Microsoft 365 Copilot is generally available this month, allowing users to take full advantage of its generative AI capabilities, and while the prospect of an AI-powered workspace is captivating organizations worldwide, one question remains: how can we prepare?
We spoke to Symity’s Digital Innovation Managing Consultant, Ross Parkman, to discuss the upcoming challenges of adopting Copilot at scale and how their Copilot Readiness Assessments can help organizations prepare.
What is Microsoft Copilot?
Copilot utilizes Microsoft's substantial investment in OpenAI, offering users a ChatGPT-driven personal assistant accessible through natural language interaction. Seamlessly integrating with familiar applications such as Teams, Word, and Excel, M365 Copilot is set to transform M365. The integration of Copilot for Teams, for instance, opens new horizons by introducing generative AI into phone calls, summarizing chat threads, and enhancing collaboration.
“Copilot and generative AI hold the potential for widescale business transformation; therefore, the preparation should be comprehensive, addressing not only the technical aspects but also ethical, legal, and cultural considerations to ensure responsible and successful adoption.”
5 Ways to Prepare for Microsoft M365 Copilot
With organizations now able to access Copilot, it is imperative for organizations to prepare proactively for its introduction. Symity's Copilot Readiness Assessments provide a comprehensive framework for companies to ensure the successful adoption of this groundbreaking technology:
- Data Hygiene: Ensuring the data available to Copilot is well-curated.
As Copilot’s responses heavily rely on underlying data quality, the Symity Readiness Assessments review organizational data, existing data policies, and configurations and recommend best practices for managing your data lifecycle.
- Security and Compliance: Organizations must secure their Copilot data with embedded protocols.
Since Copilot operates within existing data access boundaries, organizations should review, update, and enforce robust security policies and permissions like Data Loss Protection (DLP) and Data Classification, using Microsoft Purview to prevent inadvertent data leaks surfaced by Copilot.
