Consolidate Your Tools and Save Money with Microsoft Viva

As an IT professional, you know that managing the plethora of tools and software that employees use can be a daunting task. Not only does it require significant effort to maintain, but it can also be costly. The more tools that employees use, the more licenses and maintenance costs you have to incur.
But what if there was a way to consolidate these tools and prevent the use of multiple tools to perform the same job? That’s where Microsoft Viva comes in.

What is Microsoft Viva?

Microsoft Viva is an employee experience (EX) platform that combines a range of Microsoft tools, including SharePoint, Teams and Yammer, into a single, integrated experience. It aims to provide a central hub for employee engagement, learning, and wellbeing, making it easier for employees to access the resources they need and for IT teams to manage them.

How can Microsoft Viva save you money?

By consolidating a range of tools into a single platform, Microsoft Viva can help you save money in several ways. Combining all of these benefits can give an ROI of up to 327%.

1. Reduced licensing costs

The more tools you have, the more licences you need to purchase. By consolidating your tools into a single platform, you can reduce the number of licences you need and save on licensing costs.

You can access some elements of Microsoft Viva as part of your E3 or E5 licence at no extra cost, including certain features within Viva Connections, Viva Engage, Viva Insights and Viva Learning.

To access the full suite of Viva tools, you only need to purchase a single license per user, which covers all the tools included in the platform.

2. Reduced maintenance costs

Maintaining multiple tools can be time-consuming and costly. By consolidating your tools into a single platform, you can reduce the amount of maintenance required and save on maintenance costs. With Microsoft Viva, updates and maintenance are handled centrally, so you don’t ned to worry about maintaining multiple tools.

3. Increased productivity

When employees use multiple tools to perform the same job, it can lead to confusion and inefficiencies. By consolidating your tools into a single platform, you can reduce the amount of time employees spend switching between tools and increase their productivity.

With Microsoft Viva, employees can access all the resources they need from a single, integrated platform, making it easier for them to get their work done. In fact, research has shown Microsoft Viva can lead to a 75% reduction in search time, helping employees find what they need to get the job done quicker.

4. Improved collaboration

When employees use multiple tools, it can be difficult to collaborate effectively. With Microsoft Viva, employees can collaborate seamlessly across different tools, such as Teams, SharePoint, and Yammer. This can help improve communication and collaboration, leading to better outcomes and increased productivity.

5. Enhanced security

When employees multiple tools, it can be challenging to maintain security standards. By consolidating your tools into a single platform, you can improve security and reduce the risk of data breaches. With Microsoft Viva, security is handled centrally, making it easier to enforce security policies and monitor for potential security threats.

How can you implement Microsoft Viva?

Implementing Microsoft Viva can be relatively straightforward from a technical perspective – it’s the change and adoption aspect that needs the most attention. Here are the key steps:

1. Assess your current tools and processes

Before implementing Microsoft Viva, you need to assess your current tools and processes. Identify the tools that employees use and determine which ones can be consolidated into Microsoft Viva. Consider the processes that employees use to access resources and determine how they can be streamlined within Microsoft Viva.

Not every app within Microsoft Viva may be relevant to your business. Use this step to understand which ones will make the most business impact for you.

2. Plan your implementation

Once you have identified the tools and processes that can be consolidated, you need to plan your implementation. Determine the order in which you will roll out different features of Microsoft Viva and establish a timeline for implementation. Consider any training or support that employees will need to use Microsoft Viva effectively.

It’s a good idea to work closely with your internal communications and change teams during this stage. Making sure communications around new processes, training and upcoming changes are clear and visible across the business will give you a higher change of a successful rollout.

3. Configure Microsoft Viva

Once you have a plan in place, you can begin configuring Microsoft Viva. This involves setting up the platform, configuring permissions and security settings, integrating it with other tools and systems.

We often recommend running a pilot programme before configuring everything at once. You might want to try one or two of the Viva apps to start with, or just test them with a single department. This way you can make sure everything is working as it should before giving access to the whole business.

4. Roll out Microsoft Viva

Once Microsoft Viva is configured, you can begin rolling it out to employees. Provide training and support to help employees get started with Microsoft Viva, and encourage them to provide feedback and suggestions for improvement. Monitor usage and adoption to identify any areas that may require additional support or training.

How can Silicon Reef help?

If you’re interested in implementing Microsoft Viva for your organisation but don’t know where to start, we can help. Silicon Reef is a Microsoft partner that specialises in helping organisations adopt and integrate Microsoft technologies.

With years of experience in Microsoft technologies, we can help you assess your current tools and processes, plan your implementation, configure Microsoft Viva, and provide training and support to your employees.

We have a team of certified experts who can guide you through the implementation process, ensuring that you can get the most out of Microsoft Viva. We can help you identify the features of Microsoft Viva that are most relevant to your organisation, configure the platform to meet your specific needs, and provide ongoing support and training to ensure that your employees that your employees are using Microsoft Viva effectively.

We also offer a range of other services to help organisations optimise their use of Microsoft technologies. Whether you need help with Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Power Platform, or any other Microsoft technology, we can provide expert guidance and support.