Keeping up with changes in business technology can be difficult for small- and mid-sized businesses like yours. However, upgrading your company’s technology is something you can’t afford to put off or ignore completely — not if you want to stay relevant and competitive. Here’s what you’ll miss out on if you don’t adopt new tech.

Better efficiency

Implementing new technologies introduces more efficient, flexible ways to carry out tasks, thus streamlining business processes. For instance, Voice over Internet Protocol phone systems and instant messaging apps enable your team to get in touch with one another, as well as with clients and business partners, whenever, wherever, on any internet-connected device. This makes relaying critical information much quicker and easier.

Similarly, business process management solutions automate repetitive tasks, like those involved in accounts payable processes. With automation, your staff saves time and effort and can focus on other, more important tasks.

Ability to address remote and hybrid work challenges

Many businesses are still struggling to cope with the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, including how to manage remote and hybrid workforces. These issues can be addressed by implementing modern communications and collaboration solutions. Such tools allow entire organizations to stay connected and on the same page. Managers can check in on employees, and coworkers can call or message one another regarding projects they’re working on together. Teams can also share documents and edit these at the same time, if needed. Additionally, they can use collaboration tools to set and track task progress so everyone’s always kept in the loop.

Increased employee engagement and retention

Issues with technology, especially if these happen frequently, hamper employee productivity. They also lead to poor employee engagement and experience. Over time, minor inconveniences like computers that constantly freeze or web browsers that take ages to load can add up and create discontent among your staff.

Equipping your team with the latest hardware and software enables them to perform tasks smoothly and efficiently, without having to worry about the headaches associated with outdated technology. This also shows that you are invested in their comfort and employee experience, which increases their morale as well as their loyalty to your company.

Reduced costs

New technology pays off in the long run. The savings you will make from not having to constantly have your tech fixed or suffer productivity-draining downtime will far outweigh the costs associated with implementing new equipment and solutions.

If you invest in the cloud, you can enjoy even more savings, as doing so eliminates costs related to managing your own hardware such as maintenance and utilities. Such expenses will all be shouldered by your cloud service provider, so you no longer have to worry about budgeting for them.

Regardless of your business’s size and industry, there’s no doubt that new technology is critical for its growth. However, you need to ensure that any new hardware or software you decide to adopt is aligned with your company’s needs and goals. You must also make sure that it’s properly implemented so that you can make the most out of it. Our experts can help you do just that — drop us a line today to find out how.

Business technology is constantly changing — and if you don’t keep up with innovations in business IT, you could end up being left behind by your competitors. And gaining a competitive edge is just one of the many reasons why you should upgrade your business IT now — here are four others.

Better efficiency

Implementing new technologies introduces more efficient, flexible ways to carry out tasks, thus streamlining business processes. For instance, Voice over Internet Protocol phone systems and instant messaging apps enable your team to get in touch with one another, as well as with clients and business partners, whenever, wherever, on any internet-connected device. This makes relaying critical information much quicker and easier.

Similarly, business process management solutions automate repetitive tasks, like those involved in accounts payable processes. With automation, your staff saves time and effort and can focus on other, more important tasks.

Ability to address remote and hybrid work challenges

Many businesses are still struggling to cope with the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, including how to manage remote and hybrid workforces. These issues can be addressed by implementing modern communications and collaboration solutions. Such tools allow entire organizations to stay connected and on the same page. Managers can check in on employees, and coworkers can call or message one another regarding projects they’re working on together. Teams can also share documents and edit these at the same time, if needed. Additionally, they can use collaboration tools to set and track task progress so everyone’s always kept in the loop.

Increased employee engagement and retention

Issues with technology, especially if these happen frequently, hamper employee productivity. They also lead to poor employee engagement and experience. Over time, minor inconveniences like computers that constantly freeze or web browsers that take ages to load can add up and create discontent among your staff.

Equipping your team with the latest hardware and software enables them to perform tasks smoothly and efficiently, without having to worry about the headaches associated with outdated technology. This also shows that you are invested in their comfort and employee experience, which increases their morale as well as their loyalty to your company.

Reduced costs

New technology pays off in the long run. The savings you will make from not having to constantly have your tech fixed or suffer productivity-draining downtime will far outweigh the costs associated with implementing new equipment and solutions.

If you invest in the cloud, you can enjoy even more savings, as doing so eliminates costs related to managing your own hardware such as maintenance and utilities. Such expenses will all be shouldered by your cloud service provider, so you no longer have to worry about budgeting for them.

Regardless of your business’s size and industry, there’s no doubt that new technology is critical for its growth. However, you need to ensure that any new hardware or software you decide to adopt is aligned with your company’s needs and goals. You must also make sure that it’s properly implemented so that you can make the most out of it. Our experts can help you do just that — drop us a line today to find out how.

Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are always seeking ways to ensure that their employees make the most of office computers. But before you go out and buy bigger hard drives and faster processors, consider upgrading your desktops to a dual monitor system. Read on to find out about the advantages of using two monitors per desktop.

Enhanced productivity

According to a survey by Jon Peddie Research, working with dual monitors can increase overall productivity by 20–30%. Bookkeepers, for instance, can have digital receipts displayed on one screen and accounting software on the other. This eliminates the need to toggle back and forth between tabs and saves employees time that they can use instead to complete other tasks.

Better multitasking

Efficient multitasking requires adequate screen space to keep multiple applications simultaneously visible — a view that single monitors alone simply cannot accommodate. With a dual monitor setup, workers like customer service reps and web designers would no longer waste time scrolling up and down and resizing windows to fit the information they need in the limited space. Instead, the enhanced visibility that dual monitors bring lets users focus on completing their tasks accurately and efficiently.

Easier layouting and image and video editing

With dual monitors, the days of stacking editing tools on top of slide presentations, images, or videos you’re working on are over. Instead of your screen looking like a game of Mahjong, you can use one monitor for your editing tools and the other monitor for the file you’re laying out or editing. With better visibility, you’re less likely to make mistakes and more likely to accomplish the task faster.

Effortless product comparison

Having two monitors makes it easy to compare things side by side. If you want to purchase a camera but you have two models in mind, for instance, you’d want to compare their specs first before making a final decision. If you had only one monitor, you’d need to go back and forth from one tab to another to compare the two models. But if you had two monitors, you could view the models side by side to help you clearly see their differences and make an informed purchase.

Want a dual monitor setup for your employees? We can help you roll this upgrade out. Contact us today to get started.

Dual monitor setups aren’t as popular as single monitor setups, but that doesn’t mean that they’re less effective than the latter. In fact, you should consider working with two screens because doing so has quite a number of advantages. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of having dual monitors.

Enhanced productivity

According to a survey by Jon Peddie Research, working with dual monitors can increase overall productivity by 20–30%. Bookkeepers, for instance, can have digital receipts displayed on one screen and accounting software on the other. This eliminates the need to toggle back and forth between tabs and saves employees time that they can use instead to complete other tasks.

Better multitasking

Efficient multitasking requires adequate screen space to keep multiple applications simultaneously visible — a view that single monitors alone simply cannot accommodate. With a dual monitor setup, workers like customer service reps and web designers would no longer waste time scrolling up and down and resizing windows to fit the information they need in the limited space. Instead, the enhanced visibility that dual monitors bring lets users focus on completing their tasks accurately and efficiently.

Easier layouting and image and video editing

With dual monitors, the days of stacking editing tools on top of slide presentations, images, or videos you’re working on are over. Instead of your screen looking like a game of Mahjong, you can use one monitor for your editing tools and the other monitor for the file you’re laying out or editing. With better visibility, you’re less likely to make mistakes and more likely to accomplish the task faster.

Effortless product comparison

Having two monitors makes it easy to compare things side by side. If you want to purchase a camera but you have two models in mind, for instance, you’d want to compare their specs first before making a final decision. If you had only one monitor, you’d need to go back and forth from one tab to another to compare the two models. But if you had two monitors, you could view the models side by side to help you clearly see their differences and make an informed purchase.

Want a dual monitor setup for your employees? We can help you roll this upgrade out. Contact us today to get started.

Some things come in pairs, such as glasses, shoes, and, for busy office workers, computer monitors. But while using two monitors at once may seem unconventional for some, it actually has a lot of advantages. If you’re hesitant about using two monitors simultaneously, perhaps the following benefits will change your mind.

Enhanced productivity

According to a survey by Jon Peddie Research, working with dual monitors can increase overall productivity by 20–30%. Bookkeepers, for instance, can have digital receipts displayed on one screen and accounting software on the other. This eliminates the need to toggle back and forth between tabs and saves employees time that they can use instead to complete other tasks.

Better multitasking

Efficient multitasking requires adequate screen space to keep multiple applications simultaneously visible — a view that single monitors alone simply cannot accommodate. With a dual monitor setup, workers like customer service reps and web designers would no longer waste time scrolling up and down and resizing windows to fit the information they need in the limited space. Instead, the enhanced visibility that dual monitors bring lets users focus on completing their tasks accurately and efficiently.

Easier layouting and image and video editing

With dual monitors, the days of stacking editing tools on top of slide presentations, images, or videos you’re working on are over. Instead of your screen looking like a game of Mahjong, you can use one monitor for your editing tools and the other monitor for the file you’re laying out or editing. With better visibility, you’re less likely to make mistakes and more likely to accomplish the task faster.

Effortless product comparison

Having two monitors makes it easy to compare things side by side. If you want to purchase a camera but you have two models in mind, for instance, you’d want to compare their specs first before making a final decision. If you had only one monitor, you’d need to go back and forth from one tab to another to compare the two models. But if you had two monitors, you could view the models side by side to help you clearly see their differences and make an informed purchase.

Want a dual monitor setup for your employees? We can help you roll this upgrade out. Contact us today to get started.

Hourly workers make up abut 55% of the working world, yet when it comes to tech built for the world of work, their so-called knowledge worker counterparts dominate the space. Today, an app built specifically to address the needs of the former is announcing a big round of funding — underscoring both the evolving landscape of business software, and how hourly and shift workers are increasingly coming into their own.

When I Work — a popular messaging platform that lets hourly workers employed by a business sign up for shifts, trade shifts with colleagues, and let management and others know when they cannot make it to a shift — has closed a growth round of $200 million, funding that the company will be using both for business development, and to expand its product.

The funding is coming from a single investor, Bain Capital (specifically its Tech Opportunities fund), and while the pair are not disclosing valuation, it’s being described as a “majority growth investment”, which implies something around $400 million. CEO Martin Hartshorn said in an interview that When I Work is profitable, and it has been since June of last year — notable considering we were in the depths of pandemic living and economic uncertainty — and its steady rise was the reason for raising now, after raising just $24 million in the 11 years prior.

“We have hit a new phase,” he said, with growth currently “north of 35%” and generating a profit. “The customers love the product and culture is really good. We’ve got something great and it’s time to go for it.”

Previous backers include Arthur Ventures, Drive Capital, Greycroft and High Alpha.

Founded in Minneapolis in 2010, When I Work says its app is already used by some some 10 million hourly workers in the U.S. across some 200,000 businesses, with a focus on smaller businesses and franchises of well-known names (the list includes Dunkin’, Ace Hardware, Ben & Jerry’s and Kenneth Cole). Some of that growth has specifically come from the changing needs of the market: while some retailers were forced to shutter operations, and some closed down altogether, other sectors like healthcare picked up steam.

Hartshorn noted that in Q2 of this year, the company picked up more than 50 customers “spinning up vaccination operations” — that is, building shift-based systems to handle that effort. The plan will be to continue doubling down on the opportunity in the U.S. as well as to start moving into other markets internationally.

As for the app itself, it has mainly made its name around providing tools to make it easier to communicate with shift-based and hourly staff, people whose hours mean that it’s unlikely that everyone would be at the business at the same time for meetings, and have potentially more variable schedules when they work, schedules that often need shifting depending on customer traffic and the circumstances of workers themselves.

As its name implies, When I Work’s most-used functions and managing shifts and communicating with the team, addressing what are the biggest and most general productivity challenges for that segment of workers. But over time it has capitalized on the audience and engagement to add in other services like payroll facilitation (interconnecting with more dedicated payroll software), labor reports, and analytics, and the idea is that this part will continue to grow, both organically and likely by way of acquisition.

Software catering to the world of work has largely been focused on so-called knowledge workers over the last decade or two: equipped with computers, smartphones and tied into work that relies on software and apps, that segment was a natural fit for more software tools, which have if anything only become more specialized over time, addressing specific verticals and use cases.

Yet digital transformation, and the rise of smartphone usage among the general population, have presented a host of new opportunities to expand the products and use cases for software in the workplace to touch a much wider swathe of workers. The population at large has shifted to using apps and other digital products in their daily non-work lives, and so they, too, want and are ready for those tools to help them do their work more easily, too.

In the case of When I Work, employees install it on their own smartphones, a signal of how bring-your-own-device has been an even stronger trend in this category of workers than it has been among knowledge workers. (They log in much as you might on any other work-based app, based on the company you work for and your mobile number or email.) Hartshorn said that a good part of its growth has been from word-of-mouth, with employees asking for it from new employers, having used it at a previous job.

But given that wider trend, it’s no surprise that company is not without competitors, as well as others addressing the same segment of workers that could potentially also become competitors, if not already. They include the likes of Homebase, which raised $71 million earlier this year; Workiz, which focuses on home services pro’s; Fountain and Wonolo (both currently aimed more at recruiting and signing less-than-full-time people up to shifts); WorkWhile; Yoobic (more of a productivity platform for frontline workers currently); Crew (which Square acquired earlier this year); Workplace (which now has 7 million paying users); and Justworks (which in September filed to go public). The fact that some of these are addressing the same segment of users, but with different features, also presents something of a roadmap for When I Work and how it might expand, too.

Phil Meicler, an MD at Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, said that the engagement on When I Work — 85% of its users log in an use it at least once a week — makes the app one of the more compelling in that bigger field.

“In today’s modern workforce, having a solution that yields such clear productivity gains and strong employee engagement are unique,” he said, noting that the labor shortage among the hourly working sector has become even more acute in recent times. “Doing what it does at scale and efficiently is difficult to execute. The combination of growth and profitability was a core part of why we were excited about When I Work.”

He added that Bain “shares Martin’s vision” to continue to expand the HR suite. “Building out the product through the eyes of the employees what else they use, how we could extend to make their lives easier, is the aim, and it has a terrific foundation in scheduling. It has a unique opportunity to grow organically and through M&A.”

Companies like Slack and Asana stormed into the world of tech to steal a march on incumbents like Microsoft in providing a new wave of point solutions to make it easier for workers respectively to chat with each other, plan projects and more. Now another startup is announcing a massive round of funding for a platform that it believes has its own unique role to play in disrupting enterprise IT: by providing a single, all-in-one solution covering various aspects of workplace productivity.

ClickUp, which provides set of tools that lets its users tackle project management, document collaboration, spreadsheets, chat, and goals from a single platform — a little like Workday but for productivity — has raised $400 million, a Series C funding that the company confirmed values it at $4 billion post-money.

ClickUp said that this is, to date, the single-largest Series C in the workplace productivity market (others like Slack have raised bigger single rounds… so still room to grow!). Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global are co-leading the round, with Lightspeed Venture Partners and Meritech Capital Partners also participating. Craft Ventures and Georgian Partners are among its earlier backers; the company has now raised $535 million.

ClickUp — based out of San Diego — plans to use the funding to double down on growth in Europe, with 600 new jobs and a new HQ set for Ireland that will handle R&D, operations and sales. The company counts the likes of Google (yes, the company behind its own productivity tools), McDonalds, Booking.com, and Netflix among its large enterprise customers. In all, ClickUp is being used by 800,000 teams — up from just 200,000 a year ago.

A significant proportion of ClickUp’s customers, some 40%, are already based outside of the U.S, with a large part of those users in Europe — some 275,000 teams in all, the company said — hence its interest in focusing more deeply in the region. It will also include localised versions of its platform for France, Germany and Spain, the company said.

The shift to cloud services and a rising appetite from knowledge workers to use tools in the office that work just as intuitively as their “fun” consumer mobile apps has led to a veritable revolution in the world of enterprise software.

Fueled by venture capital, startups have built out substantial businesses tackling different aspects of what “workplace productivity” can constitute, from tools to improve how to perform in a specific job like sales (Slack being now owned by the giant in that space, Salesforce), through to more specific workplace functionality like organising one’s calendar or meetings, writing and collaborating on documents, creating and managing a project, talking to each other about specific work tasks, and so much more. And big tech companies have not been outside of the game, either. Microsoft and the rest have all stepped up with their own takes on the same problems.

But all this has also created a new kind of productivity problem in the process. Enterprises are often now dealing with a much wider range of apps in their typical workflow. This predicament is not small: it has cost, efficiency, management, security, and attention implications in varying degrees.

The solution here is pretty obvious: move back to all-in-one solutions that take out some of the noise and make it easier to share and hand off work throughout the lifecycle of productivity. It’s something that Microsoft, of course, is already addressing, as are others. But in the wider scheme of things, sometimes building a new set of tools from scratch can yield a much fresher, and better result.

“ClickUp’s sole purpose has always been to make the world more productive. Time is our most valuable resource and we are committed to giving people more time to focus on what matters most to them,” says Zeb Evans, CEO and Founder of ClickUp, in a statement. “We believe software should make people more productive and efficient. I’m thrilled about our next chapter and accelerating the innovations that deliver on this promise to our customers.”

Investors love almost nothing more than a fast-growing startup — and this one definitely fits the bill.

“ClickUp’s unique offering in the market has fueled their rise as one of the fastest-growing SaaS startups in the world. Their strong growth, product adoption, and customer retention reflect the tremendous value they’re providing to businesses looking to drive greater productivity and efficiency,” said David George, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, in a statement. “ClickUp is synonymous with the future of work, and we’re thrilled to partner with a company that has shown such a strong commitment to its users and product. We look forward to building a more productive world together.”

Meet Routine, a new startup working on a productivity tool that should help you manage your work day more efficiently. It’s a brand new take on to-do lists as it combines both tasks, non-actionable notes and a daily planner.

The two co-founders of Routine are Julien Quintard and Quentin Hocquet, two French entrepreneurs who previously created Infinit, a startup I covered several times. Docker acquired Infinit back in 2016.

They are teaming up once again to create Routine. Right now, Routine is an app for macOS and iOS that works with your Google account. After setting up your account, Routine helps you figure out “what am I supposed to do right now?” at any point in time.

One of the most opinionated feature of Routine is the dashboard. Whatever you’re doing on your computer, you can pull up the Routine dashboard with a simple keyboard shortcut. By default, that shortcut is Ctrl-Space.

The Routine app adds an overlay on top of your screen with a few widgets. It looks a bit like the now-defunct Dashboard on macOS. On that dashboard, you’ll find a handful of things. On the left, you can see the tasks you have to complete today.

On the right, you can see how much time you have left before your next meeting and some information about that event. The date is pulled directly from your Google Calendar account.

In the center of the screen, Routine displays a big input field called the Console. You can type text and then press enter to create a new task from there. It works a bit like the ‘Quick Add’ feature in Todoist.

Image Credits: Routine

The idea is that you can add a task without wasting time opening your to-do app, moving to the right project, clicking the add task button and entering text into several fields. With Routine, you can press Ctrl-Space, type some text, press enter and you’re done.

Of course, you can also use the Console to schedule task directly using natural language. For instance, you can type ‘Take out trash every Wednesday at 7pm’ and Routine will create a new item every Wednesday.

Once your tasks are in Routine, you can manage them from the Routine app. In addition to the regular to-do app actions, such as rescheduling a task or marking it as complete, you can allocate some time for bigger tasks. From the Today interface, you can move a task from the task list to your calendar. It automatically creates a calendar event with that task.

Image Credits: Routine

The app is a much a to-do app as a note-taking app. Each task represents a page. From that page, you get a Notion-like editor. You can write text, add headings, dividers and photos, create bulleted lists and more.

And if you create a task within a task, it automatically becomes a full-fledged Routine task. You can schedule it, insert it in your calendar and more. This works a bit like Evernote’s recent update with its new take on tasks. Essentially, tasks remain in context.

As Routine integrates directly with your calendar, you can also open each event in your calendar and take notes from there. Essentially, each event is also a note by itself.

Image Credits: Routine

Finally, Routine lets you create Pages. Each Page is a document that can hold tasks or notes. You can use it to create various lists, such as grocery lists, packing lists and watch lists. You can also use it to store evergreen information, such as recipes or restaurants you like.

Routine is currently in closed beta. The startup has participated in Y Combinator’s W21 batch and raised a $2.7 million pre-seed round from BoxGroup and TargetGlobal. Several business angels also participated, such as Matt Robinson, Clément Delangue and Ian Hogarth.

I played around with the app and it’s an interesting take on both to-do lists and note-taking. Some people rely heavily on a to-do app, but they can’t store notes in there that easily. Other people store everything in a note-taking app. But they can’t easily view all their tasks at once. Routine aims to bridge that gap, so it’s going to be interesting to see whether the company manages to create a loyal community.

Image Credits: Routine

Meet Hera, a new calendar app that wants to turn the calendar into the main work interface. Hera helps you schedule meetings more easily with natural language processing and lets you share availabilities in an email or any messaging app. The startup is also going to build integrations with your other work tools so that you can surface important information before a meeting and extract information after a meeting.

So far, Hera has raised a $465,000 (€400,000) pre-seed round led by Eurazeo (under the Idinvest brand at the time) and several business angels. It has then joined Y Combinator’s S21 batch and raised a $1.7 million seed round led by Eurazeo.

Business angels who invested in the company include Alexis Bonillo, Thibaud Elzière, Kyle Parrish, Calvin French-Owen, John Gabaix and Karthik Puvvada. Notion Capital and Kima Ventures also invested.

Hera first started as a calendar app focused on note-taking during meetings. Since attending Y Combinator, the product has evolved quite a lot. It is now focused on managing the entire lifecycle of an event for busy people who manage a lot of (virtual) meetings.

First, Hera can help you schedule a meeting and get ready for a meeting. In just a few clicks, you can select multiple slots. Hera then generates a friendly text that you can copy and paste in an email thread, in a WhatsApp conversation or wherever you’re talking about your next meeting.

This is a much friendlier interface for the person receiving the message compared to traditional meeting scheduling tools. You don’t have to generate a link, and the person on the other end doesn’t have to click on a link to find out when this meeting could take place.

Image Credits: Hera

Second, Hera is going to pull context about your upcoming meetings. Chances are you already have a ton of info about people you’re meeting with. You send and receive emails, you may use a CRM and you may be meeting several times a year.

“We’re not going to become a project management platform, we’re going to integrate with tools that you already use,” co-founder and CEO Bruno Vegreville told me.

Hera lets you take some notes before the meeting so that you don’t forget about something. During the meeting, you can add more notes and then export this data to your favorite note-taking app, such as Notion.

Image Credits: Hera

Right now, Hera works best for users who want to take Google Calendar to the next level. Up next, the company wants to add some multiplayer components. For instance, you can imagine better scheduling if both people are currently using Hera. You could also imagine mentioning other Hera users directly in your calendar to get feedback on a meeting.

Hera has been in private beta for the past few months. The startup’s vision is quite clear. Some productivity tools, such as Superhuman, have made people more efficient when it comes to sorting threads and acting on incoming emails. If you consider meetings as threads, Hera could become the Superhuman of calendars.

Image Credits: Hera

To get different tasks done, businesses need a dependable, feature-rich productivity suite like Microsoft Office. Included in Office is Microsoft Word, a time-tested word processor that millions of organizations use. Now, Word has a refreshed look and feel, and is packed with even more features for improving productivity.

Work online

Don’t have the Word app on your computer, tablet, or smartphone? Go to office.com, sign in with your Microsoft account, and open Word Online, the web version of Word. This is particularly useful for users who have limited free storage space on their devices, as the Word app can be pretty hefty in terms of storage space (2.11 GB for Windows and 1.2 GB for Mac). It allows for the same level of functionality without the storage burden.

Collaborate effectively

You and your colleagues can now edit the same Word document simultaneously and in real time. Simply save the document to your Microsoft OneDrive account, click Share, and send the link to the file to your coworkers. People with the link can access and edit the document using the Word desktop app or Word Online.

Maintain editorial control

Use the Track Changes function of Word to monitor all edits made to your document. To turn on Track Changes, click on the Review tab, and then select Track Changes. You will then be able to view all changes made to the file by every user, and you will also have the ability to reject or accept suggestions and edits as you see fit.

Use Smart Lookup for research

The Smart Lookup feature helps you do online research while you’re working on a document — no need to open another tab and type in a query. Simply highlight and right-click the word or phrase you want to look up, and select Smart Lookup from the menu that appears. Word uses Microsoft’s Bing search engine to conduct a search on the selected word or phrase, and displays the results in a pane that appears on the right side of your screen.

Format your documents

The Styles gallery contains predefined formatting options for text. You can also add your own styles, or those you use frequently, to the gallery. By saving your own style preferences, you can apply them anytime without having to manually format everything. Just follow these steps:

1. Select the text you want to format as a new style (e.g., a heading or a certain phrase).
2. Specify the formatting you want on the mini toolbar that appears. For instance, click Bold and Red if you want the text to appear as such.
3. Click the More arrow in the lower-right corner of the Styles gallery. Select Create a Style. This will open the Create New Style from Formatting dialog box.
4. Give the style a name and click OK. Your new style will appear in the Styles gallery, ready for you to use anytime.

Search and use images quickly

With Word, there’s no need to open your browser to look for images for your document. Just place the cursor in the area where you want to insert the photo, click the Insert tab and select Online pictures (type “clip art” in the search box if that’s what you need), select an image, then click Insert.

Edit PDFs

Word’s PDF editing function allows you to make quick changes to PDF files without having to download and use a PDF editing app or software. But before you can edit a PDF file in Word, you have to convert it to a file format that Word can display. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Click File > Open > Browse
2. Choose the PDF file you want to edit, then click Open
3. Click OK to make a copy of the PDF file and convert its contents into a format that can be opened in Word. (Note: The original PDF will be preserved.)
4. Make edits to the copy of the PDF file.
5. When you’re done, click File > Save as > PDF

Microsoft is constantly rolling out nifty new features for its popular word processor. To stay updated on the latest Word features and functionalities, reach out to our Microsoft experts now.

Microsoft Word has long been regarded as one of the best document processing applications in history. And Microsoft isn’t resting on its laurels, as it continues to bring more features for users to enjoy. Here are some productivity features you should take advantage of.

Work online

Don’t have the Word app on your computer, tablet, or smartphone? Go to office.com, sign in with your Microsoft account, and open Word Online, the web version of Word. This is particularly useful for users who have limited free storage space on their devices, as the Word app can be pretty hefty in terms of storage space (2.11 GB for Windows and 1.2 GB for Mac). It allows for the same level of functionality without the storage burden.

Collaborate effectively

You and your colleagues can now edit the same Word document simultaneously and in real time. Simply save the document to your Microsoft OneDrive account, click Share, and send the link to the file to your coworkers. People with the link can access and edit the document using the Word desktop app or Word Online.

Maintain editorial control

Use the Track Changes function of Word to monitor all edits made to your document. To turn on Track Changes, click on the Review tab, and then select Track Changes. You will then be able to view all changes made to the file by every user, and you will also have the ability to reject or accept suggestions and edits as you see fit.

Use Smart Lookup for research

The Smart Lookup feature helps you do online research while you’re working on a document — no need to open another tab and type in a query. Simply highlight and right-click the word or phrase you want to look up, and select Smart Lookup from the menu that appears. Word uses Microsoft’s Bing search engine to conduct a search on the selected word or phrase, and displays the results in a pane that appears on the right side of your screen.

Format your documents

The Styles gallery contains predefined formatting options for text. You can also add your own styles, or those you use frequently, to the gallery. By saving your own style preferences, you can apply them anytime without having to manually format everything. Just follow these steps:

1. Select the text you want to format as a new style (e.g., a heading or a certain phrase).
2. Specify the formatting you want on the mini toolbar that appears. For instance, click Bold and Red if you want the text to appear as such.
3. Click the More arrow in the lower-right corner of the Styles gallery. Select Create a Style. This will open the Create New Style from Formatting dialog box.
4. Give the style a name and click OK. Your new style will appear in the Styles gallery, ready for you to use anytime.

Search and use images quickly

With Word, there’s no need to open your browser to look for images for your document. Just place the cursor in the area where you want to insert the photo, click the Insert tab and select Online pictures (type “clip art” in the search box if that’s what you need), select an image, then click Insert.

Edit PDFs

Word’s PDF editing function allows you to make quick changes to PDF files without having to download and use a PDF editing app or software. But before you can edit a PDF file in Word, you have to convert it to a file format that Word can display. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Click File > Open > Browse
2. Choose the PDF file you want to edit, then click Open
3. Click OK to make a copy of the PDF file and convert its contents into a format that can be opened in Word. (Note: The original PDF will be preserved.)
4. Make edits to the copy of the PDF file.
5. When you’re done, click File > Save as > PDF

Microsoft is constantly rolling out nifty new features for its popular word processor. To stay updated on the latest Word features and functionalities, reach out to our Microsoft experts now.

Microsoft Word is synonymous with document processing, which isn’t a surprise given its ubiquity and reputation for being user-friendly. Yet, many users are still surprised to learn that it has plenty of useful features, albeit ones that are hiding in plain sight. Here are some of them.

Work online

Don’t have the Word app on your computer, tablet, or smartphone? Go to office.com, sign in with your Microsoft account, and open Word Online, the web version of Word. This is particularly useful for users who have limited free storage space on their devices, as the Word app can be pretty hefty in terms of storage space (2.11 GB for Windows and 1.2 GB for Mac). It allows for the same level of functionality without the storage burden.

Collaborate effectively

You and your colleagues can now edit the same Word document simultaneously and in real time. Simply save the document to your Microsoft OneDrive account, click Share, and send the link to the file to your coworkers. People with the link can access and edit the document using the Word desktop app or Word Online.

Maintain editorial control

Use the Track Changes function of Word to monitor all edits made to your document. To turn on Track Changes, click on the Review tab, and then select Track Changes. You will then be able to view all changes made to the file by every user, and you will also have the ability to reject or accept suggestions and edits as you see fit.

Use Smart Lookup for research

The Smart Lookup feature helps you do online research while you’re working on a document — no need to open another tab and type in a query. Simply highlight and right-click the word or phrase you want to look up, and select Smart Lookup from the menu that appears. Word uses Microsoft’s Bing search engine to conduct a search on the selected word or phrase, and displays the results in a pane that appears on the right side of your screen.

Format your documents

The Styles gallery contains predefined formatting options for text. You can also add your own styles, or those you use frequently, to the gallery. By saving your own style preferences, you can apply them anytime without having to manually format everything. Just follow these steps:

1. Select the text you want to format as a new style (e.g., a heading or a certain phrase).
2. Specify the formatting you want on the mini toolbar that appears. For instance, click Bold and Red if you want the text to appear as such.
3. Click the More arrow in the lower-right corner of the Styles gallery. Select Create a Style. This will open the Create New Style from Formatting dialog box.
4. Give the style a name and click OK. Your new style will appear in the Styles gallery, ready for you to use anytime.

Search and use images quickly

With Word, there’s no need to open your browser to look for images for your document. Just place the cursor in the area where you want to insert the photo, click the Insert tab and select Online pictures (type “clip art” in the search box if that’s what you need), select an image, then click Insert.

Edit PDFs

Word’s PDF editing function allows you to make quick changes to PDF files without having to download and use a PDF editing app or software. But before you can edit a PDF file in Word, you have to convert it to a file format that Word can display. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Click File > Open > Browse
2. Choose the PDF file you want to edit, then click Open
3. Click OK to make a copy of the PDF file and convert its contents into a format that can be opened in Word. (Note: The original PDF will be preserved.)
4. Make edits to the copy of the PDF file.
5. When you’re done, click File > Save as > PDF

Microsoft is constantly rolling out nifty new features for its popular word processor. To stay updated on the latest Word features and functionalities, reach out to our Microsoft experts now.