{"id":1657,"date":"2024-08-21T11:15:11","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T10:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clouddirect.net\/learning-hub\/?p=1657"},"modified":"2025-04-22T12:14:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T11:14:24","slug":"the-who-what-where-when-why-and-how-of-copilot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clouddirect.net\/learning-hub\/the-who-what-where-when-why-and-how-of-copilot\/","title":{"rendered":"The who, what, where, when, why and how of Copilot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since its introduction to the world late last year, Copilot has been a massive topic of discussion. Whether you\u2019re all-in on Copilot changing the world and the way that we work, or if you\u2019re more pessimistic and see it as a bit of a gimmick, it\u2019s likely that you have an opinion on it.<\/p>\n\n

Regardless of which way you\u2019re swaying, there is one thing that no one can ignore\u2026 the cost. Copilot is expensive \u2013 there\u2019s no two ways about it. But it is an investment worth making if you do so with due care and consideration. That requires making sure you are AI ready and having a tangible, measurable use case for its adoption.<\/p>\n\n

To see if you\u2019re in a position to make a success of Copilot, you\u2019ll need to ask yourself a few questions. Don\u2019t worry, this blog should help you answer them\u2026<\/p>\n\n

Who?<\/h2>\n\n

Who will benefit most from Copilot? It would be silly to throw all your eggs in one basket and bag a Copilot license for everyone in the business. Deployment must be strategic, so think about which teams and individuals need the help.<\/p>\n\n

Identify who may be under-performing, or potentially those who have a lot of administrative work in their jobs. Management roles across the organisation stand to benefit, with it being reported that they save up to 30 per cent of their admin time with Copilot.<\/p>\n\n

Roles that see their calendars stacked with meetings will also get the best out of Copilot. We\u2019ve seen evidence of that at Cloud Direct, with heavy use of the transcript and recap functions in Teams \u2013 findings which are backed up by Microsoft research, which shows that \u2018users were able to get caught up on a missed meeting nearly four times faster<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

Making sure you assign your licenses to the right people is incredibly important. It\u2019s equally important that you keep track of this, and check in with those who are using Copilot and the value they\u2019re extracting from it. Assigning a license to someone who ultimately doesn\u2019t use it very much is throwing money down the drain every month, and licenses can easily be reallocated within the organisation.<\/p>\n\n

What?<\/h2>\n\n

The next important step is identifying what it is going to be used for. Are your sales team tired of writing tedious follow up emails? Are project managers struggling with tracking projects? Are customer support stretched and need something to listen in and summarise common issues faced by customers?<\/p>\n\n

Adopting Copilot with a clear vision of what it is going to help with means that you can leverage it more effectively, and get the biggest bang for your buck. Think about asking your teams what part of their job they wish could be done quicker, more efficiently, or eradicated altogether, so that you can plot your route before you set sail.<\/p>\n\n

Where?<\/h2>\n\n

Let\u2019s zoom out from the individuals in the who section, and focus on the where \u2013 specifically, where within your organisation Copilot will make the biggest splash. Think of the teams, departments or geographies that could benefit most from administrative automation, and get to know their challenges.<\/p>\n\n

Let\u2019s take a quick look at sales. Love them or loathe them, a salesperson\u2019s time is critically important. The less time they spend on the menial, tiresome tasks, the more time they can spend generating revenue. \u201cIn sales, Copilot has helped sellers at more than 30,000 organisations, to enrich their customer interactions,\u201d said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella<\/a>. So much for AI making things less human.<\/p>\n\n

If you are looking at a wider rollout of Copilot, focusing on a single department is a sensible way to start. It\u2019s a great way to test the waters and assess if your investment is going to be worthwhile. Discover which team will reap the biggest rewards, and work from there.<\/p>\n\n

Why?<\/h2>\n\n

The next thing you have to ask yourself is why. Why are you looking to adopt Copilot in the first place? Not because your competitors are, not because it\u2019s the word on everyone\u2019s lips, not so that you can put your feet up and let AI replace you\u2026 push yourself, and make sure those reasons and use cases are valid, tangible and to the benefit of the business. Copilot is a shiny new toy that everyone seems to want to play with \u2013 Ally Financial, Coca-Cola and Rockwell Automation<\/a>, to name but a few \u2013 but it doesn\u2019t mean you should just whip out the cheque book straight away.<\/p>\n\n

Your reasoning shouldn\u2019t be just because those big companies or your competitors are doing it. A justifiable why<\/em> is more important than just a why<\/em>. If you are to take your time and use Copilot to actually address and tackle your specific challenges, then those competitors who are spending the money just to say they have it are the ones that will suffer in the long term.<\/p>\n\n

AI is already finding its way into the hiring process, too. If you\u2019re a company that can demonstrate its use of AI and how it will improve the work life of a potential hire, then you are going to be seen as a business that people want to work for. On the other hand, those who have just rushed to adopt the shiny new toy without a plan in place won\u2019t make the same impression.<\/p>\n\n

How?<\/h2>\n\n

We\u2019ve saved the biggest question until, well, nearly the end. How are you going to get there? How are you going to prepare yourself, your team, and your organisation to adopt Copilot?<\/p>\n\n

We\u2019re getting more technical here, but setting out a roadmap for your Copilot adoption is critical. There\u2019s a lot to consider, but we\u2019ve broken the process down into seven simple steps that you can tick off, one by one, with each moving you closer to AI readiness.<\/p>\n\n