Small and medium companies (SMBs) in the USA proceed to be the spine of the economic system, accounting for 99 % of all companies and using greater than 60 million employees—practically half of the US workforce.1 From the rise of distant work to the emergence of AI, SMBs are poised to learn significantly from a brand new technology of expertise to assist develop and scale companies.
There are 11 million SMBs that now depend on Microsoft 365 options to assist them obtain greater than ever. Learn on to be taught extra about new investments Microsoft is making to assist SMBs obtain greater than ever earlier than.
Microsoft 365
For a restricted time, get 15% off Microsoft 365 Enterprise Normal or Microsoft 365 Enterprise Premium by means of Might 31. Phrases and situations apply.
We’re enthusiastic about our current AI announcement that may remodel the best way you’re employed and streamline your online business operations. Under, we are going to focus on what these new AI capabilities imply to companies like yours. We’ve additionally partnered with GoDaddy, PayPal, and Stripe to convey you a first-of-its-kind Groups Funds app that helps you shut new enterprise and receives a commission straight in Microsoft Groups conferences; we are going to spotlight a undertaking group app that helps your workers higher collaborate and create collectively; and share new safety features that may shield your workforce’s gadgets.
We’re partnering with the Small Enterprise Affiliation to sponsor Nationwide Small Enterprise Week (NSBW) in the USA, and in celebration, we’re providing promotional pricing for the month of Might 2023 whenever you purchase a full 12 months of Microsoft 365 Enterprise Premium or Microsoft 365 Enterprise Normal. As somebody who has a powerful ardour for the success of small companies, I’m additionally thrilled to personally current on the NSBW Digital Summit and present you ways your online business can profit from AI to attain your online business targets.
Get able to put the facility of AI to work for your online business
SMBs are quickly changing into the brand new adopters of AI. Companies are utilizing AI-powered instruments for gross sales and advertising and marketing automation and enterprise operations automation. In reality, in a current survey of 550 companies with fewer than 200 workers, 72 % mentioned they’re conversant in AI instruments, with 48 % utilizing them day by day.2
In March, we introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot, which is able to remodel the best way you’re employed and free you to concentrate on the issues most vital to your online business.
Copilot saves you time by automating routine duties, streamlining enterprise workflows, and offering helpful insights that will help you make the appropriate choices. It brings collectively your personal knowledge—your inside paperwork, displays, chat, and electronic mail—and makes use of it that will help you draft emails, summarize conferences, and extra. Let’s stroll by means of a state of affairs that will help you visualize among the methods Copilot can assist small and medium companies.
Drafting buyer responses: A clothes retailer proprietor asks Copilot to summarize the morning’s emails, flag messages that embody buyer suggestions and provider issues, and draft custom-made responses to every inquiry.
Analyzing knowledge: The shop proprietor makes use of Excel to interrupt down gross sales by sort and channel to find out profitability, undertaking the influence of accelerating the shop’s on-line stock, then reformat knowledge into visible charts to mannequin how stock shifts may influence the enterprise’s gross margin.
Wanting to jot down a enterprise planning overview, the proprietor makes use of Microsoft Phrase to summarize buyer suggestions—pulling knowledge from electronic mail and Groups chats—in addition to combine the newly-analyzed knowledge and decide the advantages of accelerating on-line stock.
Making a proposal: Subsequent, the proprietor asks PowerPoint to draft a two-page undertaking proposal to share with enterprise stakeholders, primarily based on buyer suggestions and the sooner evaluation—then additional makes use of Copilot to summarize the knowledge in only one slide.
Summarizing conferences: The shop proprietor meets with the retail retailer workforce to debate enterprise methods and asks Groups to summarize key dialogue factors and opinions and counsel motion objects—all in real-time throughout a gathering.
These are just some examples of how Copilot can profit your online business. To be taught extra about AI and Copilot, learn the Microsoft 365 Copilot weblog or deep dive into the expertise and science with Worklab: AI-a entire new method of working.
Use the brand new Groups Funds app that will help you shut enterprise and receives a commission
Getting paid for appointments, courses, and webinars—primarily any assembly you host in Groups—has simply turn into simpler. We’re launching the Groups Funds app, which permits SMBs to simply handle and gather funds from inside Groups conferences in your desktop or cell machine throughout a gathering.
We’ve partnered with main gamers within the funds house to mix the core collaboration capabilities in Groups with highly effective commerce options on this first-of-its-kind app. With a mutual concentrate on serving to SMBs prosper, we’re excited to companion with GoDaddy, PayPal, and Stripe to make it even simpler for purchasers to work together with you and aid you receives a commission quicker.
The Groups Funds app is at present out there in public preview within the Groups Retailer for Groups Necessities and Microsoft 365 enterprise subscribers at no cost for companies registered in the USA and Canada. PayPal and Stripe are each out there as we speak throughout the app; GoDaddy is coming quickly. Learn extra about this announcement in our Groups Funds weblog.
Suppose, plan, and create collectively like by no means earlier than with Microsoft Loop
We just lately launched the Loop app, a brand new method in your workers to arrange all of their undertaking wants in a single central place—together with ideas, hyperlinks, and paperwork. Loop even helps you get began by suggesting related information to incorporate as you begin a brand new workspace. Its versatile interface helps you manage your workspace the best way that works greatest for you.
With Loop, your work is just not confined to a single house. You possibly can flip components of your workspace into Loop parts, that are moveable items of content material that keep in sync throughout all of the locations they’re shared—be it in Groups, Outlook, Microsoft Whiteboard, or Phrase for the online—permitting your groups to co-create and work collectively seamlessly as you create lists, tables, notes, and extra.
With the discharge of Copilot, you’ll quickly be capable of use its capabilities in Loop to raised ideate collectively. As you and your teammates work, you may return to earlier prompts, add language to refine the output, and edit the generated responses to get higher, extra customized outcomes.
The Loop app is offered as we speak in public preview. Allow Loop in your workforce then go to Microsoft Loop to get began.
Safeguard your online business with safety options constructed for SMBs
Defending your online business towards the ever-evolving risk of cybercrime is important, and we stay dedicated to delivering safety options that assist small and medium companies keep secure from cyberattacks. We’re happy to convey new safety capabilities to Microsoft 365 Enterprise Premium and Microsoft Defender for Enterprise to assist make safety extra accessible.
Defender for Enterprise now simplifies safety for cell gadgets, defending you from threats corresponding to malware and ransomware on iOS and Android—with out the necessity for add-ons or machine administration—serving to your workers keep safe on the go.
Month-to-month safety reviews have been added to assist simplify your online business’s safety standing throughout identification, gadgets, data, and apps and supply suggestions for enchancment, shut gaps, and instill confidence in stakeholders.
To be taught extra about these updates, learn the newest weblog and go to the SMB Safety internet web page.
Microsoft 365 promotional provide
In celebration of Nationwide Small Enterprise Week, Microsoft is providing companies in the USA a 15 % low cost off the primary full 12 months of Microsoft 365 Enterprise Normal or Microsoft 365 Enterprise Premium. Phrases and situations apply.*
- Microsoft 365 Enterprise Normal: Contains your favourite apps, corresponding to Phrase, Excel, PowerPoint, and Groups, to assist convey your concepts to life.
- Microsoft 365 Enterprise Premium: Contains the capabilities in Microsoft 365 Enterprise Normal, plus superior safety and administration capabilities.
Get began with this limited-time provide.
Trying forward
At Microsoft, we’re devoted to delivering highly effective instruments that aid you develop your small enterprise. Discover our newest Microsoft 365 merchandise that will help you get AI prepared, in addition to these helpful assets for SMBs:
- Small enterprise assist and studying: Study extra about arrange and use your Microsoft 365 subscription, discover ideas and templates that will help you accomplish your online business duties, and get probably the most out of hybrid work.
- Small enterprise assets: Get free assets, tech coaching, and steerage to maintain your online business thriving and rising.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot: AI software combines the facility of language fashions together with your knowledge to show your phrases into highly effective data.
1Incessantly Requested Questions About Small Enterprise, US Small Enterprise Administration, March 2023.
2Microsoft small and medium enterprise (SMB) voice and attitudes to expertise research, Microsoft, 2022.
* This promotional provide is offered to new Microsoft 365 business clients between Might 1, 2023, and Might 31, 2023, in the USA. Clients should buy Microsoft 365 Enterprise Normal or Enterprise Premium with a 15 % low cost when bought from our direct web site. An annual dedication is required, and promotional pricing applies to the first 12 months solely. Promotional pricing might be mirrored at checkout. This subscription mechanically renews and is topic to recurring month-to-month billing with a fee technique required. This promotion is just not out there on trial subscriptions. Clients can cancel at any time to cease future expenses. This provide might not be mixed with any different provide. Microsoft reserves the appropriate to cancel, change, or droop this provide at any time with out discover.
