Comm. #2 | Exciting Transition to Microsoft - Introduction to Your Future Daily Tools
August 1st, 2024
Dear CEP Colleagues,
On August 19, 2024, the transition from Google to Microsoft will be completed. Until then, we wanted to inform you of a few features to pique your interest. We’ve put together knowledge articles on each of the four Microsoft tools presented in this email; hyperlinks are included.
Furthermore, for those curious, here is where we are standing relative to the migration:
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The IT Team is currently running many tests in the background and, so far, things are going well.
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The IT Team has had conversations with CEP users who came forward to gather their concerns. An external consultant, experienced with migrations to Microsoft, is supporting the team in mitigating any issues.
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The IT Team, the CEP Operations Committee and a LRI Committee of users have worked hand-in-hand to determine Preferred IT Tools for once the whole company is regrouped into Salesforce, Egnyte and Microsoft. The IT Team has committed to work on making sure these Preferred IT Tools are well supported and optimised. Guidelines and comprehensive information will be communicated to you in the upcoming weeks.
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The IT Team is preparing documentation and upcoming training sessions to get users ready regarding anything the migration cannot encompass. For instance, you will have to recreate your signature when switching to Outlook so information on how to do so will be provided.
On the night of August 16 to 17, access to your emails will be switched to Outlook. Emails will not be coming into and going out of Gmail anymore. If you are working over the weekend of August 17-18, please expect some potential interruptions regarding emails.
On August 19, 2024, when you open your computer, you'll use your Edge browser to access Outlook and Teams. Your emails, calendar events, contacts and Google Drive content will have been migrated. Your Google tools will progressively be deactivated over the upcoming weeks, starting with Gmail as of August 19. Some tools will remain available up until September 30, 2024, but will then also be gone.
By Winter, LRI and CEP should be on the same tenant. The current migration is an important step in that direction. Being on the same tenant means we’ll be able to see each other’s calendars for example.
Without further ado, you may find the summaries presenting four Microsoft tools hereunder.
We are streamlining our communication channels as we are moving away from Google Chat and Google Meet. Microsoft Teams, which does a lot more than allow for chats and meetings, is the ultimate collaboration tool within the Microsoft 365 suite. It includes features such as team channels, group chats, planner, calendar, and the ability to add links to your Egnyte folders. Teams is ideal, for example, for regular check-ins to determine who can take on new investigations, especially when employees update their status to ‘Available for work’ or ‘Currently at capacity.’ This being said, for all project communications, Salesforce remains the main reference point. More details to come with the Preferred IT Tools guideline. For more information about Microsoft Teams, please visit this knowledge article.
Microsoft Outlook will replace Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Contacts. Outlook is a comprehensive email and calendar application designed to manage your communications and schedules efficiently. To read about highlighted features including integrations to Egnyte and to Salesforce please open this knowledge article.
Furthermore, for those using Microsoft Bookings on their Google Calendar, you will be able to bring it over to Outlook provided you make a few changes to your setup. For others, we will get back to you regarding this tool that helps you schedule and manage appointments with people outside of the organization.
Microsoft OneNote is a digital note-taking app many colleagues already use. It provides a single place for keeping all your notes, research, plans and information. It is a good complement to using Salesforce when it comes to projects. As a reminder, for project related documentation, OneNote files should be saved to Egnyte, not OneDrive. Furthermore, as we transition away from Google Keep, a tool many of us have enjoyed, we'd like to suggest you also think of OneNote as a versatile drawing board that you can share with others, allowing you to create checklists, take notes, and collaborate on various content types. For more tips and tricks on how to make the most of OneNote, please visit this knowledge article.
Microsoft Planner is your 3rd tool to manage tasks. You already manage your tasks across different platforms depending on their nature and complexity. Salesforce is ideal for project-related tasks, providing robust tools for managing customer relationships and project activities. Phasing out Google Calendar, To Do is now perfect for personal and simple tasks, allowing you to create, prioritize, and track your tasks. As a third tool, for team-based and more complex tasks, Microsoft Planner is designed to facilitate collaboration, planning, and tracking, offering a range of features to help teams stay organized and productive. More detailed guidelines on how to choose the appropriate platform for different tasks will be provided in the coming weeks. For more information about Microsoft planner, please visit this knowledge article.