You’re Losing ROI By Not Utilizing These Microsoft 365 Tools

When I say “Microsoft 365” what comes to mind? Outlook? Teams? Maybe SharePoint? It’s natural if those are the first tools that you think about. And those aren’t wrong answers. They are the foundational collaboration tools for communication.

The issue is that for far too many businesses, this is all they think about, even though Microsoft 365 offers so much more. And this narrow view could be costing you time and money.

Just think about this. In 2025, 3% of all US companies (1 million businesses) and 3.7 million companies worldwide were active Microsoft 365 users. But active is the key word here. Because in 2020, a study from CoreView found that “56% of a business’s Microsoft Office 365 licenses are inactive, underutilized, oversized or unassigned.”

Many companies pay for premium Microsoft 365 tiers but operate as if they only have email and Office apps. When that happens, not only are companies not using tools native to the subscription, but they also end up paying for separate third-party solutions for automation, BI, and engagement. This equates to a lot of wasted money in both unused subscription costs and the lack of efficiency by not using these tools.  

Let’s take a look at some of those Microsoft365 tools that are being overlooked and how you can stand out from the competition by putting them to use.

Power Automate

Automation is one of the biggest focuses for companies in 2026, as doing more work with fewer resources is a priority. And yet Power Automate may be one of the most underutilized tools in the 365 suite.

We see countless companies struggle with manual data entry, slow approval processes, and clunky workflows. Power Automate can address those. And most importantly, you don’t need to build overly sophisticated workflows to start seeing value.

Just creating simple flows like routing approvals, syncing data between SharePoint and Excel, and sending automated reminders could eliminate hours of repetitive work every week. But an issue is adoption. It requires someone to identify the use cases and build the flows, which rarely happens without a dedicated push.

Power BI

It’s 2026. You don’t need to be building static reports in Excel and sharing through email. Power BI lets you build live dashboards that are tied to a number of external sources, such as SharePoint lists, Excel files, Dynamics, and SQL databases. The value is in real-time insights and visibility versus already-outdated static dashboards. This is especially valuable for getting executive buy-in, as they want to know what’s happening at any given time, in a format that’s easy to digest.

Copilot

Underuse looks a bit different for Copilot. It’s not that users aren’t leveraging licenses. It’s that many users are only using it for the basics and missing out on more that Copilot has to offer. Yes, it can draft an email for you, but it can also help with greater efficiencies, especially when it comes to distilling information.

Summarizing large amounts of text, doing first-pass analysis in Excel, and identifying context across multiple channels (files, Outlook, Teams, etc.) can drastically reduce the time spent on manual tasks. Then there are the agents that can be built to streamline onboarding, training, and procurement for even greater efficiencies.

Viva Connections

It’s a common misconception that Viva Connections is basically the same as SharePoint. So, if you have SharePoint, why do you need Viva Connections? Viva Connections should be viewed as an extension of SharePoint and focuses more on employee engagement than content management.

Viva Connections is also the piece that connects SharePoint to Teams. Think of SharePoint as the one doing the heavy lifting and Viva Connections as the portal into greater engagement collaboration done through personalization. Instead of communicating generically through Teams channels and SharePoint sites, you can create more customized information and actions in Viva Connections.

Why These Tools Go Underused

There’s a reason why these tools don’t get as much use as Outlook and Teams. Like any technology, just because you have the software doesn’t mean it automatically provides value. These require setup, governance, and a champion to drive adoption.

To overcome the loss in ROI, you need to first map your workflows to these tools and then educate your teams to drive adoption. The upfront work will pay off quickly and over time.

And if you need help developing that roadmap and driving adoption, we can help your business leverage these tools to their full ability.