Small and midsize businesses (SMBs), in the United States for example, remain the backbone of the economy, accounting for 99% of all businesses and employing more than 60 million workers, nearly half of the U.S. workforce. From the rise of remote work to the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), SMBs are ideally positioned to benefit enormously from a new generation of technology that will help them grow and scale their businesses. In fact, Microsoft 365 powers your SMB with AI, allowing companies to adopt these innovations more efficiently and effectively.
In Latin America (LATAM), SMBs also play a crucial role in the economy, representing a large share of the business fabric and generating employment for millions of people. Adopting technology tools such as Microsoft 365 with AI capabilities can help SMBs in LATAM overcome unique challenges, increase their competitiveness and reach new markets. With the support of innovative solutions, these companies have the opportunity to grow and thrive in a dynamic economic environment.
Microsoft 365 and SMBs
Today there are 11 million SMBs that rely on Microsoft 365 solutions to achieve more than ever. Keep reading to learn more about the new investments Microsoft is making to help SMBs achieve more than ever. We are excited that this recent AI announcement will transform the way you work and streamline your business operations. Below, we discuss what these new AI capabilities mean for businesses like yours.
Key partnerships and new tools
Microsoft has partnered with GoDaddy, PayPal and Stripe to create a payments app for Teams that makes it easier to close deals and get paid directly in Microsoft Teams meetings. They will also introduce an app for organizing projects that improves collaboration and team creation, and will share new security features to protect your team's devices.
Support for small businesses
Microsoft has partnered with the Small Business Association to sponsor National Small Business Week (NSBW) in the United States. In addition, they are excited to participate personally in the NSBW Virtual Summit to show how businesses can benefit from AI and reach their business goals.
Get ready to harness the power of AI in your business
SMBs are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence (AI). Companies are using AI-powered tools to automate sales and marketing, as well as to automate business operations. In fact, in a recent survey of 550 companies with fewer than 200 employees, 72 percent said they are familiar with AI tools, and 48 percent use them daily.
In March 2023, Microsoft 365 Copilot was launched to transform the way you work and let you focus on what matters most in your company.
Copilot saves you time by automating routine tasks, streamlining business workflows and providing valuable insights to help you make the right decisions. It brings together your own data, internal documents, presentations, chats and emails, and uses them to help you draft emails, summarize meetings and more.
Let's walk through a scenario to help you picture some of the ways Copilot can help small and midsize businesses.
Drafting responses to customers
A clothing store owner uses Copilot to summarize emails, flag important messages and draft personalized replies.
Analyzing data
The store owner uses Excel to analyze sales, project the impact of increasing inventory and create charts that show how these changes affect gross margin.
Business planning summary
The owner uses Microsoft Word to summarize customer feedback, pulling data from emails and Teams chats, and integrating data to analyze the benefits of increasing online inventory.
Creating a proposal
The owner asks PowerPoint to create a two-page project proposal based on customer feedback and the previous analysis, and then uses Copilot to summarize everything on a single slide.
Summarizing meetings
The store owner meets with the team to discuss business strategies and uses Teams to summarize the key points and opinions and suggest actions to take in real time during the meeting.
Use the new Teams payments app to close deals and get paid
Getting paid for appointments, classes and webinars in Teams is easier. Microsoft is launching the Teams payments app, allowing SMBs to manage and receive payments from meetings on desktop or mobile.
Microsoft is partnering with GoDaddy, PayPal and Stripe to combine collaboration in Teams with commercial features, improving customer interaction and accelerating payments.
The Teams payments app is in public preview in the Teams Store for Teams Essentials and Microsoft 365 Business subscribers at no charge in the U.S. and Canada. PayPal and Stripe are already available; GoDaddy is coming soon.
Think, plan and create together like never before with Microsoft Loop
In May 2024, Microsoft launched Loop, an application that lets employees organize projects in a single central place. Loop suggests relevant files, and its flexible interface lets you organize the workspace according to your needs.
Loop turns parts of your workspace into portable components that sync across Teams, Outlook, Microsoft Whiteboard and Word on the web. This makes co-creation and teamwork easier.
With Copilot, you will be able to collaborate in Loop more effectively. You and your team will be able to review previous prompts, add details and adjust responses to get more precise and personalized results.
Protect your business with security solutions designed for SMBs
Microsoft protects SMBs from cyberattacks with new security features in Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Defender for Business.
Defender for Business now simplifies security for mobile devices, protecting you from threats such as malware and ransomware on iOS and Android, with no need for add-ons or device management, helping your employees stay secure while on the go.
Monthly security reports have been added to simplify your business's security status across identity, devices, information and applications, and to provide recommendations to improve, close gaps and build confidence among stakeholders.
Plans for the future
Help and learning for small businesses: Discover how to set up and use your Microsoft 365 subscription, find tips and templates to make business tasks easier, and get the most out of hybrid work.
Resources for small businesses: Get free resources, technology training and guidance to keep your business thriving and growing.
Microsoft 365 Copilot: This AI tool combines the power of language models with your data to turn your words into extremely useful information.
