The latest update to the platform fundamentally changes the rules about how to achieve mass adoption by removing the need for staff training and radically simplifying how applications can be used. Through the new FLEX “I want to…” application store, users can access a simple app store interface to navigate the Microsoft suite in an intuitive way. FLEX breaks apart the different functions of each application, allowing people to access particular services through the app store platform, maximising technology investments and driving productivity.
Office 365 and SharePoint deployments have historically been performed manually, which is slow and expensive, and often fail to address the needs of end users. Moreover, this approach has led as many as 80 per cent of adoption programmes to stall or fail. FLEX stands out by deploying Office 365 and SharePoint using automation and best practice blueprints, and drive mass adoption with a zero training app store approach. In doing so, FLEX allows mass user adoption to happen first, rather than last, and reduces the typical deployment time and cost by up to 70 per cent.
Speaking at the Tesla Motor Event at West Drayton, Martin Neale, Managing Director at ICS said:
“Workforce adoption of Microsoft suites often stalls because applications are not designed around how people think. Employees start with a desire to do something so it’s important that their tools start from the same place. The “I want to…” app store gives users a single place for their entire range of work technologies through an interface they can intuitively understand. The app store comes with a wide range of apps – including pre-configured Office 365 and SharePoint capabilities and processes – which are simply designed and let end users search and install to their home screen. This is all driven through FLEX automation technology, which ensures that apps are deployed in a manner that conforms to an organisation’s security and governance rules, without the need for IT intervention. Users always have access to the applications they need, improving efficiency and ultimately, reducing costs.”
Martin concluded “The old adage that a bad workman blames his tools just doesn’t apply to the modern workforce; staff that rely on IT to do their jobs can only be as efficient as their tools allow. Improving the productivity of the UK workforce continues to be a big issue for the economy and a key part of achieving this goal is to make sure that technology adoption is as efficient as possible. FLEX is invaluable to this process and automation really is a game changer for enterprise-sized organisations looking to exploit their investments in Microsoft technologies.”