Copilot on computer screens graphic

Meet the Microsoft UK partners blazing a trail in the use of AI

Businesses big and small are rapidly adopting Microsoft’s generative AI tool, Copilot for Microsoft 365, to explore the many ways artificial intelligence (AI) can streamline their operations, improve productivity, and offer better customer service.

Generative AI is catching on fast. According to the recent Microsoft Work Trend Index, 75% of employees are already using some form of generative AI, and nearly 50% of those started using it only in the last six months.

At the forefront of this market shift, a select group of Microsoft partners is not only using it to enhance their own operations but also accelerate the digital evolution of their customers.

Embedding generative AI capabilities, securely grounded within the context of work data, within the Microsoft 365 suite of apps – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Outlook and so on – is helping people summarise meetings, create presentations, draft emails, generate marketing copy, summarise long documents and crunch data to produce useful business insights, to name but a few applications.

‘Productivity gains’

Softcat, a FTSE 250-listed provider of IT infrastructure products and services that has enjoyed a 30-year relationship with Microsoft, recently provided Copilot for Microsoft 365 licenses to all of its employees following a successful trial of the new technology.

Softcat’s Chief Commercial Officer, Richard Wyn Griffith, says: “We’re thrilled at the success we’ve seen with our initial group of Copilot users.

“The productivity gains and more effective interaction with our customers has led us to this wider roll-out, and we’re excited to demonstrate the value of the technology to more of our customers by putting it in the hands of more of our team.”

This early-adopter expertise is helping Softcat provide a better service to its corporate and public sector customers as they embark on their own digital transformation journeys, says Richard.

Boosting creativity

Meanwhile, Derby-based Node4, a cloud-led IT services company, is investing significantly in Copilot for Microsoft 365 because it “demonstrates our commitment to staying at the cutting edge of technology,” says Hanna Birch, the firm’s Managing Director.

“By integrating Copilot into our operations, we are improving our internal processes and setting a standard for the solutions we deliver to our clients.”

A consistent theme running through the experiences of Microsoft partners who’ve adopted Copilot for Microsoft 365, is that freeing up time gives employees the ability to be more innovative, creative and productive.

Copilot graphic on laptop on desk with flowers, smartphone and notepad

David Kress, Chief Revenue Officer of tech company Advania UK, puts it this way: “Our pilot deployments revealed the tremendous potential to improve employees’ experience and productivity by using Copilot for automating repetitive tasks.

“More exciting was the power it gave our employees to accelerate problem solving. We witnessed individuals coming up with creative ways to solve the little niggles that distract them from doing their best work.

“We had to go workforce-wide – the potential was too compelling to delay roll-out.”

‘Remarkable’

The use cases of Copilot for Microsoft 365 are diverse, crossing all sectors and activities. Local councils are using it to improve their public-facing chatbots, translation services and traffic management systems, for example.

Microsoft partner Bytes Technology Group (BTG), which has extended the roll-out of the software across more than half its Group, says the healthcare sector in particular is benefiting from AI’s efficiency gains.

BTG CEO Sam Mudd cites examples of doctors spending less time on admin and more time with patients, while sentiment analysis of emergency services calls is helping assess patient needs more quickly.

Screenshot from Copilot video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7xTBa93TX8

“We have been running internal pilots across the Group, and the impact of using Copilot for Microsoft 365 has been nothing short of remarkable,” says Sam.

Using its newfound Copilot for Microsoft 365 expertise, BTG estimates that it has helped more than 6,000 customer employees improve their digital skills enough to become proficient in making the most of this generative AI technology.

Summing up the impact Copilot for Microsoft 365 is having on organisations around the UK, Nick Hedderman, Senior Director, Modern Work Business Group, Microsoft UK, says: “It’s so exciting to see our partners embrace Copilot for Microsoft 365 to transform their own business operations and better serve our mutual customers in their own AI transformation journey.

“And it’s amazing to see the diversity of use cases Copilot for Microsoft 365 is enabling across all sectors.

“The era of generative AI is the era of accelerated innovation.”

Click here to find out more about Copilot for Microsoft 365