Last Updated on April 12, 2024 by Sarah Gayda
If you work in the tech biz you may have heard the buzz this week around Microsoft Inspire 2022, the premier partner event of the year focused on the Microsoft Cloud. The two-day annual event was packed with announcements, sneak peaks at new product directions, and educational sessions meant to inspire and celebrate the partner channel.
But for most of our customers, the excitement of MS Inspire doesn’t mean too much. So, as a long-time premier Microsoft partner, we sifted through the keynotes and sessions to pass on the most relevant industry trends and information for your business. Here’s what we think you should know:
1. You’re betting on the right cloud
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gave a compelling opening keynote reinforcing the fact that the Microsoft Cloud is the best choice for organizations. He noted that 95% of digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms by 2025, and that the move to the cloud allows your organization to drive operational efficiency, deliver faster time-to-value, and reduce costs.
Why the Microsoft Cloud is best for your business:
- It’s up to 80% less expensive to run Windows Server VMs and SQL Server VMs on Azure than on competitor cloud platforms.
- Microsoft has more data center regions worldwide than any other cloud provider and announced at Inspire they are launching 10 more this year.
- Newly announced MS Cloud for Sovereignty provides policies, controls and technology that allows you to meet government-specific data sovereignty and privacy requirements.
- Microsoft offers the most comprehensive security, identity, compliance, and management solutions of any cloud and any client platform available.
- On average, customers save 60% when they turn to Microsoft compared to a multi-vendor solution.
2. It’s time to move beyond digital transformation and deliver on digital imperatives
Organizations and teams are being asked to do more with less. Satya Nadella stressed this point in his keynote, and offered concrete ways Microsoft technology can help deliver on digital imperatives. For Colligo customers, here are the top two recommendations:
- Migrate to the Microsoft 365 Cloud – We’ve discussed a lot about this above. For more, refer to Top 5 Reasons You Should Do Content Management in the Cloud and Migrating to Microsoft 365: Is now the time?
- Implement collaborative business processes – Hybrid work is here to stay. In fact, 73% of those surveyed by Microsoft want the flexible remote option to stay. At the same time, 67% want more in-person work or collaboration. Automation and technology, such as Colligo’s add-ins, which can run inside Outlook AND Teams, can supercharge collaboration and enable hybrid work.
3. Cool new tools & features to enhance collaboration at your organization
- Microsoft Teams Collaborative Annotations – allows everyone in your Teams meeting to draw, add a note, and react to the content being shared. Read more about this and other Teams innovations coming this year.
With Collaborative Annotations, everyone in the meeting can draw, add a note, and react to the content being shared.
Learn how: https://t.co/MDSyjwB6Xf #MSInspire pic.twitter.com/xnDitlgjKI
— Microsoft Teams (@MicrosoftTeams) July 20, 2022
- Excel Live coming at the end of August – collaborate on an Excel spreadsheet in real time within your Teams meetings. Read more.
- Viva Engage – a workplace social app makes its debut. Read more.
- Many more. Find more Inspire conference announcements here: Microsoft Inspire 2022: The Biggest Announcements.
We’re staying abreast of the latest news from Microsoft and the tech industry, so you don’t have to. If you have any questions about announcements made at Inspire 2022, how Colligo products can help you deliver on digital imperatives, or how you can make the most in your investment in Microsoft 365, please get in touch.
