Imagine buying a smartphone and only using it to make phone calls. No apps, no camera, no GPS, no internet. You’d be paying a premium price for 1990s technology.
If your business subscribes to Microsoft 365 but you’re only using it for Outlook, Word, and Excel, you are doing exactly that.
Many businesses view their Microsoft 365 subscription as just “the bill we pay to get email and type documents.” But under the hood, you have access to an enterprise-grade ecosystem of tools designed to replace dozens of other paid services. You are likely sitting on a goldmine of productivity and security tools that you are already paying for.
Here is what that missing “90% of the value” actually looks like.
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Teams is more than just “Zoom”
If you think Microsoft Teams is just for video calls, look again. Teams is a central hub for work.
- Stop the email ping-pong: Instead of emailing a file back and forth (v1, v2, v2_final_REAL), you can edit a document live, inside Teams, with your colleagues at the same time.
- Instant answers: Quick questions that used to clog up your inbox can be handled in seconds via chat.
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Security you’re already paying for
Are you paying a third party for antivirus or spam filtering? You might be double-paying.
- Microsoft Defender (included in many business plans) is consistently rated as a top-tier security product.
- MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication): This is the single most effective way to stop hackers, and it’s built right in. If you haven’t turned it on because you think it’s “too complex,” you are leaving the door unlocked.
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Power Automate: The robot assistant you didn’t know you had
This is the hidden gem of the suite. Power Automate connects your apps to do boring work for you.
- Example: When an important client emails you, automatically text your phone.
- Example: When a new lead fills out a form on your website, automatically add them to a spreadsheet and alert the sales team. You don’t need to be a coder to set this up. It’s designed for business owners, not just IT pros.
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SharePoint is your new file server
Are you still dialling in via VPN to access a slow, clunky physical server in your office? SharePoint allows you to access your company files securely from anywhere – your laptop, your phone, or a web browser. It’s cloud storage with the security controls businesses need.
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Planner and Lists
Stop paying for online planners until you’ve checked out Microsoft Planner. It allows you to assign tasks, track progress, and manage projects visually. And it integrates perfectly with Outlook so you never miss a deadline.
Stop wasting your subscription
At OXEN Technology, we see this every day: businesses paying for the “Ferrari” of software suites but driving it like a go-kart.
You don’t need to implement all of this overnight. But if you pick just one of these tools to adopt this quarter—whether it’s moving files to SharePoint or switching on MFA – you will instantly get more ROI from the bill you are already paying.
Want to unlock the full value of your Microsoft 365 subscription?
Contact OXEN Technology today. We can review your current setup and show you exactly what you’re missing.
Written By Daniel Flanigan – Marketing Manager – OXEN Technology
