Businesses are transforming quickly in the 21st century. In just two decades, the “norm” for company operations has gone from mostly on-premises processes to complete cloud environments.

Companies are also now changing and improving the way they do things at a much faster pace than in the past. A big part of technology success is keeping up with the changing capabilities of computing systems, mobile devices, and hybrid work environments, and adapting.

Another factor that involves the need to continually evolve the way things are done is the rising threat landscape. Organisations need to continually upgrade their cybersecurity strategies to combat the most recent threats.

54% of companies globally are prioritising digital transformations and 49% are prioritising cybersecurity this year. That’s a lot of new processes that need to be communicated.

The best way to communicate a new process or idea in a comprehensive way is through the use of a diagram.

Diagram Benefits for Businesses

Provides a Brainstorm Starting Point

Often people will have an idea in their head of a need for a new initiative that can solve a problem. They may not have arrived at the complete solution yet but have an inkling of what can help.

Doing the brainstorming using a diagram can help connect the dots and take the idea to a concrete place that can be implemented to improve business operations.

Explain an Idea Quickly

You can write two pages of text to explain a process and still have it be confusing for people. Laying out your process in a diagram that illustrates the flow can help people get the concept in just a few seconds.

Diagrams help the brain organise the details of a process by providing a visual representation.

Work Out Connections

When you’re brainstorming a new process verbally, you might not “see” all the connections that need to be included. You could also miss important impacts that a process would have a connected function.

Mapping out the process visually, allows you to consider it in a different way and you can more easily see how a process is connected to several other elements of your IT infrastructure.

Improve Upon Your Process

Looking at the visual representation of a process can help you see things that can improve what you have planned. Process modelling through a diagram often sparks new ideas for improving what’s being mapped out.

Training Others on a Process

When you’ve finished your planning for a new IT security strategy or digital initiative, it’s helpful to have a diagram when training staff or vendors on the process.

It will clarify how all steps in the process are connected and can help someone grasp the concept, so as they’re going through the training materials, they already have an understanding of what’s being taught.

You Now Get a Great Diagram Tool Free With Microsoft 365 for Business

In July, Microsoft brought out a lightweight version of its easy-to-use diagram tool called Visio. Microsoft Visio has been around for a while as a stand-alone tool offering companies powerful diagramming capabilities.

This lightweight version has been recently added to Microsoft 365 commercial accounts, meaning you may have it and may not even realise it.

If you have a Microsoft 365 business account this provides you a powerful new tool for creating impactful diagrams for no additional cost.

Microsoft Visio enables anyone to make an impactful diagram of their business processes, and of course, it’s fully integrated with all your other applications in Microsoft 365.

Getting Started with Visio

You can use Visio by signing into your Office Online account, accessing Visio, and choosing between starting from a blank canvas or using one of the many templates to begin your diagramming.

Time-Saving Templates

You can save yourself some time and get some additional ideas for your brainstorming process by leveraging one of the many diagram templates available in the application.

These include diagrams for:

  • Basic flow charts
  • Schedules
  • Network processes
  • Engineering
  • Floorplans
  • Software and database
  • And many more

Collaborate & Share Easily

You can co-author diagrams and work on them with your team members as well as easily share them from the application.

If you work in Microsoft Teams, you can use Visio in that interface for collaboration, just like you can with apps like Word or Excel.

Visualise Data in Excel

A great feature of Visio is that you can use it in Excel to help you visualise your data. Bring it into a sheet to gain more insights from your facts and figures.

Unlock the Power of Microsoft 365 for Business!

Microsoft 365 offers a world of business-powering tools.  NetCare can answer all your questions about the features and help your Sydney area business get set up and optimised in the platform.

Contact us today to learn more. Call (02) 9114 9920 or reach out online.