A Sweet Suite: Exploring All the MS 365 Business Standard Apps
Many law offices have switched from the installed versions of Microsoft Office to a subscription version of Microsoft’s Office suite. There are quite a few subscription models, but for most firms either Business Standard or Business Premium are the best fit. When you subscribe to the Microsoft 365 Standard plan you get far more than the familiar Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook). At $12.50 per user/month annually to get the best return on investment you should explore all the tools that are available to your business.
Of note, the more parts of the MS 365 suite you use, the more value you will obtain from the integrations and information shared between the apps. For instance, if you store documents on a physical server or in Dropbox you lose intelligence in search, the ability to easily link to documents in email, etc. If you use Asana instead of Planner for tasks and projects, even with Asana integrations you lose some intelligence. That said, many of the applications in the MS 365 are not “best of”, which leaves you making a decision on when to stay and when to go.
Where can you find all the resources and applications available through your Microsoft 365 subscription? Go to https://m365.cloud.microsoft/apps and log in with your business account. Your frequently used apps will appear across the top. Click on “All Apps” to see the full list.
Microsoft Office
Outlook – Email, calendar, contacts, and far more, Outlook is often where legal professionals spend much of their time during the day. Microsoft 365 Business Standard subscribers benefit from the included cloud-based Exchange server, which allows access through apps, desktops and browsers.
Calendar – Integrated with Outlook, it helps lawyers manage their schedules, set appointments, and keep track of important dates and deadlines.
Excel – a powerful spreadsheet application that gets more intuitive and functional with each release.
People – formerly known as “contacts”, this is part of Outlook.
PowerPoint – the application people love to hate; this is the de facto standard for presentation slides.
Word – a word processor heavily relied on to generate documents by legal professionals. It is a very powerful, but sometimes frustrating application that requires some training and know-how to get the full return on investment.
Tasks and Projects
Planner – A task and project management tool that helps organize and assign tasks within a team, track progress, and collaborate on projects.
Project – A project management tool that helps plan, execute, and track projects, ensuring they are completed on time and within budget. Project appears on your list of available apps in the MS 365 Business Standard subscription but actually requires an additional license.
To Do – A simple task management app that helps keep track of daily tasks and deadlines. To Do and Planner recently became more integrated, and To Do integrates with and replaces Tasks in MS Outlook.
Video Conferencing
Teams – A collaboration platform that includes chat, video conferencing, file sharing, and integration with other Microsoft 365 apps. It’s great for remote work and team collaboration.
Collaboration/Communication
Forms – A tool for creating surveys, quizzes, and forms, which can be useful for gathering client information or feedback.
Loop – A new app that helps teams collaborate with “loop” content that can be accessed wherever it is added, including email, Teams, within Loop, and more.
Connections – A SharePoint “dashboard” that combines news, recent documents, discussions, assigned tasks, conversations, and more from around Microsoft 365. To be functional Connections needs to be set up by an MS 365 administrator.
Whiteboard – A digital canvas for brainstorming and collaboration, useful for team meetings and planning sessions.
Visio – A diagramming tool that helps create flowcharts, organizational charts, and other visual representations of information. Diagram a process, create an infographic timeline, develop a flowchart, and more. Visio can be useful for process documentation, or for litigation.
Kaizala – was a mobile messaging app for secure communication and collaboration. It was retired in August 2023 but still appears in the list of 365 apps.
Automation
Bookings – An online appointment scheduling tool that allows clients to book appointments with lawyers easily.
Power Apps – A platform for building custom business apps without the need for extensive coding knowledge. Some of the Power Platform tools (Power Automate, Power BI, Power Pages, Copilot Studio, and Power Platform Admin Center) are available to MS 365 Business subscriptions, though to get the full functionality there are additional licenses.
Power Automate – A tool for creating automated workflows between apps and services to synchronize files, get notifications, and collect data.
Power Pages – A tool for creating and managing web pages and content.
Productivity
OneNote – A digital notebook for organizing notes, research, and case information.
Lists – A tool for creating and managing lists of information, useful for tracking cases, tasks, and other data. Lists are technically part of Sharepoint and not a wholly separate application.
Community
Viva – A platform that integrates learning, well-being, and employee engagement tools.
Connections – A SharePoint “dashboard” that combines news, recent documents, discussions, assigned tasks, conversations, and more from around Microsoft 365. To be functional Connections needs to be set up by an MS 365 administrator.
Learning – Part of Viva (or is Viva part of Learning?), this app provides learning and development resources for employees. Learning includes LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft 365 Training, Microsoft Learn, and the Microsoft Copilot Academy. You can take courses on time management, MS 365 applications, hiring and interviewing, coding, marketing, negotiation, personal finance, and more.
Engage – Formerly known as Yammer, this app helps improve employee engagement and communication within the firm. This application is best suited to larger firms and organizations and focuses on Communities and Storylines. Engage mimics many of the chat (conversation) features in Teams and includes files and events. This platform could be helpful for creating communities in the firm that focus on pro bono activities, professional development, thought leadership, community involvement and other discussions that are helpful for team building and awareness.
Stream – A video service for creating, sharing, and managing videos within the firm. Videos can also be shared outside the firm. Think of it as a private YouTube platform. You can create videos, host videos, create playlists, and far more.
Insights – provides analytics and insights to help improve productivity and well-being. Tools to book focus time, create a daily focus plan, show gratitude to colleagues, and more are included in Insights. The “inspiration” library of articles focused on well-being, productivity, and teamwork is a great resource.
Document Management
OneDrive – A cloud storage service that allows lawyers to store, share, and access files from anywhere.
SharePoint – A platform for creating intranet sites, managing documents, and collaborating on projects. The SharePoint hosted server comes with your Microsoft 365 Business Standard subscription and, along with MS Exchange, are the two primary server products that run the suite.
Creative
Sway – A tool for creating interactive reports, presentations, and newsletters.
Clipchamp – A video editing tool that helps create and edit videos for marketing, training, or client communication.
Conclusion
Microsoft has a “Welcome to Microsoft 365” website to help you get set up for success. Be aware that if you are getting your subscription from a third-party vendor authorized reseller (VAR) like GoDaddy or using a hosted desktop (VDI) your Microsoft 365 subscription, even if it is called Business Standard or Premium, may not be the same as what is sold directly through Microsoft.