Microsoft Viva is a comprehensive employee experience platform designed to improve employee engagement, productivity, and wellbeing. The platform officially launched in February 2021 and is expected to continue its development with new releases throughout 2023 and beyond. These releases will likely encompass the entirety of the Microsoft ecosystem including SharePoint, Power Apps, Power Automate, Teams, Azure Cloud Services, and more.
With upcoming enhancements from Microsoft Viva, employees can expect an improved work experience through increased collaboration, access to information, and insights into the organization’s performance. Additionally, distance learning will be made easier through integrated hubs for commerce activities as well as ease of use across devices such as laptops or smartphones.
Microsoft Viva: the Employee Experience Platform
Microsoft Viva is an employee experience platform (EXP) that brings multiple components together into a single unified experience that works seamlessly across any device—providing employees with improved accessibility when using Microsoft products and services both inside and outside the workplace.
To expand on the three key features we shared in a previous blog post, here are a few Microsoft Viva features that we are excited about, from an employee experience perspective:
- Viva Topics is a hub for connecting people, content, and conversations from across the organization. It enables employees to stay informed about topics that matter to them by surfacing relevant information in an intelligent way. The platform allows teams and individuals to collaborate more easily with AI-driven suggestions for related content, actions, and conversations.
- Viva Connections is designed to help employees stay connected with each other while working remotely. It provides various tools such as chat rooms, shared calendars, activity streams, etc., which enable better collaboration among peers over long distances. Additionally, it includes features like one-on-one video calls and virtual team meetings, so colleagues can build relationships even when they’re not physically together in the same office or space.
- Viva Insights makes use of Microsoft 365 data to deliver personalized insights into how users are spending their time at work—including their level of engagement with tasks assigned through Teams or Outlook—as well as providing tips on how they can improve their productivity levels based on best practices suggested by experts within the company itself.
- Viva Learning helps organizations provide access to learning opportunities at scale through curation of digital resources including videos, articles, and courses available online or created internally by subject matter experts in the organization. This feature also comes integrated with LinkedIn Learning, which gives users access to thousands of courses developed by leading industry professionals worldwide—helping them gain new skills quickly wherever they are located around the world.
Integration with Third-Party Platforms
Microsoft Viva’s integration with third-party platforms provides users with improved accessibility when using Microsoft products and services both inside and outside the workplace. Through its integration capabilities, this platform makes it easier than ever before for companies that have yet to fully embrace Microsoft services, such as Power Apps and Power Automate, to do so without worrying about compatibility issues between different platforms/services being used simultaneously.
The integration of Azure Cloud Services brings a whole host of new features to Microsoft Viva that allow organizations greater control over their data operations. With cloud hosting through Azure services such as Kubernetes or App Service, businesses can deploy applications quickly while also taking advantage of security features like encryption at rest. Additionally, access management tools make sure only authorized personnel can use sensitive information stored within the system.
Power Apps is another feature made available by integrating Microsoft Viva with third-party platforms that allow users to build custom applications tailored specifically toward their business needs without having technical knowledge. These apps provide an easy way for employees to interact with data stored within other systems such as Dynamics 365 or Office 365, meaning they no longer need to switch between multiple programs for simple tasks like retrieving customer information or generating reports on sales performance trends.
In addition to Dynamics 365 integration, we are expecting to see integration capabilities with Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Project in 2023.
Microsoft Viva in 2023
As the platform continues to grow and evolve, there are several exciting possibilities for what it could look like in 2023. Here are a few potential developments:
- Increased integration: Microsoft Viva is designed to work seamlessly with other Microsoft tools like Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook. In 2023, we could see even deeper integration between these tools, allowing employees to access all the information and resources they need from a single interface.
- More personalized experiences: Microsoft Viva is all about creating a personalized experience for each employee. In the coming years, we could see even more advanced AI and machine learning algorithms that tailor the platform to everyone’s unique needs and preferences.
- Enhanced analytics: One of the key benefits of Microsoft Viva is its ability to collect and analyze data on employee engagement, productivity, and wellbeing. In 2023, we could see even more advanced analytics features that provide deeper insights into these areas, allowing organizations to make data-driven decisions about how to support their employees.
Overall, the future of Microsoft Viva looks bright, and we can expect to see continued innovation and development in the years to come. If you would like to know more about how you can take full advantage of Microsoft Viva’s features for your business needs, reach out to connect with one of our Microsoft consultants.
