microsoft 365 Enterprise software tool used by larger companies. The newer features to be implemented include:

AI working with Outlook Emails

Microsoft 365 Business will use AI to sort your emails in Outlook. These will be curated and the ones you read most often will be placed in a focused inbox. One click will also give you a summary card of all the most relevant points in any email.

AI Working with Word

The artificial intelligence implemented into Microsoft 365 Business Word will help you become a better writer. It will highlight the kind of grammar miscues like wordiness and double negatives that get missed with the existing helpers available .

Score Sentiments and Map in Excel

Microsoft 365 Business also accelerates productivity by making presentations easier to read and making it easier to send graphs and maps in Excel. You can even corral customer feedback into sentiments with one click and then post them to graphs and maps effectively changing words to visuals.

PowerPoint Design Additions

Choose from an assortment of pictures for those important PowerPoint displays and have them sized automatically into existing templates. This latest version takes over the need for graphic design know how.

Create with 3D

3D objects placed in PowerPoint presentations will get an extra boost. The new morph transition will add an animation effect so more detail and visual angles are possible.

Real World Option with Windows 10 Camera

Take the 3D slide from the PowerPoint presentation. Place the subject on a table or somewhere else in the real world. Snap a picture and even add it back into the presentation with Microsoft 365 Business.

New Whiteboard AI App

This new feature recognizes shapes and intent. Draw a triangle. The app recognizes it as such and adds angles. The AI feature also draws cells that expand and contract automatically as you fill in squares so everything is proportionate. This type of collaboration is possible on a single document shared and modified  across the world.

The Team Hub

An old idea reworked, this addition to the Microsoft 365 Business offering includes the ability to pull apps in to one central location so everyone can work with the same set of tools.

Azure Information Protection

This allows small businesses to classify, label and protect any document. This protection is called persistent in that it travels with the document wherever it goes. It can also automatically encrypt a document by recognizing a preassigned security name.

Image: Microsoft

This article, "Microsoft 365 Shows Growing Commitment to Small Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends