Judge gavel beside a laptop
Chapter 4

A look into the future of relationship management and AI

Meet Microsoft’s AI powered tooling for enterprise collaboration

For many of us, how, where and when we work has become a lot more flexible. But this flexibility has also created more complexity, especially when it comes to communication and (finding) information. Next-generation AI can help us break through this complexity, leading to a real transformation of our daily work.

We are already used to many forms of AI - for example, how our newsfeeds are recommended to us. But next-generation AI technology, as recently announced by Microsoft, will be a tool we can use to actually collaborate and improve our work. With new ways to analyze data, by automating repetitive tasks and supporting decision-making.

Overall, AI has the potential to transform business intelligence and collaboration by making our work smarter, more efficient and effective. By using AI tooling, organizations can realize new levels of productivity and innovation in their collaboration.

Cloud Transformation at HSO

We asked Mike Platvoet, Managing Consultant on the HSO Cloud Transformation Team to explain how new AI-powered tooling such as Co-Pilot and Business Chat can take our daily work and collaboration to a new level.

"Microsoft recently released the preview of Microsoft Co-Pilot - tooling that combines the power of large language models (LLMs) with data in the Microsoft Graph and the Microsoft 365 - and Business Chat, which also works across the LLM, the Microsoft 365 apps and user data, such as calendar, emails, chats and documents."

Finally finding what you're looking for

"We see many opportunities for our customers, and we are already working on a proposition for a law firm that specializes in class action cases. They have over 67 TB of case data available, stored in various locations. Which raises the key question: how do you access this information and find what you need?

To achieve this, we are redesigning and streamlining their processes, using this new AI-driven technology. SharePoint and Teams become the starting point for employees to chat, meet customers and create and store documents. Dynamics 365 includes project information and customer data. For employees, it is crucial that they can easily start and log cases, but most importantly, they must be able to search all existing case information. Is there case legislations already available? Are colleagues working on similar cases? Business Chat makes this work much easier. It works like a chatbot, across your applications, using APIs that connect Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics 365, etc. By asking a question, Business Chat can help you find the right information. Actually, the chatbot immediately starts generating information for you.

Security and governance are very important topics in this industry. Especially when it comes to law firms. Where does all the data go and who gets access to what information? But the great thing is that Business Chat can help with that, too. Based on someone's role, it can automatically manage access to specific levels or types of information."

Automate your daily tasks

"Co-pilot is a slightly different functionality. Based on all the activities and information you have received, accessed and created in the past, it distills the activity you are likely to do next. For example, it can set up a presentation for you, based on notes you took earlier and a meeting scheduled in your calendar. Co-Pilot can create an outline, using the appropriate template. But it can also help you write documents, quotes, project plans or notes for team meetings. Who takes the notes is no longer important - actions are already linked to the right person in the meeting, based on the agenda.

Another example is the registration of opportunities in Dynamics 365. If you work daily in Dynamics 365 Sales, Co-pilot can prepare your opportunities. All you have to do is check the amounts and estimates and adjust them if necessary."

The biggest risk is not adopting these technologies

"Some people may be wary of these developments. And for sure, I also recognize that we need to be careful when it comes to privacy and security. For me, however, the biggest risk is not adopting AI. If you don't integrate this type of technology into your organization, you are likely to quickly fall behind companies that do embrace it. We call this competitive disadvantage. Since these are self-learning systems, intelligence and learning capabilities are advancing rapidly. I believe this next-generation AI is going to help companies become more efficient, avoid mistakes and serve customers faster with the right information."