How to choose productivity tools that optimize efficiency and ROI

Today Chief Innovation Officers (CIOs) are faced with a myriad of decisions to make on a daily basis, as they seek to reduce costs, maintain workflow efficiency and improve service offerings through new digital tools – whether that be implementing new automation strategies or sourcing tools to support the businesses’ digital transformation efforts.

For many CIOs simply weighing up the pros and cons between different software vendors and the tools on offer, can be a challenge within itself, with others caught up in current contracts unsure of how to maximize their value.

Choosing between Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace productivity/collaboration tools, for example, is a tough decision for many. Both services boast a variety of features, and it can be difficult to decide which is the best fit for your organization to optimize its efficiency and return the best value for money.

So, where to start?

Maximizing value from your current platform

To get the most out of existing technology, regardless of provider, it is important to look for opportunities to bundle features and remove tools you don’t need; consider functionalities such as comms platforms, identity and access management, Single Sign On, file storage, telephony, data visualization, EUC cybersecurity, and even EUC hardware. Businesses can look at periodic or automated harvesting of licenses to limit unnecessary new purchases. For businesses that have yet to implement this, there is often up to a 20% opportunity to harvest users to avoid new purchases and maximize value from the existing platform.

Knowing when the time is right to reevaluate

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 may have comparable license prices for standard users, but to effectively evaluate the cost of either platform, it is important to compare the total cost of your wider tech stack.

For a more nuanced review, it is important to review user profiles, employee mix (full-time or part-time, for instance), hiring seasonality, and turnover. For example,…