What can Microsoft 365 do - and what isn't possible? A thorough assessment

Microsoft 365 (M365) has become the standard in modern businesses. However indispensable the platform may be for communication and collaboration, it does encounter limits with certain requirements. Many companies address these shortcomings through add-ins or custom developments. But why is this necessary, and what should you pay attention to when doing so?

In this article, we take a detailed look at Microsoft 365 and provide an overview of its capabilities: what works exceptionally well, where its weaknesses lie, and which solutions can fill the gaps.

What Microsoft 365 does well

1. Enterprise-Level Collaboration and Communication

M365 provides a strong foundation for teamwork through Microsoft Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Chats, video conferencing, co-editing documents, and secure cloud access make collaboration seamless - no matter the location or time zone.

2. Integration and Scalability

With smooth integration between Office applications, Azure services, and most third-party tools, M365 forms a flexible ecosystem. Its scalability is particularly advantageous for international businesses with complex IT needs.

3. Automation and Self-Service

The Power Platform (Power Automate, Power Apps, Power BI) enables departments to create workflows independently, even without deep IT expertise. These self-service tools lighten the IT workload and accelerate processes.

4. Security and Compliance

M365’s features, such as Conditional Access, Data Loss Prevention, and Microsoft Purview, uphold the highest standards in data protection and governance. These attributes are especially critical for regulated industries.

Microsoft 365’s Weaknesses

Despite its strengths, M365 is not a universal solution. In several areas, companies frequently need to enhance its functionality:

1. Brand Consistency in documents

M365 lacks centralized management of corporate design standards in PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Outlook. Users can freely modify fonts, colors, and layouts, leading to inconsistent branding.

Solution: Tools such as Templafy, UpSlide, or empower^® provide standardized implementation of design guidelines, automatically check for brand compliance, and simplify template management.

2. Content management for templates and assets

Managing presentation templates, images, icons, or diagrams in M365 can be inefficient. SharePoint and OneDrive are not optimized as content hubs and lack intelligent search and preview features. Updating templates often requires IT support.

Solution: Add-ins like SlideHub, empower^®, or Officeatwork offer centralized libraries for presentation materials, integrating with PowerPoint and allowing non-IT teams to manage them independently.

3. Insufficient support for power users

Advanced users of PowerPoint face limitations such as the lack of tools for automatic agenda updates, layout aids, or enhanced charting tools.

Solution: Extensions like think-cell or empower^® offer advanced features to support efficient content creation. Pre-designed templates from platforms like SlideModel can further ease daily tasks.

4. Usability and acceptance issues

Many of M365’s features are either hard to find or overly complex, resulting in underutilization. Less tech-savvy users may struggle and resort to inefficient workarounds.

Solution: User-friendly add-ins with guided workflows and better user experiences increase adoption. Training sessions and informational resources help users become more proficient.

5. Microsoft Copilot’s limitations

Microsoft’s AI tool often lacks contextual understanding of company-specific standards, existing processes, or prior content. Additionally, its high cost, limited customization, and legal uncertainties regarding AI-generated content present challenges. Outputs are often generic and require manual adjustments.

Solution: Various AI-driven software solutions, such as empower^®, Templafy, Grammarly, or DocuSign, provide AI assistant tools - often at lower costs. These tools focus on customized prompts, user-specific roles, and compliance with GDPR regulations.

6. Limited Reporting and Analytics

M365 provides only basic insights into how its tools are used. IT teams lack data on adoption rates and compliance with template standards.

Solution: Solutions with a built-in analytics dashboard create transparency and control options. Data-driven decisions are only possible if usage behavior and compliance with CI guidelines can be measured. The IT team should therefore check whether add-ins provide corresponding telemetry data - ideally exportable via API or Power BI Connector.

Source: Microsoft

Deep dive: Popular M365 applications

Let’s examine some of M365’s most-used applications and where they could improve:

Word:

• No centralized control of brand-compliant templates.
• Fonts, colors, and logos are inconsistently used.
• Formatting features are challenging for less experienced users.

PowerPoint:

• Master layouts are often ignored or overwritten
• Unified designs are rarely maintained without external tools.
• No built-in brand compliance checks.
• Missing advanced functions like automatic agendas or versioning.
• No native integration of image or icon libraries.

Outlook:

• Overwhelming email management for high volumes.
• Limited automation without add-ons.
• CI-compliant email signatures are difficult to manage.
• Lacks features for marketing campaigns.
  
  

Excel:

• Prone to errors during manual tasks.
• No built-in team workflows or data validation.
• Limited data visualization options.
• Minimal control over templates or CI-compliant formatting.

When do add-ons make sense?

Not every shortcoming of M365 requires immediate fixes. In terms of simple software management, less is more.

However, consider specialized add-ins or custom developments if:

• Branding in documents and emails is inconsistent.
• Employees spend excessive time manually formatting slides and charts.
• IT teams frequently handle template or corporate design support requests.
• Centralized control over document assets is lacking.
• Power users seek professional tools for efficient content creation.

Conclusion: M365 is powerful - but not all-powerful

Microsoft 365 is a robust pillar for the digital workplace, but it is not without limitations. Reducing manual work, ensuring consistent branding, and relieving IT teams often require additional solutions. Evaluate whether add-ins can address multiple challenges at once.

empower^® offers a comprehensive suite for Microsoft 365, streamlining workflows, ensuring brand consistency, and consolidating software needs into a single solution.