However, many organisations are struggling to implement employee wellbeing initiatives, particularly when employees are based in different locations. When employees are working remotely, it can be difficult to remain connected and monitor the morale within the team. Failing to take action can result in serious consequences, including disengaged employees, widespread low morale, and increased absence rates.

Our app gauge.it was created to overcome this challenge and offer organisations a simple, user-friendly solution. Available on Microsoft Teams, gauge.it helps foster employee wellbeing by helping leaders stay connected to their employees, regardless of location. It empowers employees by giving them the ability to share how they are feeling openly and honestly on a daily basis, providing leaders with valuable insight into team morale and wellbeing.

Our Head of Technology, Alasdair Gauld, recently hosted a webinar discussing the importance of employee wellbeing and demonstrating how gauge.it can help improve it. You can watch the full video below:

If you have any questions regarding any of the topics discussed during the webinar, please feel free to email sales@cloudcoverit.co.uk .

We are currently offering a 30-day free trial of gauge.it. Simply visit www.gaugeitteams.com to get started!

The post How to Improve Employee Wellbeing with gauge.it appeared first on Flyte.

gauge.it creates a safe space for employees to communicate important aspects of their wellbeing safely and anonymously, giving leadership critical insights into employee morale – all within Microsoft Teams, the most used business communication platform with over 270 million users.  gauge.it allows business leaders to automatically send a daily card to their team allowing them to rate their day by selecting the emoji that best represents their mood and adding an optional, anonymous comment.  The power of the system is in providing leadership with a simple breakdown of the team’s input, allowing changes and trends in morale to be identified within localised and remote teams. 

“The concept of gauge.it was created in 2021 as we were finding it increasingly difficult to monitor the wellbeing of the team, who had moved from office-based working to working from home.” Cloud Cover IT’s Head of Digital Transformation Alasdair Gauld explains. “We recognised the consequences that can result from employees feeling isolated and wanted to create a simple solution that would allow us to remain connected to our team, regardless of their location. Since the launch of an early version of gauge.it, we have received excellent feedback from leadership teams who report feeling more connected to their employees and see real value from daily reporting revealing trends in wellbeing across their team. With this full version release, we are excited that gauge.it now has more powerful reporting and new tools to assess employee morale.”

“Through Microsoft AppSource, customers around the world can easily find tailored line-of-business partner solutions that work with the products they already use,” said Toby Bowers, General Manager, Business Applications Group, Microsoft Corp. “We’re happy to welcome Cloud Cover IT’s solution to the growing AppSource ecosystem.”

Established in Glasgow in 2012, Cloud Cover IT empowers clients worldwide with innovative IT solutions that allow them to improve productivity, efficiency, and collaboration through technology. The company has two apps available within the Microsoft Teams App Store and Microsoft AppSource: gauge.it and check.it. To learn more about gauge.it, visit www.gaugeit.co.uk .

Watch the short video below to see gauge.it in action:

The post A New Focus on Employee Wellbeing; Cloud Cover IT Announces the Launch of gauge.it for Microsoft Teams appeared first on Flyte.

Congratulations on Cloud Cover IT’s 10th birthday! How do you feel about celebrating a decade of the business?

I feel proud of what we are continuing to build. It has been interesting to see how the company has grown over the 10 years, and not only that it has been able to adapt but also thrives on adapting as technology moves.  

Tech moves quickly, how would you say Cloud Cover IT has evolved through the last 10 years and how has the company adapted to changes?

It really does move quickly, just this morning I’ve been with my team looking at a brand-new Microsoft Power Apps feature that we think will have lots of applications for the things we build, proving that technology literally moves on a day-to-day basis.

Even going back to the very start of the company, Lance and I had a discussion about what the company name should be. We talked through various options, including Cloud Cover. I was a bit unsure as I didn’t quite know where the industry was going at that point, but it was the start of the Cloud boom within large organisations, and Lance predicted that in the next few years every organisation would be reliant on Cloud-based services. He was right, so he was ahead of the curve there.

It has been interesting to see how the different departments within the business have grown alongside the changes within different areas of IT, and how agile and quickly the business has adapted.

You joined the company in 2019 as Head of Digital Transformation. What does digital transformation mean to you, and can you tell us about the work your team carries out?

To me, digital transformation brings together two key elements: a deep understanding of what a company or team is trying to achieve, and the skills of my team in knowing where technology can help to do that better. Systems only ever work where the people who use them see real value, so as the name suggests any transformation needs to bring real value to the company and individuals doing it. The incredible digital tools available now provide a real opportunity for companies to do things better and more efficiently, allowing the staff involved to focus on bringing real value to the things that humans do better.

There is a lot of competition within the tech industry – what sets your team apart?

We established the company by saying that we would be great at the human part of IT. We achieve this by focusing on User-centric design when developing any solutions for our clients. With a background in product design, we have grown the Digital Transformation team to work with this process when we engage with any of our clients as no two are alike. By combining this with our multidisciplinary development team we aim to deliver successful Microsoft 365 Solutions.

What would you say are the main motivators for your team?

Being able to bring leading technology to our clients and seeing how our solutions are benefiting day-to-day working lives motivates us. My team are also always excited to continue learning and we enjoy keeping up with the latest technology. As we all know, Microsoft’s innovation cycles are fast and constantly moving all of their products forward – the team are always up for the challenge of trying new things and more importantly identifying where it will benefit our clients.

One thing we like to say here at CCIT is that we are the best at the ‘human part of IT’. What does this mean to you?

We all know that IT can be stressful for people as not everyone has the same level of technical understanding. For me, the human part is understanding this and being able to recognise when it is necessary to change the approach when engaging with different users to reduce any unnecessary stress caused by going too technical.

What are your proudest achievements from your time at Cloud Cover IT?

Being able to get two products successfully uploaded onto the app store within Microsoft [our Microsoft Teams apps check.it and gauge.it] has been a very proud achievement for my team and me.

What is the biggest lesson that you have learned?

That it’s far better to work as a team to come up with a solution than to try and think of one in isolation – something that has been put to the test over the last couple of years as the team has adapted to initially remote working and now hybrid working.

Do you have any advice for anyone looking to join the tech industry today?

I would recommend that newcomers start by learning low code as it is a great way to begin building that development structure in an easy environment. There are also lots of communities out there that can help and support you, utilise them.

We’ve discussed how the tech industry has changed; how do you think it will continue to change?

I believe that as the cloud continues to grow, the way users understand and consume data will head toward a more interactive future. I’m looking forward to seeing if this does happen, and the impact it will have not only on Cloud Cover IT, but the whole industry.

Are there any exciting projects that the Digital Transformation team are working on right now (that you can tell us about)?

There are a lot of exciting things happening in the Microsoft Teams and Power Platform environment right now that we are focusing on. I can’t give too many details, but there are a few things in the pipeline at the moment that will make the rest of 2022 very exciting!

Where would you like CCIT to be in 10 years’ time?

I would like to be able to look back to this point and see continuous growth between now and then. Part of this would be continuing to grow our presence both throughout the UK and internationally as we continue to grow as a company. 

Alasdair will be hosting a free virtual event on the 15th of July 2022. Book your spot here to attend ‘Lunch and Learn: Improve Employee Wellbeing with gauge.it’ and hear Alasdair discuss our new Microsoft Teams app.

You can follow Alasdair on Linked in here.

The post Celebrating 10 Years of Cloud Cover IT: An Interview with Alasdair Gauld, Head of Digital Transformation appeared first on Flyte.

Hybrid working has become the norm for many in the past 18 months, with the added flexibility and reduction in commuting time providing a better balance through the working week. The Cloud Cover IT team are no different, with many moving to a hybrid work pattern. However, John decided to take hybrid working a step further- upping sticks from Glasgow and settling in the North of Skye. He’s now 5 months in, has acquired some four-legged friends and is loving it. Here’s his 5 month update.

According to Google Maps, I now live 239.9 miles from the Cloud Cover IT office in Glasgow.  If I decided to leave the car and walk to work, they reckon it would take me 69 hours.  If I were to join the company “Cycle to Work Scheme” it would apparently take me 18 hours and 52 minutes- not taking in to account the 20 years since I’ve been on a bike.

Anyway, I think it’s fair to say that’s pretty far.

I’m also far from most things now.  The nearest shop is 6 miles away.  The nearest pub 8 miles.  And the nearest pub worth going to around 25 miles.

I’ve been a “city boy” all my life, from Glasgow to London to Oxford and back to Glasgow. I had never imagined myself breaking up fighting chickens or nursing sick animals back to full health. That was never anywhere in my plan.

And yet, here I am. 5 months in and loving it.

There have been some flaky Teams calls, but we’ve all had those right?  The Internet connection here is (considering I’m essentially in the middle of a field) pretty good. 

I have had a laptop die on me which would usually be considered a complete disaster, though upon realising that I’m finally practicing what I preach- keeping all my files in OneDrive and SharePoint; making sure my DevOps was up to date; and any Power Apps stuff is in the Power Apps Studio- it ended up being a relatively painless hurdle. Luckily, I had another laptop that I could use until my dead one was sorted, but had I needed one shipped it would have arrived the next day. 

And so essentially all I lost was my Football Manager save.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d only spent 6 years as Hellas Verona Manager and guided them to the Serie A title and Champions League final 2 years in a row, so it was a hard one to take.  But at least in real life, I genuinely lost nothing.

I’ve been around long enough to have accumulated boxes of external hard drives with backups of everything, and the gut wrench when one is dropped somewhere and everything stops working is a feeling you don’t forget easily.

I’m still pretty astounded at how, without really thinking about it, I’ve switched from having everything saved on my machine to automatically having it in OneDrive. Anything that has had to be shared with the rest of the team, hundreds or thousands of miles away, has found it’s place in the relevant Teams Channel or SharePoint site without any real effort on my part.

I know a lot of people have a reluctance towards new technology.  But I genuinely don’t think that there has to be any fear.  There maybe has to be a little change in mentality, but once you start it all just happens without having to think about it. For me it is as seamless as it’s possible to be, whether it’s having the OneDrive client on your machine or syncing Document Libraries in SharePoint for easier access.

Being out of the city and so far from everything definitely has its challenges, I’m not going to deny that.  If you forget that pint of milk at the shop, you can’t just wander down and get it and if it’s a Sunday you’ll be having black coffee.  But in terms of keeping in touch with the Team at work, and being able to keep in touch with family, I’ve said it before, Microsoft have absolutely smashed it.

And while M365 wasn’t able to save my Football Manager career, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to make the move somewhere so remote without it.

If you fancy making a big relocation like John but just don’t know where to start when it comes to IT, or you would just like to improve your system productivity and make your data more accessible and secure, get in touch with the team!

The post Remote Working- 5 months in appeared first on Flyte.

For us, the most exciting thing about Teams and the whole Microsoft 365 Eco-System is the fact that it feels like an organic being. It does not stay still. While at times it might feel overwhelming to try and keep ahead of the new features and applications that Microsoft rolls out, it’s great to know that Microsoft are listening to what we want through Microsoft Teams User voice site.  

Microsoft Teams User voice site is a place where users of the product can suggest and vote on features that they would like to see. Something few applications actively encourage. 

The end goal for Microsoft is that they want you to start your machine in the morning, open Teams and never need to leave it. All communication and collaboration is done in Teams with colleagues sharing documents or working simultaneously on documents. Data comes from other applications into Teams and other web-based applications sit within your Teams environment. All these things are possible within the Teams application and are becoming easier to integrate and apply.  

There so many elements to Microsoft Teams it can be hard to keep track but that is what we are here for! From a simple introduction to the platform to the art of the possible, there’s loads that can be done by combining existing features of Teams with customer developments with other areas of the Microsoft platform like Power Apps. 

Something is always happening at Microsoft. That is why keeping up to date with new features is important to us. Keeping on top of what is new and upcoming is something we see as a vital role for our clients. The more we know, the better we can advise on getting the most out of Teams.  

We’re excited to see the release of Microsoft’s Employee Experience Platform, Viva which is being rolled out.

Missed our Lunch and Learn event? Catch up here:

The post Microsoft Teams: We’ve got your back appeared first on Flyte.

The world has changed dramatically over the last year and Teams has enabled many businesses to keep trading in some way.  From a technology point of view the concept of staff being able to work from anywhere was always going to happen, COVID-19 just pulled it along a little bit quicker.

But now, and we should caveat that this isn’t the case for all industries, users have the ability to access all the files they need and all the applications that are required for them to do their tasks, from anywhere they have an internet connection.  Teams makes that process easier than it has ever been before.

We know that everyone has their quibbles over how it does things or about its small idiosyncrasies but in our opinion, Microsoft have knocked it out the park with Teams.

We’ve had conversations with different people who prefer to use Zoom for their video conferencing or meetings, and we acknowledge Zoom may have a better video conferencing experience, but Teams is far more than a communications application. It does and IS so much more than Zoom.

It has been described as a “single pane of glass”.  An application that pulls together data and information from other applications and presents it in a familiar way.

Teams brings together all the best parts of Microsoft from:

• Skype For Business for communication through instant messaging and video calls,
• SharePoint to handle document management and data storage
• Custom business applications through Power Apps
• Reporting with PowerBI
• And perhaps the most obvious thing is the tight integration with Office 365, it works seamlessly with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. All the apps you need!

While collaboration platforms like Slack may have developed a whole library of plugins over the years, the momentum is most definitely with Teams.  How do we know that? It’s clear from the Microsoft Teams Users:

Since we last did our webinar series, daily Microsoft Teams users has grown exponentially. Teams is Microsoft’s fastest growing business application ever (ZDNet) and it’s developing features that will help you in your day-to-day operations. So it’s about time we had a catch up!

The post Microsoft Teams: It’s time for a catch up! appeared first on Flyte.

By Owen Smith, Sales Manager, Cloud Cover IT

Two weeks ago, I tuned in to the first ever fully online and free-to-attend version of the annual Microsoft Ignite conference. During the event, Microsoft launched several brand new features that are designed to empower users and organisations as we navigate the new world of work in the COVID-19 era. Never one to blindly follow the crowd, myself and the team here at CCIT have taken some time to consider these new features and to identify what we think will benefit our customers the most. 

Supporting employee wellbeing

We’ve been through a lot this year. According to a survey by healthcare charity Nuffield Health, around 80% of British people working from home feel lockdown has impacted negatively on their mental health, whilst a quarter of those surveyed said that they were finding it difficult to cope with the emotional challenges of isolation. Microsoft has made tackling this issue a priority, introducing a set of experiences designed to mimic those aspects of in-person working that many of us (myself included!) are missing.  

The daily commute may not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering what you miss from pre-COVID-19 times. But studies from Microsoft Research have shown that a commute is an important bookend of the working day; an opportunity to process, relax, and recharge. 

With this in mind, Microsoft has partnered with Headspace, a global leader in mindfulness and meditation, to develop a virtual commute experience for smoother transitions between work and home life. Morning ‘commutes’ will give time to plan out your day or even go for a walk, whilst evening commutes can be customised with prompts to reflect emotionally, celebrate accomplishments, and even partake in meditation sessions  to fully disconnect.

Set to go live natively within Teams in the first half of 2021, this will ensure that everyone can make time and space for their wellbeing.

Monitor your mood

Personally, I’m really missing the collective buzz of being surrounded by talented people and working on exciting projects in the same physical space. I pride myself on being a high-energy, positive person but at times I’ve felt my mood and productivity dip as a result of reduced face-to-face interaction. So I’m a big fan of the new ‘emotional check-in experience’, which allows you to log and track your mental wellbeing at work, as it will give greater visibility of your mental state and signal to your colleagues that you could benefit from some support. The ‘stay connected experience’ will make it easy to collaborate and catch up with colleagues, as well as to praise each other for strong work, encouraging a positive mindset and combating feelings of isolation.

Bring meetings to life in Together Mode

Microsoft have also set their sights on adding value to daily team meetings, as well as bringing in a bit of fun. Together Mode, arriving October 2020, will give a choice of scenes for meetings, including coffee shops, conference rooms, and even outdoor spaces, setting a custom tone depending on the meeting type. This tool promotes engagement and team spirit, creating an immersive and realistic experience, so participants in meetings feel like more than just a face on a screen. I’m looking forward to trying this one out for myself.  

Also available this month is the much-anticipated Breakout Rooms, which allows meeting organisers to divide participants into smaller groups, facilitating focused discussions and work groups. Where appropriate, organisers will be able to drop into the breakout rooms and make announcements to return attendees to the main meeting.  

These were just some of my highlights from Ignite 2020 – to find out more about how Microsoft 365 can facilitate the new way of working for you and your team, get in touch with a member of the CCIT team.

The post Microsoft Ignite 2020: Our reflections appeared first on Flyte.

Looking for help with Microsoft Teams? Then look no further than our new series of Teams webinar videos, available now on the Cloud Cover IT YouTube channel.

Aimed at all ability levels, this series of webinars will help you to realise the full potential of Microsoft Teams and the wider Microsoft suite – and learn how these innovative, accessible, and user-friendly platforms can tangibly improve your workflow, as well as improve your ability to communicate and collaborate.

Read on for a description of the key topics covered in each webinar and a link to the corresponding video.

1) Getting started with Microsoft Teams

This webinar explains how to:

• Log on to Teams
• Navigate all the menus in Teams
• Create a team
• Add users
• Add a channel
• Set up a video meeting

2) How to collaborate In Teams

This tutorial explains how to:

• Share documents in a Team channel and a private chat
• Collaborate on documents
• Use Microsoft OneDrive
• Integrate Teams with SharePoint sites

3) Integration with Teams

This tutorial explains how to:

• Integrate Teams with Microsoft Power Automate (previously known as Microsoft Flow) and other standard applications
• Report on your data with Microsoft Power BI
• Set up a workflow with Power Automate
• Add Zoom into Teams

Take your learning to the next level

If you would prefer a more bespoke tutorial, our Cloud Development team can conduct a private webinar to walk you and your team through your platform of choice at your own pace, in line with your specific needs and goals. This will showcase how the solution can directly relate to your day-to-day workflow and deliver real value for your organisation.

Keep an eye on our social channels for updates on future free webinars.

For more information or to set up private tutorials for your team, please contact Alasdair Gauld or call us on 0141 280 2882.

The post Microsoft Teams webinars now LIVE on YouTube appeared first on Flyte.

With many of us now working from home, digital solutions which enable remote working are becoming increasingly fundamental in keeping us connected and productive. As Microsoft Gold Partners, we have a wealth of knowledge in Teams, SharePoint and Power BI, utilising them within our own workforce as well as integrating them into our clients’ operations. Now, we are keen to share that expertise with businesses that need it.

Platform Immersion Webinars on Microsoft Teams, Office 365, Power BI and more

Whether your team has been using Microsoft solutions for a while but need a refresher, or they are completely new to you – we can help! To share our expertise and help you to realise the full potential of these products, our Head of Cloud Development Alasdair and his team will be leading a series of Platform Immersion Webinars, accessible online for FREE.

Each webinar will focus on a single platform within the Microsoft stack, with participants invited to explore a demo-version of the application in action. Populated with data, documents and personas, these demo-versions represent a virtual ‘sandbox’ – an open, interactive environment in which participants can explore and discover the strengths of the platform. The Seminar leader will prompt discussion and offer tutorials throughout each session, allowing participants to learn hands-on how the platform can offer tangible benefits to communication, collaboration and productivity.

Personalised training

If a more bespoke tutorial would be preferred, Alasdair and the team can conduct a private Webinar to walk you and your team through the relevant platform at your own pace, in line with your specific needs and goals. This will showcase how the solution can directly relate to your day-to-day workflow and deliver real value for your organisation.

Keep an eye on our social channels for updates. For more information or to set up private tutorials for your team, please contact Alasdair Gauld or call us on 0141 280 2882.

Our free webinar sessions:

Below is a description of each of the scheduled Platform Immersion Webinars. You can sign up to one or more of these sessions using the form at the bottom of this page.

1. Getting Started with Microsoft Teams

Time: 12:00 (noon)
Date: Tuesday 7 April
Duration: 15 mins

• The right licence for you
• Back to basics: How to set up a meeting
• Q&A session

2. Teams and Office 365: the bigger picture

Time: 12:00 (noon)
Date: Wednesday 8 April
Duration: 30 mins

• A brief overview of the Office 365 ecosystem
• OneDrive – You personal storage on the Cloud
• SharePoint – Migrating your data
• Planner – Keeping track of your project & Agile Methodology
• Teams – Promote and manage collaboration
• Q&A session

3. How to collaborate on Teams

Time: 12:00 (noon)
Date: Thursday 9 April
Duration: 30 mins

• Sharing documents in a Team channel
• Sharing documents in a chat
• What happens when I create a new Team – SharePoint Sites
• Collaborating on documents
• Q&A session

4. Integration with Teams

Time: 12:00 (noon)
Date: Friday 10 April
Duration: 30 mins

• Standard applications that integrate with Teams
• Power Automate – setting up workflows
• PowerBi – Reporting on your data
• Integrating Zoom with Teams
• Q&A session

Missed our webinars?

No problem – you can catch up here.

The post Free webinars for Microsoft Teams, Office 365 and more appeared first on Flyte.