Increasing productivity is a common goal for many businesses. Accomplishing that goal has become even more of a challenge now that teams are spread out between home and office.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as of February 2021, 41% of Australians worked from home one or more days per week. The remote workforce is not going anywhere once the pandemic has passed, so companies are looking to technology tools to help them enable this new 21st-century hybrid office.

When teams are working apart all day, it’s important to have software that can promote connection and collaboration. It also needs to be easy to use and make sense in a team’s workflow.

Whenever we're talking with clients and prospects, a common question is how they can increase staff productivity via new software. One application we love to recommend is Microsoft Whiteboard.

Things You Can Do With Microsoft Whiteboard

Microsoft Whiteboard is a collaborative cloud space for teams to brainstorm, strategise, and plan. It was first introduced in 2018, but it has recently been updated to make it even more helpful for hybrid teams.

Here are some of the ways that this collaboration tool can help your team be more productive and innovative.

Easy Real-Time Collaboration

Teams can easily work on a whiteboard at the same time. They can see collaborative cursors that help remote teams feel more connected and allow everyone to view who is adding each element to the board.

There’s even a virtual laser pointer so someone can point out a certain area on the board to their team members.

Rather than having to start from a blank canvas, Microsoft provides several templates that can help teams get their creative juices flowing.

Get Creative With Rich Content Options

You’ll get more than just pens and markers to use on Microsoft Whiteboard. The application includes multiple elements to help you plan faster and collaborate in a way that suits everyone’s style.

Some of the different element types you can use include:

  • Diagrams
  • Annotations
  • Connections
  • Notes grid
  • Insert images and documents
  • Reaction stickers
  • Tables
  • Task lists
  • Sticky notes
  • Text
  • And more

The full set of options that participants have for collaboration enables people without a touch screen device to participate as well through the use of sticky notes and text.

Modern Look and Feel

Microsoft Whiteboard is designed with a modern user interface. It has a new Fluent Toolbar that makes it easy to find what you need without it getting in the way.

It also includes a Creation Gallery providing an intuitive and responsive layout across all device screens, so whether you’re on a desktop or tablet, things will be easy to navigate.

In the overhead bar, you can see everyone that is collaborating, and everyone has the same uniform experience.

Maximised Drawing Tools

When people think about a whiteboard, the first tools they usually envision are markers, pens, and pencils. Microsoft Whiteboard has improved inking tools to make it even easier for people to get creative without worrying about how to get a digital pen to work.

It has improved Mouse Inking that provides a smoother experience. You’ll find different tip sizes, tail erasers on some tools, and the ability to quickly draw shapes and have them straighten out automatically with Shape Recognition.

Seamless Integration with Microsoft 365 Apps

Since Whiteboard is a Microsoft product, it integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 applications. You can use Whiteboard in Microsoft Teams channels and chats. It can also be accessed with the new Share Content experience during Teams meetings.

Whiteboards can be reused or pre-prepped across multiple Teams meetings and content can easily be shared via OneDrive for Business and SharePoint.

Read-Only Mode

If you’re giving a presentation and may not yet want everyone to jump in and start collaborating, you can set a whiteboard to read-only mode. When ready, you can click that off and allow full collaboration from other meeting attendees.

Save and Store Whiteboards How You Like

The full integration with Microsoft 365 makes it easy to share and save whiteboards in your other applications.

For example, you can store whiteboards to be accessible to members of a group channel in Microsoft Teams.

You can also use Whiteboard with OneNote. The integration makes it simple to export whiteboards to your OneNote Notebook or use the Send to OneNote option in Whiteboard.

Empower Your Team With Better Online Tools

Is your Sydney area business looking for ways to improve team productivity and collaboration? NetCare can help you find the perfect applications to empower your team and improve efficiency.

Contact us today to learn more. Call (02) 9114 9920 or reach out online.