In the extensive universe of Office 365, certain apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are the most well-known. However, nestled within Office 365 are some lesser-known champions that have the potential to revolutionise how small businesses and professionals tackle productivity, scheduling, and creative projects. In this newsletter, we explore the hidden treasures of other Office 365: Planner, Bookings, Sway, Forms, OneNote, and Power Apps, revealing how they shine in their unique functionalities.

Microsoft Planner

Your Project Management Mate

Microsoft Planner stands out as a straightforward yet robust project management tool. It provides a visual snapshot of your projects, enabling teams to organise tasks, deadlines, and responsibilities with ease. Its edge lies in seamless integration with other Office 365 apps like Teams and Outlook, fostering a cohesive workflow. Planner is the go-to for teams keen on ditching the complexity of more comprehensive project management tools without losing out on functionality.

Microsoft Bookings

Streamlining Appointments

Microsoft Bookings is a blessing for staff that are reliant on booking appointments. This app simplifies the scheduling and management of appointments, allowing clients or potential clients to make appointments in your calendar at times you have made available. With automatic confirmations, reminders, and straightforward rescheduling, it reduces no-shows and boosts customer satisfaction. Fully integrated into Office 365, Bookings syncs with your calendar, ensuring you’re never double-booked and keeping your schedule spot-on.

Microsoft Sway

A Fresh Spin on Presentations

Sway introduces an innovative approach to presentations and reports. Moving away from traditional slide-based formats, Sway enables the creation of interactive, web-friendly presentations that adapt flawlessly to any screen size. Its prowess in integrating multimedia makes it perfect for creating compelling reports, personal narratives, and presentations that truly engage. Sway is designed for storytellers wanting to captivate their audience in a visually stunning and dynamic manner.

Microsoft Forms

The Go-to for Feedback

Microsoft Forms is incredibly versatile and user-friendly, ideal for collecting feedback, conducting surveys, or creating quizzes. It facilitates the quick creation of surveys, offering real-time response data and analytics. Easily shareable, Forms integrates seamlessly with Excel for in-depth data analysis. It’s an essential tool for organisations looking to poll their staff or clients.

OneNote

The Ultimate Digital Notebook

While OneNote may not be the most obscure app on this list, its full potential is often overlooked. This digital notebook enables free-form information collection and collaboration among multiple users. Whether it’s for meeting notes, project research, or personal reminders, OneNote helps organise your thoughts and keeps them accessible across all your devices. Its integration with other Office 365 apps makes it a cornerstone of productivity, ensuring your information is always right where you need it.

Power Apps

Empowering Custom App Creation

Power Apps is a component of Office 365 that empowers users to build custom apps without needing a background in development. It makes app creation accessible, allowing for quick automation of workflows and integration with Microsoft and external services. From straightforward task automation to complex business solutions, Power Apps enables users to tackle unique challenges and drive innovation with minimal fuss.

These lesser-known apps within Office 365 are hidden jewels. Each offers bespoke solutions to daily challenges, showcasing that with the right tools, enhancing productivity and creativity is well within reach. Dive into these tools and have a go, you might find they let you transform your work, communication, and creative processes.