At Avanade, we champion tools that help give our employees the flexibility to choose their working hours and improve their work-life balance. We’re heavy users (and big fans) of Microsoft Teams, our go-to collaboration platform.

However, we found that daily tasks often required navigating among six to eight different apps. Documents that could be used across multiple SharePoint sites, internal portals or OneDrive were not easily found or surfaced. I would find an asset in my inbox, edit it using a desktop app and upload it to yet another repository. I won’t even get into the number of browser bookmarks it took to keep everything where I could find it. Sound familiar?

Our employees were looking for an easier way to find the resources they need, all in one place. We knew the solution lay in implementing Microsoft Viva across Avanade. With it, disparate applications are linked together into a universal core, powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

From its home in Microsoft Teams, Viva includes four modules: Insights, Topics, Connections and Learning. My colleague recently wrote about the four main themes of Viva, so let me tell you how I use these modules to enhance my day-to-day productivity.

My day begins with opening Teams. Viva takes over from there:

Insights: This is the first place I look when I come online each morning and the last place I look before logging off. This module uses Microsoft’s workplace analytics capabilities to help me prioritize tasks to maintain or increase productivity for the day ahead. This isn’t just about work; Insights also includes self-reflection exercises, opportunities to practice and share gratitude, meditation and well-being programming, and support for my good habits. It also enables me to schedule focused time in open slots in weeks ahead, so I don’t have to go out and block out work time myself around meetings.

Topics: Instead of browsing my various SharePoint sites, sorting through email folders or checking meeting chats to find the deck a colleague shared last week, I can now find everything I need in one place. I can also easily add new content to help others with the same topic. To make things easier, the Topics module displays only the information and assets that are relevant and accessible to me. With data security in mind, information displayed in Topics is different for each user, ensuring I’m only given content that I have the right permissions to view.

Connections: Connections helps me align to the broader goals and focus of our company. It brings together relevant news, conversations and resources from the apps, metrics and devices I use every day. The news web part automatically surfaces news from SharePoint sites I follow and learns my preferences using AI. Thanks to that built-in intelligence, Avanade can develop custom web parts based on employee use.

Learning: Learning is focused on content that Viva pulls together for me based on my interests. When I express interest in a topic, the Learning module will show me content that has been curated by Microsoft and LinkedIn as well as internal courses or briefings we’ve recorded on the topic. I’ve discovered lots of new information this way. Less time looking, more time learning.

Viva is changing the game
The best part about Viva is that it isn’t static, but instead it’s in a constant state of evolving and getting smarter the more employees use it. That, in turn, makes it easier for me to do my job. The tool allows me to focus on creating content without worrying about where I put it or whether my colleagues will be able to find it. As long as the content is tagged properly, Viva will serve it up to its intended audience in the flow of work.

Viva represents an evolution in the way we think about the workplace experience at Avanade. With it, our employees are getting a personalized experience that helps support the unique ways they work while strengthening their bonds and collaboration with colleagues. With Viva, remote working feels much less remote.

Want to know more? Read this case study to learn more about Avanade’s path to workplace modernization with Microsoft Viva.

Check out this guide to learn how Avanade is enabling clients to renew their workplace approach to grow their business and their people.