Last week Microsoft hinted and showed several trends at Microsoft Ignite, their conference that showcases the company’s enterprise products and services and provides IT training.
Ignite is Microsoft’s premier event with more than 30,000 participants in Orlando, Florida. At HingePoint, we saw several trends emerging that are either going to disrupt or help business. Some of these are obvious, some are not.
But the bottom line is that Microsoft has made an already amazing enterprise platform to communicate with SharePoint and Office 365 even better.
Artificial Intelligence
Microsoft makes Artificial Intelligence look like one of the greatest helpers to humanity. A hint of the scary-technology stigma that creates things like the robots in The Matrix was squashed. (Not sure what Elon Musk was referring to.)
Microsoft is working to deepen it’s artificial intelligence based solutions. For example, the keynote was being live streamed across the world, and artificial intelligence was translating the keynote in 12 languages simultaneously and instantly.
At the event, Microsoft had a station with facial recognition technology. Artificial intelligence could determine if you were happy, sad, angry, scared, in additional to several other emotions. It can also determine your age fairly accurately (It determined this writer is 40 years of age. It was way off… I’m almost 38; let’s keep it the 30s Artificial Intelligence!)
Artificial intelligence will also be used to communicate. According to Microsoft: “Organizations can now create and deliver rich conversational support solutions across multiple channels and improve support team productivity thanks to intelligent customer-facing virtual assistants that support live agents and conversation management.”
Mixed Reality
Microsoft is going after mixed-use reality to increase collaboration. It’s where virtual reality, augmented reality and holograms are added into an immersive and often physical work environment.
Ford is using Microsoft’s mixed-use reality to design cars. Before car companies would make huge clay models to review their designs. Take bumpers. Designers would physically change the bumpers so engineering and designer can approve a new model.
Now, Ford designers and engineers can put on a virtual reality headset like Hololens, and see digital models. They can interchange multiple bumper models.
Enabling the Digital Transformation
To enable the digital transformation, Microsoft works in four key areas: empowering employees, engaging customers, optimizing operations and transforming products.
At HingePoint, we still see small businesses working exclusively in Outlook, Excel, PDFs and not optimal versions of SharePoint. They have not reached the digital transformation Microsoft hopes. These companies are having problems where CEOs cannot see the whole picture about their business, and fear prevails of under-utilizing employees and making major financial mistakes.
This is what Microsoft hopes the digital transformation alleviates.
Moving You to the Cloud
Microsoft is determined to move you to the cloud. So much so they have a team of trusted partners to help your company migrate to the cloud. Called FastTrack, the Microsoft teams are designed to help IT professionals and partners get the tools, resources, and guidance needed to move to Microsoft 365, Azure, and Dynamics 365. “FastTrack can provide you with personalized assistance at any time, as long as your subscription is active.”
Microsoft Teams
If you ever thought Microsoft was lacking in ability or coolness, you should probably think and look again. Teams just leapfrogged Microsoft into one of the coolest, practical platforms an enterprise-style business can use while being confident of security and ease of use.
Microsoft Teams allows you to bring together conversations and content in a single app. Basically, anything you want can be accessed in Teams. The basic principle is to have one place for all communication needed internally and externally when working with a team.
The best way to learn about it is to try it. Give it a whirl here.
Microsoft is sophisticated.
If you’re a small business and want to go on the road to digital transformation, Microsoft tools can get you there. But technology is limited in what it can do for you.
The only piece to the puzzle that is really missing is the ability to find and collect the data you need to make great decisions about your business. If you are having trouble seeing the whole picture of your business in a timely manner or asking questions with no answer, technology is not going to solve your woes.
You need a data management strategy. You need a HingePoint. You can read our free ebook that is completely online to learn how to get a better data-management strategy.
Quit the Spreadsheet
Use the tools large enterprises use, control your data with SharePoint
Managing Data with SharePoint Will Transform Your Business
Are you managing your entire company from a spreadsheet? How are you going to grow with those document management tools? Does your SharePoint work the way you want it to?
If you properly implement SharePoint, it will transform your company’s productivity. Employees will be more efficient, you’ll have better access to your company’s data, and you’ll be able to better report on key metrics. HingePoint’s custom SharePoint solutions have helped many companies struggling with unorganized data and manual, multi-step processes. Those same customers have transitioned into a more organized, productive organization by eliminating busy work and easy-to-find and search information.
HingePoint covers the AEC Industry and is the author of The AEC Industry 4.0 Report and the Autodesk Industry Report 2017. HingePoint helps construction and real estate development companies take control of their company’s information. We combine systems, software, and data so all company information can be seen and accessed from one screen, like a smartphone or computer.
HingePoint provides Procore, SharePoint and Saleforce consulting for Commercial Real Estate and Construction companies. HingePoint also helps the AEC industry with development & integration of AutoDesk and Procore products with enterprise systems. We are a trusted partner with over 25 years experience of systems development and integration work in the AEC industry. Our clients range from top hotel brands and restaurant chains to AEC firms and real estate developers and Facilities Management. We provide BIM with ROI. Results Guaranteed…Literally Guaranteed.