Are you Copilot ready?

In our last blog post, we discussed the release of Copilot and its value to Microsoft Office 365 users everywhere – now available to everyone. Making the most of the Copilot opportunity means getting on the front foot to understand how it will work, for whom and with what other technologies to ensure productivity is balanced with governance and security from the outset.

So now the capability has been unleased for organisations and people everywhere, how do we take capability to the next level and boost productivity across the organisation while ensuring a robust and resilient platform to support future growth?

Here are our five top tips to be Copilot ready.

Adopt a security first approach

You’re about to enter a new world of managing and controlling data across your organisation. Which applications are interfacing? Where will data be housed? Have you validated access and permissions? How secure are the applications you’re interacting with? Get a security assessment done now, to ensure you’re protected for this next generation of AI to work for you, in a secure and considered way.

Build use cases, personas and embed change management

Start building a knowledge base across your organisation. Evaluate user needs, stories and define personas to drill into the day in the life of segments of your users, understand how the tools will impact their every day, and where the efficiencies and ROI might come from.

Identify and prioritise critical interfaces

Undertaking an asset and application audit can help quickly identify which applications and plug-ins are being used by whom and how. Having visibility of active connectors enables quick and easy prioritisation of applications to target for custom development work. Defining this landscape up front ensures connectivity is optimised and ensures data flows seamlessly across the organisation and its universe of connected applications.

Review your information architecture

Data integrity and architecture will set productivity parameters from the outset. The better the classification of data, the easier it will be to integrate, and the more effective responses from AI will be. Start with a review of your information architecture to define the optimal structure and ensure a single, cohesive source of truth. Adding search optimisation options as part of this program will ensure information is easy and accessible to everyone (including Copilot).

Consider technology enablers

It’s important to consider other enablers of productivity, including automation tools such as Microsoft Power Platform, to wrap around your other applications. By leveraging other systems you have at work to deliver new benefits in the Copilot world, you can enable your organisation to work faster with an embedded workflow engine powering productivity.

If ever there was a time to get on the front foot, it’s now. The future with Copilot is exciting. If any of the points above resonate with your thinking, get in touch to kickstart a conversation about how we can optimise Copilot for your organisation.