Unlock the Power of AI with Microsoft Copilot

A Guide to Setting Up Microsoft Copilot for Australian SMEs, NFPs & Enterprises.

If you’re an Australian small to medium-sized enterprise (SME), not-for-profit (NFP), or a larger enterprise looking to boost productivity, then Microsoft Copilot is a real game-changer.

This powerful “AI assistant”, integrates right into your everyday Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Teams, and helps your team work smarter without working harder. From automating a heap of routine tasks to generating creative content, Copilot is designed to save you time and precious resources.

How Microsoft Copilot Works for Australian Organisations

Microsoft Copilot is a cinch to use within your Microsoft 365 environment and offers a vast amount of time-saving innovations and productivity hacks. 

For SMEs and Enterprises, this could mean:

  • Smarter Email Management: Copilot can sum up long email threads, draft professional replies, and even offer guidelines to adjust your tone of voice.

  • Faster Document Creation: Need a report or a proposal? Copilot can whip up a first draft in Word, saving you hours of manual work and giving you a framework to help you perfect your insights.

  • Easy Data Analysis: In Excel, Copilot can analyse your data, suggest formulas, and create a bunch of insightful charts and visualisations.

  • Efficient Meeting Recaps: Copilot in Teams can automatically summarise meetings, highlight key decisions, and create a list of action items so no one misses a beat.

For NFPs, Copilot can be a vital tool for making the most of limited resources:

  • Streamlined Fundraising: Copilot can help your team craft compelling grant proposals, analyse donor data, and create personalised outreach campaigns.

  • Volunteer Management: Use Copilot may be able to help with volunteer scheduling, automated reminders, and analysing engagement trends.

  • Impact Reporting: Copilot can pull data from various sources to create dashboards and reports, making it easier to show your impact to stakeholders and secure funding.

  • Reduced Operational Costs: By automating repetitive admin tasks, Copilot frees up your staff and volunteers to focus on your core mission.

Getting Started with Microsoft Copilot: A Simple Checklist

Ready to bring the power of AI to your organisation? Here's a simple, step-by-step guide to help you get started with Microsoft Copilot.

1. Check Your Requirements & Licensing

  • SMEs: You'll need a qualifying Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscription.

  • Enterprises: You'll need an Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft or a qualifying Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 subscription.

  • NFPs: Eligible non-profits can get significant discounts on Microsoft 365 plans and receive special pricing for Copilot. This is a brilliant way to access advanced tech on a tight budget.

2. Get Your Organisation Ready

  • Technical Readiness: Make sure your Microsoft 365 environment is set up correctly. A clean and well-organised data structure in SharePoint and OneDrive helps to ensure Copilot can work as smoothly as possible. .

  • User Acceptance & Understanding: The key to a successful rollout is getting everyone on board! Provide training and support to help your team understand how to use Copilot in their daily workflows. Start with a few key tasks and go from there.

3. Implement and Optimise

  • Purchase the Licence: As an add-on to your existing Microsoft 365 plan, you can purchase a Copilot licence for each user. Talk to us if you need help with this.

  • Communicate the Value: Explain to your team that Copilot isn't there to subsitute their work, but that it might just help empower them to be more productive and creative.

  • Start Small: Begin by implementing Copilot with a small team to figure out what works best for your specific business goals and mission.

  • Monitor and Refine: Keep an eye on how Copilot is being used and get feedback from your team to refine your approach and find new ways to automate and improve efficiency.

Ready to transform the way you work with AI?

At IT Strategic, we help Aussie businesses and NFPs to select the right licenses and packages and implement and provide ongoing support. Contact us today to learn how we can help you get started on your AI journey.