Microsoft Planner: The modern task management platform for teams.
Microsoft 365 has come on a long way since its introduction in 2011, with more exciting features, updates and applications being added rapidly by Microsoft to enhance user experience. One result of these additions is Microsoft Planner, a task management tool – similar to Asana, Slack or Trello, but it integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams and the rest of Microsoft 365. It provides a singular-hub for teams to create plans, organise and assign tasks to other users and check updates on progress via dashboards.
“Built for Office 365, Planner lets you attach files to tasks, work together on those files, and even have conversations around tasks without switching between apps. With Planner, all your team’s discussions and deliverables stay with the plan and don’t get locked away across disparate applications.”
Microsoft designed the application to provide workforces with a visual hub which meant they could create task management and organisation systems with ease. They commented that their aim was to “take the chaos out of teamwork”.
So, how can you get your hands on Microsoft Planner?
Planner is available to anyone with the following Microsoft 365 plans:
- Microsoft 365 Enterprise E1 – E5
- Microsoft 365 Business Essentials
- Microsoft 365 Premium and Education subscriptions
Choosing Microsoft Planner over other project management software will give you access to two main benefits; firstly, as discussed above, Planner has seamless integration with Microsoft 365 and the rest of the Office suite. Therefore, making you very efficient. For example, by using Planner you can easily integrate your tasks into Outlook, discuss a project within Teams while having a Plan open and simultaneously hop onto a video call! If you were to use a third-party app, you would have to switch in and out of applications – a huge killer of productivity.
The second clear benefit associated with using Microsoft Planner relates to cost. It’s included in all the business Microsoft 365 plans, meaning if you use Microsoft 365 applications at work, you will probably have access to Planner. Other task and project management apps not only cost extra, but you will probably have to pay an additional licence fee. If you don’t use Microsoft 365 at work, it is worth taking into consideration the cost of implementing it with those when you use a variety of third-party applications and the savings you may get.
Microsoft Planner is continuing to assist teams across the globe by allowing staff to build a plan, build the team to complete it, assign tasks and monitor the whole process, all under one pane of glass. It also works across all devices just like the rest of the Microsoft 365 suite.
If you have a subscription that includes Planner, why not see how Serval IT Systems can help you get started with using it?
Alternatively, if you’re yet to move to Microsoft 365 but love the sound of Planner, why not get in touch for more information?