What You Need to Know: 3 Healthcare IT Takeaways from the 2022 Microsoft 365 Conference

I recently attended an honest-to-goodness, in-person industry conference: the 2022 Microsoft 365 Conference. It was so good to see and talk to and network with real people face-to-face, and attend conference sessions without the constant interruptions that come with virtual conferences. I walked away with an overload of information to process and a to-do list a mile long.

But I also left with some powerful new ideas to share, around what we do and how we perform as IT professionals and managers.

Here are my top 3 takeaways from the conference:

1. Own the data, not the device

During the Microsoft 365 security workshop I attended, the presenter started with the concept of “Own the data, not the device.” That message really spoke to me. Given all the change that we’ve experienced over the last two years on how we make data and information available to users no matter where they are, this is a key concept to process.

No longer is data siloed behind the four walls of our buildings. It is available anywhere a user chooses to work. Of course, for IT, this is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that it frees people to access data from any device, in any location, and that is very powerful. The curse is that we now have data “in the wild” and not under our control. They key to success with this model is making sure we “own the data” and that no one else does.

2. Turn it on and learn as you go

Another takeaway from the conference was “learn as you go.” When I look at what is in the box for Microsoft 365, it can be overwhelming. There are so many packages that no one person can truly be an expert. Microsoft 365 (or Office 365) really began as Exchange in the cloud and has grown today into so much more. The addition of SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Teams Phones, etc. means Microsoft 365 is no longer an add-on to your IT—it is becoming your IT.

Microsoft 365 is no longer an add-on to your IT—it is becoming your IT.

With that said, how do you learn how to design, deploy, and support all this stuff? Best advice I heard was: “Just turn it on and learn as you go.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean turn it on all at once. Take the time to discover the apps and which ones look like they will benefit your team, and then turn it on. If you want to know where to start, start with Multi-Factor Authentication so that you can begin the process of owning the data. From there look at something new, like SharePoint Lists (very cool).

3. Have a plan and take a people-first approach to IT

On the last day of the conference, I sat through a couple of sessions that addressed the adoption of all the new technologies that are available in Microsoft 365 as well as other solutions. I was struck by how many apps are now part of Microsoft 365 and how challenging it can be to get these into the hands of users and get them productive.

How do you decide what to try, what is your planned outcome, who can champion this, and what is the plan to get there?

Adoption does not just happen; it requires a plan, leadership, training, and execution. When change is not managed, it leads to fragmented attention, increased stress, disrupted routines, and low morale. (There must be an app for that, right?)

As IT leaders in our organizations, it is very easy to get lost in operational issues, budgets, and today’s fires. But we need to realize that IT is about people.

We need to realize that IT is about people.

Our clients are the people who use the technology we manage and deploy. We are providing them with the tools they need to successfully do the work they were hired to do. Have a plan for managing the change and disruptions in IT. Make sure your staff receives the training and encouragement they need to succeed. Take a people-first approach to IT.

Always learning, always sharing

As we emerge from our home offices and start to engage with each other again, I believe there are a lot of lessons to learn from each other about what we have lived and experienced over the last two years. How we work is forever changed from what it was, and now is a great time to reflect on how we work together and move our organizations forward following the pandemic and into the future.

Step back and take some time to consider owning your data, learning as you go, and taking a people-first approach. If you need help, we’re here for you. That’s what we do.