ProductivityCategory

12 Microsoft 365 business apps to increase efficiency

7 min read
Brett Farmiloe
microsoft apps on smartphone

What is one business app you use with Microsoft 365 to increase efficiency? To help you increase efficiency using a business app with Microsoft 365, we asked CEOs and other business professionals this question for their best recommendations.

From using Pipedrive for real-time communication tracking to Send Anywhere, there are several recommendations for the Microsoft 365 business app that may help you increase efficiency in your business

12 recommendations for Microsoft 365 business apps

  1. Pipedrive for real-time communication updates and tracking.
  2. OneNote business app as a digital notebook.
  3. OneDrive for storing and sharing files.
  4. Microsoft to do task management.
  5. Microsoft Whiteboard for easy team collaboration.
  6. Intune Microsoft 365 for security on business devices.
  7. FindTime for easy scheduling.
  8. DocuSign for signing documents.
  9. Microsoft Stream for internal training videos.
  10. Microsoft Teams for communication with clients and employees.
  11. Asana with Microsoft 365 for team projects and communication.
  12. Send Anywhere for bypassing attachment size limits.
collage of CEOs and business professionals that contributed to this post

1. Pipedrive for real-time communication updates and tracking

To reduce data entry overlap and increase efficiency, our team uses the integration feature within our CRM (Pipedrive) with Microsoft 365. That way, all communication between prospects and customers that happens via email or gets booked in a calendar, or even when setting up video calls gets tracked and updated in real-time within our secure CRM system.

The integration is extremely useful as it can be set at a full sync, select communications, or only select contacts at an organization. Our team will communicate as usual through MS 365 so no change in the process to regular communication. Then within the CRM, you can sort by contact, organization, or opportunity to see the ongoing communication channels instead of having each conversation siloed to an individual's email account - requiring extensive copy-and-pasting which often leads to data loss or an incomplete picture when reviewing client communications.

Colton De Vos, Resolute Technology Solutions

2. OneNote business app as a digital notebook

OneNote is the best business app I use with Microsoft 365 to increase efficiency, whether you’re an occasional napkin scribbler or an obsessive note-taker. This specialized business app is a top-notch way to capture every business idea, thought, or meeting minute. In brief, it’s like a digital notebook, and then it helps type, write, draw, and add calendar invites or skype links, which you can access and update all your content from any device. Hence, you can access and update all your content from any device through this app. Lastly, it’s perfect for businesses searching for an easy and quick way to be a bit more paperless in the office.

Caroline Lee, CocoSign

3. OneDrive for storing and sharing files

OneDrive can be used alongside Microsoft 365 to increase efficiency. It helps you store and share files online so that you can access them from anywhere. With OneDrive, you can upload files, share files with teammates, and sync files across devices. You can also access your OneDrive files from the Microsoft 365 apps so that you can work on them offline.

Marc De Diego Ferrer, MCA Assessors

4. Microsoft to do for task management

Many business apps can be used with Microsoft 365 to increase efficiency. However, one app that is particularly useful for increasing productivity is Microsoft To-Do. Microsoft To-Do is a task management app that helps you keep track of your to-do list and get organized. It includes features such as the ability to create tasks, set deadlines, and add notes. Microsoft To-Do also integrates with other Microsoft 365 apps, such as Outlook, so that you can view your to-do list in one place.

Using Microsoft To-Do can help increase your productivity by getting your tasks organized and keeping track of your progress. It can also help teams collaborate on tasks and get work done more efficiently.

Amira Irfan, A Self Guru

5. Microsoft Whiteboard for easy team collaboration

Our organization uses Microsoft Whiteboard for collaboration purposes, which comes with Microsoft 365. Since it can be downloaded on any phone whether it's iOS or Android, it has become very easy for users to work with it. It's free and provides a canvas for the teams to work on from anywhere, anytime. Hence, it makes collaboration easier even in the hybrid workspace which solves most of the hassle in a quick effective way.

Meera Watts, Siddhi Yoga International Pte. Ltd.

6. Intune Microsoft 365 for security on business devices

As a financial service, cybersecurity and privacy are non-negotiable. Intune is an app available through Microsoft that allows us to automatically apply our security policies across all company devices, which works in tandem with our other cybersecurity measures. It has been especially helpful for efficiently ensuring security on business devices when working remotely during the pandemic, but we are keeping it around while we are back in the office because it is so convenient.

Gates Little, altLINE Sobanco

7. FindTime for easy scheduling

One of the most efficient apps we use regularly with Microsoft 365 is FindTime. This is a scheduling app that allows you to input schedules for each of your team members, in order to automatically find a time slot where everyone is free to meet. It cuts out a lot of the back-and-forth involved in scheduling a meeting for our whole team, and just generally takes away the stress of organizing meetings.

Jordan Fabel, ApprovedCourse

8. DocuSign for signing documents

I use DocuSign as my go-to e-signature solution, and it integrates really well with Microsoft 365. DocuSign is a great app that I use to sign documents, emails, and contracts, and it's a really efficient and fantastic solution combined with 365. It works great with Outlook, Word & OneDrive, and makes legal document processing much easier.

Harry Campbell, The Rideshare Guy

9. Microsoft Stream for internal training videos

Stream is like YouTube for business. It's fantastic for internal training videos. Users can interact, comment, and like as they would other streaming content. Stream is included in the Enterprise plan or as an add-on and improves your company's ability to create engaging educational content for your team.

Elliot Schwarcz, Becca's Home

10. Microsoft Teams for communication with clients and employees

I use MS Teams to communicate with employees and clients during online yoga sessions. I've been using Microsoft Teams for a little over two years now. I like the simplicity of the user interface.

By default, there are sections for Activity, Chat, Teams, Calendar, Calls, and Files. And I don't need anything else to interact with my employees and clients other than the items listed above. All meetings are automatically scheduled in the calendar section on a weekly basis, so everyone knows when we have a meeting. I like that I can download it on the phone and sometimes be on call while I'm on the run. It's a great addition to my company.

Echo Wang, Yoga Kawa

11. Asana with Microsoft 365 for team projects and communication

Asana is a great business app to use with Microsoft 365 to increase efficiency. It helps you keep track of tasks and projects, communicate with teammates, and get work done more efficiently. With Asana, you can create task lists, set due dates, assign tasks to team members, add files and attachments, and comment on tasks. You can also create project templates so that you can quickly start new projects with the same structure. All in all, Asana makes it exceptionally easy to stay organized and get work done efficiently.

Danielle Bedford, Coople

12. Send Anywhere for bypassing attachment size limits

Microsoft 365 & heavy Outlook users may find size attachment limits annoying, which is why I use Send Anywhere to bypass any limits and send files up to 10GB large. Send Anywhere is a fantastic business app for bypassing document/attachment size limits and allowing you to efficiently send documents across the organization. It integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, and it adds a new layer of security to transferring files within the organization.

Ian Kelly, NuLeaf Naturals