Getting Real Value from Microsoft 365 Beyond Email and Office

Almost every organisation we meet in WA is already paying for Microsoft 365 – but many are only really using email, calendars and the classic Office apps. The rest of the platform quietly sits in the background, under-used and under-valued.

In this article, we’ll look at practical ways to get more value from the licences you already own – with a focus on security, collaboration and automation that actually makes life easier for staff.

1. Get the Foundations Right: Identity, Licensing and Baseline Security

Before you can unlock the “good stuff”, it’s worth making sure your Microsoft 365 tenant is set up on solid foundations.

Consistent Identity with Entra ID

Your Microsoft 365 tenant is effectively your cloud directory. That identity layer is what ties together security, access and audit. We typically start by checking:

• Are all staff using individual accounts (no shared logins)?
• Is MFA enabled for everyone, not just admins?
• Are admin roles minimised and assigned properly?

Right-Sized Licensing

Many organisations are over- or under-licensed. Some users are on premium SKUs they don’t need; others are on basic plans but handling sensitive data.

A quick licence review often frees up budget and helps you decide:

• Who really needs the advanced security features (e.g. in Business Premium / E5)?
• Who can stay on a leaner plan without losing what they need?

Baseline Security Policies

With identity and licensing sorted, we make sure basic protections are in place:

• Security defaults or Conditional Access for MFA
• Standardised device policies via Intune where appropriate
• Baseline Defender for Office 365 policies for email protection

2. Use OneDrive and SharePoint to Tame File Chaos

A lot of frustration in businesses comes from files being scattered across desktops, USB drives, legacy servers and email threads. Microsoft 365 gives you two key building blocks to fix this: OneDrive and SharePoint.

OneDrive for “Me” Work

OneDrive is best for personal working files – drafts, notes, working documents that haven’t graduated to team use yet.

• Files are backed up and available across devices.
• Simple sharing with external parties when needed.
• Easy recovery from accidental deletion or ransomware.

SharePoint for “Us” Work

SharePoint is where team and organisational documents should live:

• Team document libraries organised by department or function.
• Permissions aligned with HR / org structure.
• Version history and check-in/out for key documents.

When we help clients migrate from file servers or random shares into SharePoint, we normally start with a few high-value areas – e.g. Finance, HR, Management – and use that as the pattern for the rest of the business.

3. Make Teams the Hub for Communication and Work

Many organisations use Teams for chat and calls, but don’t fully lean into it as the hub for collaboration.

Channels as “Working Spaces”

Instead of endless email threads, Teams channels can be used for:

• Projects (e.g. “New Venue Opening – Karratha”)
• Departments (e.g. “Front Office”, “Reservations”, “Finance”)
• Cross-functional initiatives (e.g. “Cybersecurity Uplift”, “Customer Journey Mapping”)

Each channel can have:

• Pinned files (backed by SharePoint)
• Tabs for line-of-business tools, dashboards or forms
• Persistent conversations tied to that topic

Meetings That Don’t Lose the Thread

Teams meetings automatically capture:

• Chat history
• Shared files and whiteboards
• Recordings (where enabled)

That means decisions, links and actions aren’t trapped in a single person’s inbox. For leadership teams and project groups, this is a big step forward in consistency and accountability.

4. Turn Repetitive Tasks into Workflows with Power Automate

A lot of admin pain inside businesses comes from small, repeatable tasks:

• “Can someone let me know when a new form is submitted?”
• “We need to file these attachments in the right folder every time.”
• “We keep forgetting to chase overdue approvals or renewals.”

Power Automate (included in many Microsoft 365 plans) allows you to automate these micro-processes without writing code.

Simple, High-Impact Automation Examples

• New staff onboarding: When HR submits an onboarding form, automatically create tasks, send welcome emails and notify IT.
• Document approvals: When a draft policy is uploaded, route it for approval and notify stakeholders of the outcome.
• Notifications: Alert a channel when a high-value client submits a request or a key metric drops below a threshold.

We often start by mapping a few very manual processes, then building lightweight workflows that save hours each month – without needing a full software project.

5. Use Built-In Security and Compliance Features You’re Already Paying For

Beyond productivity, Microsoft 365 includes a growing range of security and compliance tools that can reduce your risk profile:

Defender for Office 365

This adds stronger protections on top of basic Exchange Online filtering:

• Safe Links and Safe Attachments
• Enhanced phishing detection
• Better reporting and investigation tools

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and Sensitivity Labels

For organisations handling sensitive information – finance, legal, medical, guest data, etc. – we can apply policies that:

• Detect and block sensitive info being emailed externally
• Apply “Confidential” or “Internal Only” labels to documents
• Restrict downloading or forwarding of high-sensitivity content

Audit and Access Reviews

With the right licences, you can run periodic access reviews and audit who has what permissions – particularly important for shared mailboxes, Teams, and guest access.

6. Give Staff Simple, Practical Training

None of this lands properly if staff aren’t shown how to use it in a way that makes their day easier.

The most successful Microsoft 365 rollouts we see include:

• Role-based training – Short sessions tailored for managers, front-line staff, finance, etc.
• “Day in the life” scenarios – Showing how a task is done today vs. using Teams/SharePoint/Power Automate.
• Ongoing tips – Quick videos or emails with small, actionable tips rather than once-a-year training marathons.

Our aim is always to have staff say, “That actually saves me time,” rather than “IT are forcing us onto a new system again.”

Where Datatech Typically Starts

Wrapping Up

Microsoft 365 is far more than a hosted Exchange server and a subscription version of Office. Used well, it can become the backbone of how your organisation communicates, collaborates and protects its data.

If you’re already paying for Microsoft 365 and suspect you’re not getting full value from it, a short review and roadmap can quickly highlight the low-hanging fruit – often without needing any additional licensing.

If you’d like to see what’s possible in your environment, we’re happy to walk through your current setup and suggest a practical, WA-focused path forward.