The future of the Digital Workplace with Microsoft Loop and generative AI

At The Flow we think it is important to invest in our people. And what our crew learns, we also like to share with the outside world! That also applies to Pieter Op De Beéck, Trusted Advisor at The Flow. He regularly shares his knowledge and insights during sessions, both at our own events (such as the Experience Day) and at external events such as BIWUG and CollabDays. And what does it cover? These days Pieter mainly talks about Microsoft Loop, a co-creative tool within Microsoft 365, and – how could it be otherwise – generative AI. Let’s dive in!

‍

Pieter Op De Beéck: “I have been giving sessions on various, diverse subjects for a large part of my career, but with the coronavirus pandemic that unfortunately came to a standstill. When I got the chance to focus on it again at The Flow, I didn’t have to think twice! At the moment the sessions are mainly about Microsoft Loop and deploying generative AI in your business; about ChatGPT but also Microsoft 365 Copilot, which is on its way.”

“I love being able to speak again and to share not only my knowledge but also my passion. For example, I recently gave the session on MS Loop at the Modern Workplace Conference in Paris and spoke about generative AI at CollabDays in the Netherlands.”

“With those two sessions I mainly try to create awareness about what is all possible, what is coming and what that can mean for your company or team working. With clients too, I focus heavily on translating the technical side into the business world. I’m not a developer myself, so unfortunately I can’t answer detailed integration or development questions. My goal is mainly to make it clear for everyone.

‍

‍

Microsoft Loop for a smoother digital workplace.

With The Flow we focus on improving employees’ digital workplace. For this we look at the Microsoft platform because we believe it can most efficiently bring together all the daily apps someone needs. One of those new tools in the M365 Cloud is Microsoft Loop, an online collaboration platform.

Pieter: “Sometimes new tools are more of a gimmick, but with Loop we really do see a valuable addition. In my session about it, I tell more about what it exactly is, why Microsoft comes out with such a tool and above all: how do you position that new tool in the M365 landscape? I do that on the basis of concrete examples but also tips. How do you look at it from a governance standpoint? Do you let it integrate fully, partly or not at all?”

‍

‍

How the arrival of generative AI influences your workflow.

When we talk about generative AI, in recent months it has of course mainly been about ChatGPT. The AI text generator is the product of OpenAI, an open source company that also released image generator DALL-E. In 2019 Microsoft invested 1 billion dollars and in 2023 ten times that: 10 billion dollars. In return, Microsoft integrated ChatGPT into Bing Chat, an AI chatbot, and OpenAI’s systems now run in the Azure cloud. So not an acquisition, but an interesting investment.

Pieter: “And I tell quite a lot about that. I start with the origin of AI, the link with Microsoft, what this fourth major IT revolution means and most importantly: what is all possible and how it will evolve in the future.”

“That investment by Microsoft in OpenAI has quite a few consequences, certainly now that the OpenAI services run in the Azure cloud. That means that as a company you can bring the API of smart intelligence ‘inside’ your own, closed Azure cloud. A law firm could, for example, create a chatbot that goes through all legal documents and makes a summary per client of them. That could happen fully secured and private, which is not yet the case with ChatGPT integrations.”

“Another tool that will become crucial in the AI story is Microsoft 365 Copilot, a plug-in for the entire M365 platform that serves as an assistant and runs on artificial intelligence. For example, after your holiday you will be able to ask it to make a summary of the most important emails, chats, meetings, documents, transcripts, etc. Or have an entirely new business proposal drawn up based on meeting notes, also have a presentation made of it with appropriate images, correct branding and in the right tone of voice.”

Since May 2023, MS Copilot is still being tested by some 600 companies; it is not yet clear when it will be broadly rolled out or what the pricing is.

‍

‍

Where does The Flow fit into the picture?

Pieter: “At The Flow, to be clear, we are not involved in developing artificial intelligence, but in integrating it and helping companies prepare for its arrival. Many companies think that AI can help a lot with their mass of data. But just having data is not enough. If you don’t invest in information structure and information management, an AI application will be able to optimise little or nothing. ChatGPT already makes clear to us that everything depends on how good/detailed/specific the prompt is, and that will be no different with something like Copilot. So you have to focus today already on your company’s information structure and agree on how you apply lifecycle management to all your documents. Only when everything is nicely structured and cleaned up will your data be valuable for an AI model.”

“And that is what we at The Flow help with, of course! To create an optimal digital flow, we always start with an information architecture. In it we already take into account the arrival or implementation of artificial intelligence. We ensure correct filing, naming conventions, version management, etc. We always do such a digital flow project with a team. I regularly give the Technical Governance workshops at our clients myself, and for that too you must always be aware of the latest technological possibilities. Clients rightly expect that we follow everything and advise them on it.

And that is exactly what I do. In June I even organised, together with three other consultants, my own successful Viva Explorers Community Day, which received many positive reactions. And recently I heard from a client: “if you want to stay up to date on everything, you just have to follow Pieter on LinkedIn and then you’re in the loop.” Those are of course enormously nice compliments!”.

Also want to get started with your digital workplace?
Or curious where you can hear Pieter speak?
Email us, we’d love to sit down together!