Introducing the New Microsoft Planner

Designed to provide a central hub for managing projects of all sizes, the new Microsoft Planner combines some of its leading task management solutions with AI assistant Copilot to accelerate business outcomes and enable knowledge workers to reclaim their workday.

The author of this page: Malek Al-Shayeb
Malek Al-Shayeb, Principal PPM Consultant May 13, 2024

With the pace of work increasing exponentially - a challenge compounded by an ever-rising sea of data, information and always on-communications - people are struggling to shoulder the weight of it all. Some 63% of respondents in the Microsoft 2023 Work Trend Index survey revealed they are struggling with too much time spent searching for information while usage stats for Microsoft 365 revealed 57% of time is spent on communication across business platforms.

To help employees take back their workday, Microsoft announced an overhaul of its project management services at Ignite in November 2023. A move that brings together the simplicity of Microsoft To Do, the collaboration of Microsoft Planner, the power of Microsoft Project for Web and the intelligence of Microsoft Copilot to support both individual task management and enterprise and professional project management all within one easy-to-use solution.

A Modern Task Management Solution

With a refined task management system, the new Microsoft Planner will make staying organised a breeze. The updated user interface - accessible directly within Microsoft Teams (web experience scheduled for release in September 2024) - makes task creation and progress tracking easier than ever before, allowing teams to focus on their work rather than navigating through multiple systems and complex menus. As with other solutions within the Microsoft stack, native integration with the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem further enhances productivity, allowing users to tap into solutions such as Microsoft Outlook, Viva Goals and Microsoft Loop.

To further enhance solution capabilities, Microsoft Planner's premium plan will feature Copilot, the dedicated Microsoft AI companion that helps you turbo charge productivity and focus on more meaningful work.

What this means for existing Project for Web customers.

Existing Project for Web customers are to be given access to the premium features of the new Microsoft Planner as part of their Project for the Web subscription without the need for additional licenses - with the existing Project Online Plan 1 license set to become the new Planner Premium license. Such features include Goals, People, Timelines view and more.

A web experience with new Enterprise Work Management capabilities is set to further enhance these premium features with the release scheduled for late 2024.

To find out how the new Microsoft Planner can help your team succeed, contact a member of our team today.

Keep up to date with Storm’s latest news and events

Arrow

Thank you for signing up to our newsletter.

Error while submitting the form. Please try again.